Here it is the middle of February and you are still working out and being one of the few people that are still trying to stay healthy.
- You are in the gym or outside.
- You are watching your calories.
- Measuring your steps.
- Feeling like this is it, you are the road to a healthier you.
- BUT… you are sore. If you are like me, you are not in your early 20’s, or even 30’s. You are doing your best to stay ahead of that middle age spread everyone talks about. The problem is that with this freedom of time to work out more, you do and your body, although is getting leaner, is aching.
We are in the gym 3 mornings a week where we see some amazingly fit people. We watch them, try to do what they do. Try to lift, push, pull what they do. Except that I am old enough to be their mother, or at least their young aunt, lol. And, low and behold, I can do it. I have been in the gym long enough that I can lift pretty heavy, BUT. There is that but again. At the end of the day, week, hour even, I am sore. Why are ‘they’ not sore? Well, they may be but age has played a cruel trick on us. As we age, doing this physical stuff hurts. Everywhere! I ache in places that I didn’t know that I even worked.
I try hard not to live in the painkiller aisle in the drug store. I try to put up with a lot of uncomfortable aches. Some of the aches, I actually enjoy because it tells me that, yes, I did work that hard. But why hurt if you don’t have to. I have recently turned to a very old remedy, Epsom salt.
There is something really comforting in having a natural remedy readily available, is not expensive and is really simple to get and use. Like our food, we try to be as whole and natural as we can and this totally fits that role for us.
What is Epsom salt?
Epsom salt, named for a bitter saline spring at Epsom in Surrey, England, is not actually salt but a naturally occurring pure mineral compound of magnesium and sulfate. Studies have shown that magnesium and sulfate are both readily absorbed through the skin, making Epsom salt baths an easy and ideal way to enjoy the associated health benefits
There is a great list of benefits to this amazing compound,
- Eases stress and relaxes the body
- Relieves pain and muscle cramps
- Helps muscles and nerves function properly
- Helps prevent hardening of arteries and blood clots
- Makes insulin more effective
- Relieves constipation
- Eliminates toxins from the body
- Exfoliate dead skin
- Exfoliating face cleanser
- Dislodge blackheads
- Remove foot odor
- Remove hairspray
- Hair volumizer
There are even more uses for Epsom salt in some unexpected ways.
- Clean bathroom tiles
- Prevent slugs
- As a hand wash
- Clean detergent build-up on washing machines
- Fertilize your houseplants
- Keep your lawn green
- Insecticide spray.
I know that it kind sounds like something that works for everything. Well, I have found that a lot of the old remedies really did work and we should take a good hard look at why our grandparents and their grandparents relied on them.
So, if you are feeling sore and achy, try an Epsom salt bath. If the simple fact that you are lying in a nice warm tub for 10-20 minutes is all you get out of it, then you will at the very least be more relaxed and that is always a good thing.
I'm really old-fashioned. An Epsom salt bath, that's genuinely better than any massage. – Emilia Clarke
