The last two decades have seen a phenomenal rise in all things natural. 'Back to nature' is the new age mantra that has caught people's imagination. Natural fabrics instead of nylon, natural cosmetics instead of ones laden with chemicals, natural organic foods instead of pesticide-grown crops and natural remedies for a host of ailments instead of conventional methods of treatment. Reason can easily be attributed to the phenomenal rise in polluted air, polluted water systems and polluted land. People are yearning to go back to nature and extract from it whatever bounties it has to offer. And nature never ever disappoints us.
The humble mineral, Salt, is one such miraculous gift of nature to us. The good news is that there is no dearth of salt on this earth. The sea has it in abundance and it is also available in plenty in natural salt mines and caves. World wide, this mineral is used for therapeutic purposes in treating ailments by means of a unique natural treatment called Salt therapy. Salt therapy uses salt to great advantage in the form of salt rooms. Salt rooms are artificial salt caves that are made of tons of sea salt to create a micro-climate very similar to that of a natural salt cave. Let me enumerate the 5 most promising benefits of salt therapy to you:
Salt is bactericidal
Sitting inside a salt room exposes your lungs to the cleanest air possible since the presence of so much salt all around kills all germs and bacteria. The air that you get to breathe inside is light, easy to breathe and pure. Getting to breathe such pure air within a city is nothing short of a luxury in today's age and time!
Salt is anti-inflammatory
During a one hour session in the salt room, salt particles enter deep into your lungs, it has the capacity to relieve symptoms of any inflammation in the airways that is caused due to the presence of mucous in the body.
Salt makes the salt room hypo-allergenic
The presence of tons of salt in the salt room makes the environment absolutely clean and no allergens can find their way into it. People with respiratory disorders need such a clean atmosphere so that a one hour salt room therapy helps to cleanse their system and not irritate it. That is the reason why people with very chronic allergic cough can also endure the salt spray and benefit from it.
Salt is mucolytic
Mucolytic implies ‘melting mucous’. Root cause of all allergies is that our body fights allergies by producing more mucous, mucous starts filling up in the airways and lungs, thereby clogging them and making them narrow. Air in the salt room is laden with minute salt particles that enter the airways, upon reaching the airways they start reacting with the mucous lining the walls of the airways. Mucous starts to melt, airways become cleansed and wide.
Salt is negatively ionized. Negative ions are considered to be ‘cleansers of the air’ and salt has the property of negative ionization. Negative ionization of the air relieves stress, makes it clean and fit for breathing.
A lot can be said about the mucolytic properties of salt, it’s attributes of negative ionization and its bactericidal effects. So, make this humble salt your best friend in case you’re suffering from respiratory problems. Believe me it’ll never let you down. The Author is the founder of SRT India - The Salt Room Therapy Chain