Did you have any idea that taking a bath could not only clean the outside of your body, but the inside as well?! No, I'm not suggesting you drink soapy bath water. That's just disgusting! (Especially if you've already sat in the bath water *gagging*).What I am suggesting is adding a pinch-- or maybe a couple cups--of Epsom salt to your tub (with water of course), then sit back and literally watch as toxins leave your body. Be prepared to be awed (or nauseated)!
So how exactly does Epsom salt detox the body, you ask? Well Epsom salt really isn't salt at all. It's actually magnesium sulfate. Most of us know about the importance of iron and calcium for our bodies, but what about magnesium? It is the second most abundant element in human cells and the fourth most important positively charged ion in the body. It helps the body regulate over 325 enzymes and plays an important role in organizing many bodily functions, like muscle control, nerve function, electrical impulses, energy production, the absorption of nutrients, and the elimination of harmful heavy metals and toxins. It is also great at reducing inflammation (a problem many of us seem to have according to Dr. Colgan) which relieves pain and muscle cramps, helps to prevent artery hardening and blood clots, and makes insulin more effective. Oh, and did I mention it can help ease migraine
headaches. =)Sadly, even though magnesium is so vital to our level of wellness, our magnesium levels have dropped by half in the last century due to changes in agriculture and diet. Industrial farming has depleted magnesium from soil and the typical American diet contains much less magnesium than that of our forefathers. And in fact, the modern American diet with its fat, sugar, salt and protein actually works to speed up the depletion of magnesium from our bodies.
What are we going to do!?!
Another factor in decreased magnesium levels has been our focus on getting enough calcium. It’s a delicate dance–calcium depletes magnesium yet calcium functions best when enough magnesium is present. Studies indicate that taking a calcium supplement without enough magnesium can increase the shortage of both nutrients. Researchers have found that many Americans have five times as much calcium as magnesium in their bodies, although the proper ratio for optimum absorption of both minerals is two to one.
I know what you're thinking. You're wondering when Isagenix is going to come up with a solution to this widespread magnesium deficiency. The answer is, they already have! It's called IsaFlush (aka a magnesium supplement). BUT!! studies show that magnesium is not easily absorbed through the digestive tract. The presence of specific foods or drugs, certain medical conditions, and the chemistry of a person’s stomach acid can render magnesium supplements ineffective.
*Dun-Dun-Dun!!!* Hence the Epsom salt bath! Studies have shown increased magnesium levels from soaking in a bath enriched with Epsom salt, because Magnesium and sulfate are both easily absorbed through the skin. Your
skin is a highly porous membrane and adding the right minerals to your bathwater
triggers a process called reverse osmosis, which actually pulls salt out of your
body, and harmful toxins along with it. Allow me to tell you a little story. I started the Isabody Challenge on December 12, 2011. At that time I had been heavily medicated for a mental illness and mental disorder for a year and a half. One of the main reasons I started the challenge was to get off of the medications. I had tried multiple times prior to the challenge, but failed everytime. My body and brain were hooked to them. I would go a few weeks without any pills, and then would have to get back on them because of the withdrawals I experienced. When I started the challenge, I quit taking the meds, cold turkey. After cleansing multiple days, I took an Epsom salt bath. I had taken these baths before, but never when I was cleansing, and never when I had been on medication. I typically took the baths the help with muscle soreness, but the effects of this cleansing bath were SICK! in both senses of the word--awesome and disgusting! I had filled my jacuzzi tub with hot water and about 2 pounds of Epsom salt. I climbed in ready to relax. After about 1 minute of having the jets on, my relaxation was abruptly disturbed. All of a sudden there were large bubbles floating around the tub with an orangish-brown, clay looking substance coating them. IT FREAKED ME OUT! I practically jumped right out of the tub.
Gross exhibit #1
This had never happened before. I wasn't sure whether to believe the gew was toxins or just dirt from the tub. I decided to take another bath the next day. This time, I had just finished Bikram yoga, so I had been sweating perfusely for 90 minutes, and I had showered, and I cleaned the tub ahead of time. I was ruling out any possibility of the sludge being dirt residue. Once again, after about one minute of the jets, **deep voice** the sludge was back!
Gross exhibit #2
Me being the quack that I am, I took a sample of the mystery sludge to our science teacher to run a few tests. Sure enough, CSI-SLC confirmed the mystery substance was the left over meds leaving my body, along with some heavy metals. Mystery Solved!I continued to take Epsom salt baths every time I cleansed during the challenge, and I still take them about every other week. While there are many different brands of Epsom salt, they are all the same product chemically. So get out there are and start cleaning your insides! =)
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