Epsom salt: a powerful cure-all discovered by chance by a cowherd

There is nothing better than a wellness strategy that is cheap, requires absolutely no effort and that perhaps even gives you an excuse to do something that you might otherwise consider a “guilty pleasure”. Such as wallowing in a bath until the ends of your fingers look like prunes. Let’s talk about magnesium sulphate heptahydrate, more commonly known as Epsom salt.

As the name suggests, Epsom salt hails from the town of Epsom in Surrey, where saline springs push through the chalk of the North Downs. The salt’s unique properties were first discovered in the 17th century when a cowherd called Henry Wicker noticed that his cattle refused to drink from a particular pool on Epsom Common even in hot and thirsty weather, though the water looked perfectly clear and fresh. Upon tasting the water himself however, Wicker discovered that it had a bitter taste. Fortunately, he also noticed that small wounds upon those cows which would venture into the spring-fed pool seemed to heal more quickly.

Wicker shared his observations with his mates, word spread and pretty soon people were travelling from all over the county and further afield to benefit from the water’s miraculous properties. An early Dutch visitor, William Schellinks, wrote: “Some drink 10, 12, even 15 or 16 pints in one journey, but everyone as much as he can take. And one must then go for a walk, works extraordinarily excellent, with various funny results.” Which possibly refers to the salt’s speedy laxative effects. Anyway, Epsom became a spa town with a fancy new assembly room and dancing and pig-racing on weekdays.

The springs on Epsom Common dried out in the 18th century and these days it’s made elsewhere, but the compound still bears the town’s name and, more than three and a half centuries since Henry Wicker made his discovery, Epsom salt can be found on the World Health Organisation’s model list of essential medicines alongside such greats as penicillin and aspirin. It’s still well known as a laxative but it has other impressive applications too. In a paste it can be used to “draw” infection from pustulating skin conditions. It can be nebulised to treat asthma. It is used in the prevention of eclampsia in pregnancy. It’s also an anti-arrhythmic, that can help to manage abnormal heart rhythms.

But we can all benefit from Epsom salt in more mundane situations. In her new book, Staying Alive in Toxic Times: A Seasonal Guide to Lifelong Health (Yellow Kite, £18.99), Dr Jenny Goodman proposes an Epsom salt bath as one of the quickest ways to top up low levels of magnesium.

Magnesium is vital for all sorts of bodily functions. It regulates blood sugar levels. It helps maintain healthy blood pressure. It supports our muscles and nerves. It’s an essential building block for our bones. A mild deficiency can cause symptoms such as nausea and fatigue. At its most extreme, it can cause seizures, abnormal heart rhythm and even personality changes. It’s been implicated in osteoporosis and type 2 diabetes. Alas, as Dr Goodman writes: “Almost all of us are magnesium deficient, for reasons to do with diet, stress and pollution.”

Dr Goodman points out that it’s harder than ever to get the nutrients we need from our food (magnesium can be found in green leafy vegetables, nuts, beans and whole grains) since the soil in which we grow it is increasingly depleted by over-farming. Therefore she recommends a bath containing between 250 – 500 grams of Epsom salts every night for a few months, reasoning that “it is in fact easier to absorb magnesium through the skin than it is orally.”

It’s not entirely certain that magnesium can be effectively absorbed through the skin – factors such as the heat of the bath and the length of time you’re prepared to sit in it obviously come into play – but perhaps the magnesium isn’t the most important part of the compound anyway. Dr Jordan also cites the work of University of Birmingham’s Professor Rosemary Waring, who has shown through her research that Epsom salt baths definitely can improve plasma sulphate levels.

Why are sulphates important? Because they’re essential to many of the metabolic processes in the body. In particular, sulphates affect the production of the gut mucins, those proteins which line the digestive system. Mucins block the escape of toxins from the gut into the bloodstream. A damaged or depleted mucin layer causes the “leaky gut” found in irritable bowl syndrome. Sulphate deficiency is also implicated in rheumatoid arthritis, since sulphates are essential to the production of protein in our joints. They are vital for the development of brain tissue too.

Low plasma levels of sulphate have been found in people living with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and in those on the autistic spectrum. The anecdotal evidence that Epsom salt baths can reduce symptoms of anxiety and stress in both adults with Alzheimer’s disease and in children with autism is compelling. On thinkingautism.org.uk, a parent writes: “We read about Epsom salt baths and felt there was nothing to lose in trying these simple, traditional bath salts. We were very surprised to see they had an immediate calming effect.”

There seems to be no end to the applications and benefits of this accidental 17th-century discovery. The American Epsom Salt council suggests Espom salt baths for reducing inflammation and itching, for fending off colds and flu, for easing muscle aches and joint pain and improving sleep. You can use it as an exfoliator as part of a beauty routine. You can use it in the garden to make your plants greener and bushier, yet at the same time somehow less attractive to slugs and snails. The council even suggests several “crafting” applications. You can even make Epsom salt Play-dough which has the added benefit that it “softens hands rather than drying them out”. And, perfect for this time of year, it is just the thing for making Christmas displays including DIY snowballs. Just roll a glue covered polystyrene ball in the stuff, et voila! The kids will never know the difference unless they catch one in the side of the head...

However, a bath still seems like the winning way to use this natural wonder product that, at the time of writing, you can pick up for just £2.50 per kilogram in Sainsburys. If you’ve got a really big tub, Waitrose Pets has some for your horse. Even if you’ve only got a shower, Dr Goodman suggests that an old-fashioned footbath will bring you all the benefits once enjoyed by Henry Wicker’s cows. However it works, a warm Epsom salt bath on a cold, wintry night just feels really, really good.