12 replies to this topic

[goku]

what are people's opinions of epsom baths? They're apparently good for leaching uric acid out as they make you sweat from the little I've read and they're relaxing.

[xanadu]

They are relaxing, as you said, and they help you absorb magnesium. I never heard the part about leaching uric acid. I wouldn't overdo it, once or twice a week should be fine.

[Centurion]

Xanadu is right, you don't want to overdo it. But they melt away the stress the working day piles on! The effect is much greater helped for me if I have a nice bathrobe to throw on me afterward and a hot steaming cup of earl grey (which is technically a stimulant but it makes me feel wonderful)

[nushu]

Any new experiences with epsom salt baths? http://www.epsomsalt...ugh_soaking.htm I just finished one and it feels great. A friend swears by them, uses the baths as a way to detox. I'll try them for a while and see if I notice any changes.

[resveratrol]

Any new experiences with epsom salt baths? http://www.epsomsalt...ugh_soaking.htm I just finished one and it feels great. A friend swears by them, uses the baths as a way to detox. I'll try them for a while and see if I notice any changes.

I've been doing them roughly once a week for a few months now. Many people are magnesium deficient (http://www.lef.org/m...005_awsi_01.htm) and it can be difficult to get enough, so I see it as a great way to get more without adding a lot of additional calories to your diet.

Edited by resveratrol, 25 February 2008 - 03:59 AM.

[niner]

Any new experiences with epsom salt baths? http://www.epsomsalt...ugh_soaking.htm I just finished one and it feels great. A friend swears by them, uses the baths as a way to detox. I'll try them for a while and see if I notice any changes.

I've been doing them roughly once a week for a few months now. Many people are magnesium deficient (http://www.lef.org/m...005_awsi_01.htm) and it can be difficult to get enough, so I see it as a great way to get more without adding a lot of additional calories to your diet.

Are you drinking the bath water? I mean, how exactly does it get in? I don't think magnesium sulfate is transdermally active.

[mike250]

I thought the sulphate penetrates the skin without having to ingest it. so you wouldn't need to drink the water.

[niner]

I thought the sulphate penetrates the skin without having to ingest it. so you wouldn't need to drink the water.

Well, there's a lot of surface area, so that would be a plus, but divalent cations aren't the kind of thing that are good at getting through skin. They are really the exact opposite of the small to moderate sized hydrophobes that do get in. I'd certainly be happy to look at evidence to the contrary, but I'd be kind of surprised if it did get in to any significant degree. (nothing from a quick medline search) I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Epsom Salt Council (.org, so you know they care...) would suggest that it does get in, or at least imply that it must in order to explain its amazing curative powers.

It is possible to drive ions across the skin using an applied electric current. This is called iontophoresis. Positive terminal goes in the water, negative terminal... somewhere on your person. I'm hoping there is not a toaster involved in this.

edit: I don't want to sound anti-Epsom though- Mag sulfate does do some good things to the skin. I think it improves barrier function and hydration. Hot baths are also tremendously useful things and they really feel good.

Edited by niner, 25 February 2008 - 05:24 AM.

[resveratrol]

I thought the sulphate penetrates the skin without having to ingest it. so you wouldn't need to drink the water.

Well, there's a lot of surface area, so that would be a plus, but divalent cations aren't the kind of thing that are good at getting through skin. They are really the exact opposite of the small to moderate sized hydrophobes that do get in. I'd certainly be happy to look at evidence to the contrary, but I'd be kind of surprised if it did get in to any significant degree. (nothing from a quick medline search) I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Epsom Salt Council (.org, so you know they care...) would suggest that it does get in, or at least imply that it must in order to explain its amazing curative powers.

It is possible to drive ions across the skin using an applied electric current. This is called iontophoresis. Positive terminal goes in the water, negative terminal... somewhere on your person. I'm hoping there is not a toaster involved in this.

edit: I don't want to sound anti-Epsom though- Mag sulfate does do some good things to the skin. I think it improves barrier function and hydration. Hot baths are also tremendously useful things and they really feel good.

You may be right. I admit, I assumed there was transdermal magnesium absorption occurring, but my grasp of the biochemistry is weak at best.

[Shepard]

I've tried Epsom salt baths, along with every hippie thing I've ever heard of to ease the joint pain I've been having. I can't tell the difference with the salt or without (I've been combining it with ice).

[luv2increase]

I've tried Epsom salt baths, along with every hippie thing I've ever heard of to ease the joint pain I've been having. I can't tell the difference with the salt or without (I've been combining it with ice).

Try them there over there proteolytic enzymes shep. 2 tabs 4 times a day on an empty stomach and tell me you don't feel better within oh say oh how about 4 days.....


Sound like a deal?

[billmurray]

it works through reverse osmosis

[lucid]

I dig epsom salt baths. Great for relieving tense muscles.