What Are the Health Benefits of Bathing in Dead Sea Salts?
What Are the Health Benefits of Bathing in Dead Sea Salts? The Dead Sea is actually a lake that is located between Jordan and Israel. It is called “dead” because the water is so salty that only a few kinds of simple plants can live in it. Fish are unable to live in the Dead Sea. The lake is fed by the Jordan River, but it has no outlet. Water can leave the Dead Sea only when it is evaporated by the sun. Evaporated water leaves its salts behind. This explains what makes the Dead Sea the saltiest body of water in the world. The extremely heavy salt water prevents bathers from sinking deeper than their armpits.
The waters of the Dead Sea have been renowned for their therapeutic effects since ancient times. Two thousand years ago, Flavius wrote that the salts from the Dead Sea heal the human body. The waters from the Dead Sea are unique in that they contain 27% of various salts as compared to 3% in normal sea water. Further, while sodium accounts for approximately 80% of the salt content of normal sea water, it comprises much less of the salt total in water from the Dead Sea. The salts in the Dead Sea water are magnesium, potassium, calcium chloride and bromides.
Magnesium is important for combating stress and fluid retention, slowing skin aging and calming the nervous system. Calcium is effective at preventing water retention, increasing circulation and strengthening bones and nails. Potassium energizes the body, helps to balance skin moisture and is a crucial mineral to replenish following intense exercise.
Bromides act to ease muscle stiffness and relax muscles. Sodium is important for the lymphatic fluid balance (this in turn is important for immune system function). So we can see that bathing in high quality sea salt could replenish the minerals which are critical to our skin metabolism. Sulfur is a natural disinfectant (constituent of certain vitamins). Potassium acts as a moisture regulator that maintains a neutral environment in the skin, whereas calcium is a building block for corrective tissue under the skin surface. Sodium relieves stiffness and muscle cramps.
Various cultures and groups of people have visited the Dead Sea for therapy, dating back to the time of the ancient Egyptians, utilizing the salt in various unguents and skin creams, as well as soaps, just as it is used today. The Dead Sea is known for its therapeutic properties, people have traveled to its shores for centuries to soak in the salty, majestic waters. The clean, unpolluted air and warm climate provide a healing environment that is unparalleled. Dead Sea salt is filled with natural healing elements that occur naturally in our bodies but are often lost as we go about our busy days.
Soaking in water enriched with salt from the Dead Sea is known to benefit the body from the inside out, treating skin conditions and improving internal processes. You can experience the therapeutic benefits of the Dead Sea in the form of bath salts – but be careful when you choose your salts. Most of the bath salts you will find in stores are, in fact, no different than ordinary table salt. Many bath salts are treated before they are sold, and many important minerals are removed during the process.