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A New Lure for Spa Customers? A Salt Cave

  • June 16, 2017

Many chefs know that Himalayan salt is a healthier choice over common table salt when added to your foods, but who knew that its health benefits might extend beyond your plate? According to The New York Times, Himalayan salt spas are popping up around the U.S., with patrons claiming that sitting in them helps them relax, energize and breather better. Some even say they’re good for arthritis and regulating blood pressure.

When you’re talking about culinary uses, I believe that salt has been wrongly vilified, especially when it comes to the erroneous belief that it causes high blood pressure. (Having the correct potassium to sodium balance influences your risk for high blood pressure and heart disease to a far greater extent than high sodium alone.) I’ve written many times on this topic, and always counsel that you need to make sure when you use salt that it’s unrefined and minimally processed.

Since my personal favorite is Himalayan pink salt, rich in naturally occurring trace minerals needed for healthy bones, fluid balance and overall health, it’s fun to learn that there are more uses for this wonderful salt than simply consuming it.

When it comes to saunas and spas, I’ve always believed that this type of therapy has many health benefits, including expelling of toxins, improving blood circulation, killing disease-causing microbes and improving mitochondrial function. Regular sauna use may also reduce your risk of death from any cause, including lethal cardiovascular events, and may help stave off Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

More recently, infrared saunas have taken their place as being healthful too — compared to traditional saunas, athletes using infrared saunas also report greater recovery from strength and endurance training sessions. Besides the new Himalayan salt saunas, there are several other types of saunas to choose from, including wet or dry Finnish saunas and far- and near-infrared saunas, with near-infrared having several benefits over the others.