Can Salt Therapy Be Harmful?As with any health endeavor, it’s important to ask the important questions addressing both the pros, and the cons of salt therapy (also known as halotherapy).
There has been some negative feedback regarding halotherapy circulating the internet — and we should really look at the facts surrounding the subject (and clear up the myths).
- Is Halotherapy “Pseudoscience”?
Sciencebasedmedicine.org posts a misleading article Halotherapy – the latest pseudoscience, pointing out various claims being “fake” and calls the practice “pseudoscience.”
There may be a lack of credible scientific long-term studies on the subject — but that doesn’t make this a conclusive statement.
On the flipside, for perspective, there are many unhealthy practices in place today in mainstream medicine, for which there exist scientific studies, that are widely ignored. Such as chemotherapy¹,², or GMOs³, just to name a few. - Halotherapy is a Well Known, Ancient Practice
Halotherapy has been around since ancient times, and has only recently been “discovered” as a method of therapeutic alternative health medicine.
There are countless stories of the benefits of the saline rich waters of the Dead Sea. US News (health.usnews.com) refers to it as “a rejuvenating and healing destination.”
Halotherapy as a spa resort was first mentioned in records dating back to 12th century Poland, according to this New Westminster article, pointing out “noticeable improvement” in psoriasis, acne, and even joint pain.
In the 19th century a Polish physician found that salt miners had significantly fewer severe respiratory ailments, and looked much younger for their age, than coal or metal miners. He believed these health benefits were a result of breathing in the air in the salt-rich atmosphere in the salt mines. Shortly thereafter, going to salt mines and caves for healing purposes became popular form of therapy throughout Europe.
- Credible Evidence Supporting Halotherapy
- Version Weekly states that halotherapy “was developed after research, proved that the micro-climate in natural salt caves had a positive effect on respiratory health and skin.”
- ResearchGate.net concludes, in this study, “the medicine based upon salt is partially confirmed by the fact that the halo-therapeutic practices still exist in Moldavia today”, and “This validity is also confirmed through the biochemical scientific analysis of these practices.”
- One study by the Journal of Aerosol Medicine, Vol. 8, No. 3 found that patients with respiratory diseases showed improved symptoms after 10 – 20 one hour salt therapy treatments.
- Europe Pubmed Central produced a study that found that halotherapy helps improve those suffering from chronic bronchitis.
- Yet another study by the Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research concluded that halotherapy can help asthmatics who struggle with their symtoms during the night.
- This study conducted by several licensed medical doctors concluded that halotherapy seemed to help asthmatic children between the ages of 12 and 13.
The Conclusion
There are many other clinical studies not quoted on this page. The conclusion is that we could definitely benefit with more long term studies on the benefits of halotherapy.
There is certainly a lot credible evidence and reputable claims now available that suggest halotherapy can be of significant benefit for most of us — even if it’s just to relax and find your zen state.
Sources:
1. Negative impact of chemotherapy on breast cancer patients.
2. Breast cancer patients can safely skip chemotherapy.
3. Ten Scientific Studies Prove that Genetically Modified Food Can Be Harmful To Human Health.