We all know that bathing in the sea water is great for our health, but have you ever thought why? You feel good, your skin looks marvelous and your body seems healthier than ever – these are the most fabulous sea water health benefits. But let’s discover why.
Sea Water has a Similar Composition as Our Blood Plasma
In order to understand the therapeutic virtues of the sea water, we will start with the following two facts:
- The medicinal use of sea water dates all the way back to 4th century B.C. when Hippocrates first used the word “thalassotherapy”.
- This word comes from the Greek thalassa, meaning water, and therapia, meaning to cure. Known also as the father of modern medicine, Hippocrates was the first to use sea water for healing purposes.
- Seawater contains the same 84 vital elements found also in the human body. These elements include vitamins, mineral salts, trace elements and amino acids. But sea water is also rich in living microorganisms that produce beneficial antibiotic, antimicrobial and antibacterial substances.
- Human beings have the natural ability to easily assimilate all these elements, for our bodies’ mineral constitution, as mentioned above, is very similar to that of the sea water. In fact, sea water contains almost the same concentration of minerals and trace elements as the human blood plasma.
Sea Water Skin Benefits
It is well known that spas all over the world use sea salt in their beauty and massage treatments. Why?
- The salt contained in the sea water helps remove toxins from the skin and acts as a natural exfoliator – it removes dead cells and encourages the production of the new ones.
- Sea water replenishes our skin with minerals. Magnesium in particular improves its hydration, as well as its overall appearance.
- One of the most important sea water health benefits lies in its ability to heal damaged and irritated skin.
- Sea water can reduce inflammation and help cure many skin disorders such as atopic dermatitis, rosacea, psoriasis and eczema.
- It has great antiseptic properties, very useful in healing minor wounds, cuts, rashes and abrasions – salt and potassium chloride seem to be majorly responsible for these beneficial, mending effects.
All in all, sea water greatly improves skin texture, increases its elasticity and alleviates and heals many skin discomforts.
How do you make sea salt water for your face?
Pour 1 teaspoon of sea salt with ½ cup of warm water into a spray bottle. Shake to combine. To use, simply spray the salty solution onto your face after cleansing.
Sea Water and the Immune System
Swimming in the sea water can greatly contribute to our overall health.
A study has shown that sea water-grown cherry tomatoes have higher amounts of antioxidants than those grown using fresh water. The study has further found that these tomatoes can improve the body’s defenses against heart disease and cancer. But this is not all!
- Being so rich in many vital elements, sea water has the ability to activate the body’s healing mechanism and boost the immune system. It opens skin pores, allowing them to absorb sea minerals, while helping them expel harmful toxins, responsible for numerous diseases.
- It also increases the level of oxygen in our bloodstream, and thereby the amount of beneficial elements needed by the blood to fight off free radicals.
- Sea air and sea mist are full of negatively charged hydrogen ions, which are powerful antioxidants. Inhaling sea mist can therefore improve the immune system and enhance the overall health of every cell and organ in our body.
- The iodine contained in sea water supports our immune system function and boosts the thyroid activity. Being a great natural antiseptic, it also considerably increases our body’s ability to fight infections and kill parasites, bacteria and fungus.
Two more benefits:
Sea water improves blood circulation, due to its high concentration of minerals.
In fact, thalassotherapy increases blood circulation by replenishing our body with essential minerals, which have been depleted due to different internal and external factors.
Sea water has also the ability to relieve cold and flu symptoms, as well as to cure bronchitis and sinusitis. Inhaling sodium chloride, or salt from sea water, helps loosen mucus and treat pulmonary problems.
Sea Water can Promote Psychological and Emotional Well-being
Reducing stress and healing the mind is however one the greatest sea water health benefits.
- Sea water and sun work in synergy to treat many emotional disorders, such as depression, nervousness, anxiety, apathy and many others.
- Magnesium, lithium and bromine contained in sea water are exceptional calming elements, which have the ability to stabilize and maintain proper serotonin, melatonin and tryptamine levels in the brain.
- Lithium, for example, is a medication that is often used to treat many psychological problems, and especially the bipolar disorder.
- The high content of magnesium in the sea water can efficiently help reduce stress, relax muscles and nerves, and induce calmness. In fact, minerals contained in the sea water are in some way natural hypnotics that promote good quality sleep and help cure insomnia.
In conclusion, sea water is an excellent treatment for many nervous problems and it can considerably increase the sense of well-being and relaxation.
Remember
“The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea.” (ISAK DINESEN)
So, stay salty and enjoy beautiful sound of waves for deep relaxation and calmness.
Be aware that everyday stress can consume us and make us completely lose our mind. Change your bad mood with these six tips you’ll expel stress from your life.
Have we missed any of sea water health benefits? Tell us how you feel when immersed in sea water and share your healthy experiences with us and other readers.
Great post!
Sea water over pool water anyday.Pool water destroys ur skin,while sea water has all those vitaminas and minerals to make ur skin better,yet people choose the pools.
Great post! Thanks so much for all this information!
I have a niece who has leukemia and a member of the family says are niece will be cured if she drinks sea water. I know sea water has his health benefits, but curing leukemia seems far fetched to me.
Thanks for the information. I would like to know how good is the sea water for the eyes?
I gave up swimming because it gave me red eyes. And I treasure my eyesight.
Sharing constructive knowledge is a kind jester encapsulated with honesty, which will always provide unthoug benefits that arrive from unexpected venues, the gift lies in being able to identify them.
Can we drink sea water? How much to drink everyday?
i dont think sea water contains vitamins
Wow you are a beauty, you’re like a bunch of ? bouquet.
I have just returned fro a two week vacation in Aruba and swam in the sea daily. I had ugly open sores on my face that were to be excised by a surgeon believing they were Basil cell tumours. These sores were all 100 % healed when I returned from vacation and I have postponed any surgery.
I would love to try drinking sea water. However, I´m concerned about how polluted the sea has become. How can I drink sea water without running the risk of getting sick from the pollution?
Wonderful. I’m going for the last three days to the beach to collect sea water and drink it.
I feel renovated and I’m telling all my friends and family.
There are compounds not found in food that are essential to our well-being, the soil in which we grow our food has been depleted of those micro-nutrients and trace minerals due to extensive monocropping, polycropping, and organic sustainable farming. Permaculture simulates nature’s patterns to farm not only in a sustainable way but goes beyond; trying to repair the damage that has been done. Plants have a secondary metabolism some of the have a third metabolism. In order to carry on the biological processes of their second metabolism they need those trace minerals and micronutrients but they deplete quite easily so permanent agriculture (permaculture) brings back the life diversity into the ground by having a wide array of plants and animals thriving as naturally as they can with a helping hand of humans. Sea water contains many compounds that fill the gaps in the DNA, just like wild fruits and vegetables.