Salt Water Flush as a Natural Cleansing Method
Is a Salt Water Flush Cleansing Your System or Poisoning It?
It's called a salt water flush and it's one of the hottest trends in do-it-yourself medicine. But is a salt water flush safe? Could a salt water flush be dangerous?
Here's what those websites don't tell you about the practice known as a salt water flush.
You're Not "Cleansing" Your Body--You're Simply Loading It With Sodium
A single teaspoon of salt contains around 2300 mg of sodium. That's more than most doctors recommend you consume over the course of an entire day. But a salt water flush typically doesn't just use one teaspoon--most "flushers" recommend two spoonfulls or more. That means that you're asking your body to process--in a relatively short span of time--more than twice as much sodium as you would normally eat in every meal of your day combined.
The diarrhea you experience as a result of a salt water flush isn't evidence of your body's attempt to rid itself of parasites, pollutants and toxic buildup. Your body is simply trying to purge itself of excess sodium as quickly as possible.
Salt Water Flushing Isn't "Natural"
Dr. Andrew Weil stops short of calling salt water flushing dangerous, but in a recent Q&A segment on his website he expressed concern over the amount of sodium consumed during a flush. And Dr. Weil also reminds his clients that your body does a fairly good job of "detoxing" all by itself. Contrary to claims made on websites, blogs and discussion forums around the 'net, you don't need to subject your body to such an extreme experience to be healthy.
Potential Long-Term Dangerous of Salt Water Flushes
While your body needs some sodium to function properly, most Americans get more sodium then they actually need. Excessive sodium intake has been linked to the development of kidney stones, high blood pressure and other health problems.
To understand the potential dangerous of a salt water flush, it's important to understand how your kidneys deal with sodium. Your kidneys act as the sodium regulators of your body. What effect do you think dumping a large amount of salt into your system will have on those delicate organs?
Also, it's important to remember that when your kidneys can't eliminate sodium quckly enough, the sodium begins to accumulate in your blood. Sodium in your blood attracts and holds water, effectively "thickening" your blood. This means that your heart has to work harder and your blood pressure rises.
Some salt water flush advocates claim that the ratio of salt to water is so perfectly balanced that your body isn't able to absorb the sodium. But neither they nor the author who first popularized this technique offer any proof that this is true or any scientific explanation for how it could possibly work. So, after looking at both sides of this argument, does salt water flushing still sound like a healthy way to detox to you?
Studies & Opinions Referenced in this Article:
National Kidney Foundation. (2006). Clinical Practice Guidelines for Peritoneal Dialysis Adequacy.
Weil, A. (2007). Sea-Salt Flush: What's the Best Cleansing Regime? Q & A Library, DrWeil.com
American Heart Association. (2007). Sodium.
Jackson Siegelbaum Gastroenterology. (2006). Kidney Stone Diet.
Published by You Know, That Writer
Thanks, AC for 4 great years Our time together ends now, I fear "To each his own" is a motto I hold But the fetus eating article was just way to bold. View profile
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- Sat water flushing uses more than double your daily intake of sodium.
- Excessive salt intake has been linked to high blood pressure, kidney disease and other problems.
21 Comments
Post a CommentI have done the salt water flush and I must say it worked for me. I did the flush for 2 weeks and my body feels great. I am full of energy. I had no side effects, and no high blood pressure. Once you drink the solution, it comes out of the body within 30 minutes and sometimes sooner than that. With that being said how harmful could it be if it's not retained in the body.
There are a few points to consider that the author failed to recognize when writing this article:
1. You must use non-iodized, natural sea salt as part of the cleanse.
2. You are creating a saline solution when you mix water and sea salt.
3. Saline is not broken down into separate parts by the kidneys.
4. Saline is commonly used medically for direct infusion into the blood stream. i.e. It's not harmful to the body.
5. The speed at which the solution is eliminated is proof that it is not being absorbed into the body.
6. It is crucially important that this is done on an empty stomach and that you do not ingest food while saltwater cleansing.
The article focuses heavily on 'sodium' and it's harmful effects on the human body and even mentions how sodium binds to water in your blood. This is true. But the sodium is already bound to water when you drink it. This is why it can't be absorbed and is eliminated. It never makes it to your blood stream!
It's true that if you drink seawater you'll dehydrate and die. This is because your body cannot separate the salt and water when they are mixed together. It comes straight out of you.
This shouldn't be done every day, but it's beneficial when done from time to time.
Hey dead guy sorry to hear that the SWF killed you but somehow it has allowed you to post comments from beyond the grave. I have been using the SWF for about three years every 3 months or so and it works great. 1 liter ow warm water with 2 tbs of sea salt. Sometimes it will give you cramps or make you slightly lightheaded, but afterwards I always feel much better. If done correctly it's not dangerous at all, I have high blood pressure and it doesn't affect it at all, if anything it's lower after the flush. Do your homework ppl, this method has been used for hundreds of years to treat a variety of conditions and for general well being
I've never run across this site's articles, looked to see who authored this "You know, That Writer" - ? A more intelligent argument could be made w/out nasty or negative comments. Interested in trying it, I have iodized sea salt (recommended by one site, but I see there are other opinions on this, I need to look into that!). Glad to see reference to Dr. Weil, who does say "be aware that the body does a pretty good job of cleansing and purifying itself. If you focus on good nutrition, regular exercise, and other healthy habits, you won't feel the need to do this sort of thing. " HOWEVER, some of us have health problems and need to take additional measures. I found more help w/ alternative remedies than I got from M.D's who failed to diagnose Lyme disease for years (common, see ILADS.org). Juice fasting made me feel better than I could imagine. I've read that people feel great and get healthier using the salt flush, might be because sea salt is a
I tried the sea salt flush with 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt and 16 oz of water for 3 days and got rid of a cluster of white worms in my stool. My feet were swollen from the salt, but, went away after I stopped. I never felt so clean on the inside and I didn't get sick. Just use less salt.
Where do the people who write this trash come from? What's their motivation???
Un-iodized sea-salt never get processed by the kidneys in the first place. Who "cleanses" with table salt?
What an idiot.
This article is truly biased, as the actual SEA Salt Flush does not instruct you to use normal table salt... Daniel is correct when he explains that sea salt cannot be digested.
The author needs to further research topics like this before misinforming the public.
The 32 oz. solution of NaCl + H2O exits the body within hours and is not absorbed. Kidney stones are not caused by Sodium alone.
The key here is UN iodized sea salt.This is because the solution is indigestible. You may have heard that, if you are stranded at sea, drinking sea water will only dehydrate you more. This is why. It just comes right out of you because the mixture has the same gravity as your blood and is not absorbed.
The above article is an abomination. Never trust one reference point of knowledge, do your research people.
I tried the salt water flush with sea salt at the correct ratio and it killed me. So I'd say it's probably not safe. Glad I could help!