Please Pass the Salt:
A Brief History of the Science Behind Halotherapy
BY HELENA ZERA
Here at Vyana, we recently added two new products to our wellness offerings: Ceramic Salt Inhalers, and Sole Mixing and Drinking Glasses, both from Evolution Salt Co.
We wanted to share some further information about how to use these products — and why they are so beneficial! Please reach out if you have any questions, or would like to order your own. To learn more about HOW to use these products and order your own, check out this article.
The History of Salt & Wellness
We tantalize, enhance and preserve the flavors of our food with salt. We add it to our facial scrubs and body cleansers, our soaps and cleaners, we even brine and purify water with it. We use salt in dyeing, tanning, bleaching, on ice and snowy roads, for a multitude of medicinal purpose and the list goes on. Salt water is a delightful medium to luxuriously soak in and buoyantly swim in. Breathing in the ocean air is literally a day at the beach and an antidote for many of us.
Did you know that many ancient cultures settled around salt springs, and that salt was used as a form of payment because salt was highly valued as a method of trade and currency? It’s interesting to discover the root word ‘salary’ originated from the word ‘salt’. Why, even my own home town - Syracuse the Salt City - has historical roots in the enterprise of salt.
But in addition to making life, ahem, sweeter, salt can also have a positive effect on our health. Beware of these not so identical twins, if you look at salt and regular ol white sugar they are almost impossible to tell apart except by taste.
There is a fascinating story of a natural occuring salt mine in Ukraine that I recently discovered. In the 1800’s Dr. Felix Bochkowsky observed that the miners in salt mines didn’t suffer from adverse effects as compared to the coal miners. These miners had increased respiratory function and their skin somehow appeared younger than their age. Dr. Bochkowsky researched his observations since the salt miners rarely suffered from colds and respiratory ailments, and were noticeably healthier by comparison to other miners and many of his patients. He converted a portion of this mine into a health spa resort which unfortunately was delayed due to WWII. Interestingly enough, during this time Dr. B discovered that the civilians' health dramatically improved while they were confined to the salt caves during the raids. The health resort was re-established after the war with a large following. With modern science and research we now know why the aerosol-ed salts in the caves were beneficial... and that brings us to current day, and a favorite alternate therapy that has helped many people immensely, including me.
s’Alternate Therapy
Dry Salt Therapy is an ancient modality and has been in existence for longer than we know in various forms. Ancient Ayruvedic and yoga cultures have relied on salt inhalation to cleanse the lungs, sinuses, nose and throat. The Greeks entertained salt caves for therapeutic purposes and even Hippocrates used steam-vapored salt to purify the air and lungs.
The word Halotherapy ~ comes from the Greek word Halo for salt. Halotherapy is the process of exchanging air in the presence of salt. The process is done by inhaling the dry vapor and fine salt particles. Research is proving that there are many benefits from this simple, safe, and effective application. The ocean air contains salt and is very beneficial although the benefits of dry salt (found in salt caves, rooms and salt inhalers) is considered a more potent form of halotherapy.
Salt is a magical element that infuses our lives for the better. There are many old and new idioms that pay homage to the importance and value of salt: salt of the earth, pillar of salt, don’t be so salty, throw salt on someone’s game, worth their salt, like a dose of salts, old salt, rub salt into the would, salt a mine, with a grain of salt, worth one’s salt, back to the salt mines, and ask any chemist worth their salt. Ahhh... what is the shake on salt? And let's pepper that with some more information.
Currently Speaking
NaCl the chemical compound makes up salt is classified as an ionic compound and plays a crucial role in homeostasis and our health. Salt is an essential mineral and a primary electrolyte. Electrolytes carry specific charges making them imbalanced ions. This imbalance either attracts or repels other charged particles in the body on a cellular level, assisting osmosis. This process is accomplished in the intercellular fluid and when dissolved in water it produces an aqueous solution that conducts electricity!
The Electric Slide
Salt is composed of 2 charged ions (electrolytes); sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl-). Let's take a look into how and what these ions do.
Na+ is an essential nutrient and, due to its positive charge, plays a vital role in maintaining fluid volume and blood pressure levels by balancing functions in our extracellular fluid. Sodium exchanges its positive charge for chloride's negative charge at the cellular level, allowing for passage across semi-permeable cell membranes. Sodium is responsible for the charge-driven functions of nerve impulses throughout the body, including transmission of signals to the brain and muscular contraction. Cl- maintains blood pH, neural activity, and cell homeostasis; because of its negative charge it assists trafficking in and out of cells in the intracellular fluid; the Cl- especially has a green light to go, and pass the cell membrane with Na+. These 2 ions have the green light to proceed and pass cellular membranes through channels and transporters.
Ion You Smart
Bringing this topic to its simplest form: Salt is responsible for balancing the acids and bases in our body. When salt enters the body, it dissolves into the ions named electrolytes because they carry an electrical current. The human body is approximately 70% water. Our blood consists of approxinately 80% water, and believe it or not, our lungs are composed of 90% water. Na+ Cl- is a necessary part of our body fluids. Our cells can only move these ions in and out of their semipermeable membranes; they need the electrolyte exchange to hold onto water molecules directly. When they do, water follows. This is how salt determines where fluids come and go.
Let’s Diffuse the Subject
These polar molecules are ions with a positive/negative charge that are drawn to each other. In biological terms, diffusion refers to the movement of molecules or ions across a membrane. Diffusion occurs within every cell of our body continuously. Together, Na+ and Cl- operate like a dynamic duo of diffusion in the cell membrane to create an electrical current. Our physical bodies operate within a diffusion of ionic positive and negative exchanges, dancing between the polarities of electrical charges as they move in and out of the extracellular cells of the body. (This exchange is similar to how a battery works with the currents of energy between the North and South Poles). These extracellular bodily fluids transport nutrients and oxygen. In the hospital we are given a normal saline solution when dehydrated (9% in our blood is NaCl), to deliver medications and electrolytes, to rehydrate, and restore homeostasis and health. Aqueous NaCl has a Ph of 7 and is considered neutral.
Baby I Can Feel Your Halo (Halo, Halo) Therapy:
How to Use a Dry Salt Inhaler
So what is this ancient (and kinda new) modality in our modern and holistic world, and can we bring halotherapy into our wellness routines with positive results and economically? Let's take a deep breath and see how Halotherapy works.
Halotherapy is a complementary therapy (not an alternative therapy) for respiratory health and prevention, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anit-histamine, and antimicrobial. It uses a Dry Salt Inhaler as an effective and holistic tool to help protect our lungs and heart health.
The inhalation of salt aerosol particles can open and cleanse the bronchial airways from pollutants, allergens, smoke and dust. Breathing in negative ions from Himalayan salt can help to increase oxygen intake, and is beneficial for a number of upper and lower respiratory issues such as: allergies, asthma, bronchitis, bronchiectasis and bronchial infections, COPD, pneumonia, colds/flu, smokers cough, wheezing, cystic fibrosis, sinusitis, congestion, shortness of breath, and even insomnia. Dry Salt Inhalation creates a unique microclimate in the lungs to make breathing easier, enhancing vital air capacity, recovery time and overall endurance. It can also help relieve respiratory symptoms while working in conjunction with an existing medical condition with no side effects.
Remember, regularity and consistency are key in any self care. Maintaining a simple form of Dinacharya (daily Ayurvedic self care ritual) is the best preventative medicine. Performing halotherapy upon awakening and prior to bed is a simple technique to cleanse the entire respiratory system including the mouth, nasal cavities, sinuses, throat and lungs. The tiny particles of salt aerosol will help to flush impurities, release congestion, open airways, and are known to be most beneficial for respiratory health.
Halotherapy combined with mindfulness becomes an amped up pranayama (breathing practice) that can help to expand the upper airways for increased oxygen flow and move deeper in the lower lungs and alveoli (teeny cute little air sacs at the furthermost base of the lungs for rapid gaseous exchange) to release stagnation, anxiety and stress. The ritual of incorporating a few breaths with your salt inhaler before breathing exercises brings a whole new experience to breathwork that will help mobilize the lungs and strengthen the diaphragm.
Love is in the Air
There is a saying in Ayurveda:
Opposites Heal.
There is a saying in Love:
Opposites Attract.
How do these concepts relate to salt therapy? Let’s look further: There is quite a bit of electrical charge in the air we breathe. Atmospheric ions are everywhere and they are looking for a connection (“you complete me;” tee hee). In other words: These polarized positive and negative ions are primed to hook up. There are no voyeurs in this invisible union since we cannot observe this courtship of polarities with our naked eye (boo hoo). The electrostatic attraction between them creates an ionic compound: good ol’ NaCl.
Ions are odorless, tasteless, and invisible molecules that have gained or lost an electrical charge. Negatively charged ions (anions) are created in abundance in nature as air molecules break apart due to cosmic rays, ultraviolet rays, thunderstorms, natural radioactivity, waterfalls, and with the movement of air and water. When you’re barefoot in the grass, take a walk at the beach or forest bathe, you experience the power of negative ions. Notice how blissful you feel when near a waterfall, by the ocean, or in the woods. Our exposure in these natural wonders, where there is a high concentration of negative ions, allow us to experience the euphoric power of nature’s ionic exchange.
Positively charged ions (cations) are created from the breakdown of its metal charge. Our homes and workspaces have an abundance of positive ions and are thought to be a low energy field for us. We can boost our mood and create a calm and healthy environment in our own homes for our well-being by bringing the outdoors in. A few examples are the use of indoor fountains, aerating and ventilating the space, plants, taking a shower, having a hearth fire, integrating infra-red heating or devices, and using Halotherapy. Inhaling Himalayan salt aerosols and the -ionized air will improve oxygen levels in the blood. The old saying ‘get a breath of fresh air’ really rings true and is a great way to recharge your battery (so to speak).
Opposites Heal
In Ayurveda, salt symbolizes taste and is one of the six tastes aptly named Lavana or Salty. Lavana is composed of the fire/water elements and is more water than fire, making it heavy, oily, warm, and moistening. These qualities pacify the air/space elements of Vata dosha with its cold, dry, light and mobile gunas, or attributes. In excess, salt can be aggravating for Pitta and Kapha doshas.
Medicinally, salt has the biomedical actions of being alkaline, demulcent, lubricant, expectorant, emetic, water retentive, osmotic, irritant, and laxative.
Salt controls the sense of taste and smell supporting Agni through appetite by stimulating salivation, promoting digestion, facilitating absorption, processing assimilation, and even the heavy downward movement of elimination!
Our sense of touch is governed by the electrical impulses that salt plays in its ion dance of electrolytes (electric slide). It is antispasmodic due to an affinity for the nervous system balancing and calming Vata. Lavana psychologically helps to remove fear, creates bravery, cultivates courage, and vitalizes our joie de vivre thereby supporting Vata. A useful Ayurvedic hack for an anxiety attack is to use a ½ tsp. of salt on the tongue to bring about a mild sedation to assist in countering Vata’s tendency toward fear.
Vata benefits from this taste because of its heating moisture, which is favorable to Vata’s dry and cold nature. This warm moisture is hydrating to the tissues on behalf of its sweet post digestive effect (vipak). It is nourishing for rasa dhatu (blood plasma); the first of the seven dhatus (tissues or building blocks) of the body, I like to think of rasa dhatu as the primary waters of the body. The hydrophilic moisturising role upholds the water to electrolyte ratio which can easily be disturbed by surplus Vata. The nourishing properties of salt promote Kapha for growth, muscle strength, and flexibility. Salt assists in moving energy downward to stabilize Vata and apana vayu.
Salty taste needs balance in the diet (since it is not made within the body). It continuously assists in replacing our primary electrolytes and water levels. In excess it can vitiate Kapha, leading to edema and lymphatic congestion. A surplus can weaken the kidneys which contributes to hypertension, premature greying and hair loss and wrinkles. Too little salt can lead to muscle cramps, fatigue and inertia.
Natural mineral and rock salt are highly regarded in Ayurveda as one of the 5 natural and dietary salts. Due to its cooling rather than heating properties and diverse mineral content it is milder than other salts and highly regarded in the Ayurvedic tradition. Mineral salt is far more balancing for Pitta than any other salt, and the least aggravating for Kapha.
