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Halotherapy: Discover the Amazing Healing Power of Salt

The AHA! Team — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 05:04:10 +0000

Dr. Veronique Desaulniers via NaturalHealth365 – Have you heard about halotherapy? “Halo” literally means “salt” in Greek. For centuries, monks there and elsewhere in Europe used naturally occurring “salt caverns” in their local regions to heal respiratory conditions and skin ailments and energize the mind. Now, modern healthcare providers are getting into the act, offering “salt room therapies” for common health issues like, COPD and other breathing problems. Can natural salt really help you heal from chronic health issues? Centuries of practical use and modern research say “yes” – and here’s why. Halotherapy inside the modern “Salt Cave” is enhanced by technology These days, a person doesn’t need to seek out a cave to benefit from salt’s healing effects. Many modern “salt rooms” (called “halotherapy” or “speleotherapy” clinics) use “therapeutic dry saline aerosol microclimate” technology to ionize the air in specialized rooms and saturate it with low levels of NaCl (i.e., salt). The total environment in the salt room, including temperature, humidity, and salt concentration, is controlled by trained professionals through computer monitors based on the patient’s needs. Europe has a long and colorful history with salt therapy. In addition to the monks’ testimonies, in the 1840s, Dr. Felix Bochkowsky, a Polish occupational health doctor, noticed that salt miners were healthier than the average person, in stark contrast to their unfortunate coworkers in the metal and coal industries. Then, during World War II, salt mines were used as bomb shelters in Germany, and the same basic phenomenon was discovered. When asthmatics reemerged from the mines after the threat was over, they breathed easier and were in better overall health. Halotherapy is growing in popularity, and science validates its healing power In the 1950s, a slew of mostly Russian research studies verified the health benefits of salt. As a result, halotherapy chambers began to open en masse in Eastern Europe. Soon, halotherapy became part of many Eastern European countries’ prepaid socialized medical systems. Today, “speleotherapy” clinics can be found throughout Eastern Europe, including Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Russia, and Poland. Salt rooms (and caves) are scattered throughout the United States, although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved salt as a “recognizable medical treatment.” Halotherapy “salt rooms” are mostly found in American spas and beauty centers. Salt loads the environment with healing and life-affirming negative ions Have you ever wondered why a trip to the beach always feels so refreshing? In large part, the invigoration you feel near the sea has to do with negative ions released through massive amounts of salt water. In the same way, dry salt releases negative ions into the air, which is a large part of why salt is so healing to the body. These ions can attach themselves to harmful bacteria, mold spores, viruses, and other positively charged airborne toxins. As the air becomes saturated with negative ions, the load becomes too heavy for harmful positively charged pathogens, and they simply float away. These kinds of airborne pathogens, as well as man-made chemical pollutants, are the real harm behind indoor and outdoor air pollution. Study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), based on half a million individual patient records, long-term exposure to pollutants in the air can lead directly to cardiopulmonary disease and lung cancer. On the other hand, being immersed in and breathing natural salt can greatly improve many chronic respiratory diseases and other chronic conditions. By the way, if indoor air pollution is a big problem for you … be sure to use a high quality indoor air purification system to keep your immediate air space clean. Dry salt “Dry salt goes deep into the recesses of your lungs,” says Ulle Pukk, cofounder of the US-based Salt Therapy Association, in an interview with Harpers-Bazarre. “It absorbs impurities from your body and helps break up mucus so you can cough out toxins. When you have clean lungs, you get more oxygen, which gives you more energy, impacts every organ in your body, and improves overall well-being.” Use a salt lamp in your home to get the benefits of halotherapy Salt therapy is 100% natural and safe for people of all ages, including babies. One easy way to enjoy salt’s benefits every day is to buy a Himalayan salt lamp for your home or office. These lamps are usually illuminated by a candle or soft light bulb placed in a hole in the middle and can add up to 300 times more negative ions to your indoor space. Their wonderful glow is relaxing, and you will also receive the many benefits of salt for more health and a vibrant, energized life! Sources for this article include: NIH.gov NIH.gov NIH.gov Intechopen.com Halotherapysolutions.com Saltroom.com Harpersbazaar.com To read the original article click here.

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DIY Poo Spray

The AHA! Team — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 05:40:53 +0000

Candice Bruhn via Dr. Axe – Our bodies were made with a perfect system to bring energy in through eating and allow the waste to exit through, well, you know. As perfect as this system is, our poo does not always smell very neutral. In fact, depending on our diet, digestive health and overall health, odors can vary from mild to extreme. For many years, people have been sold on spray fragrances and fragrant candles to mask odors; however, these scents are often made of very toxic ingredients that pollute indoor air with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Synthetic fragrances – host of health issues In addition to concentrating pollution inside of our homes, synthetic fragrances can cause a host of health issues, ranging from male reproductive problems, allergies, hormone disruption, cancer and much more. Before ever reaching for your synthetically scented poop spray again or purchasing the pricey Poo Pouri, try this all-natural bathroom spray — call it a DIY poo pourri — that serves as an affordable and effective alternative. How to Make A DIY Poop Spray It’s surprisingly easy and only requires three ingredients. In a small glass spray bottle, add 1 teaspoon of isopropyl alcohol (or rubbing alcohol). Next, add 40 drops of essential oils to rubbing alcohol, and gently swish to combine. I choose 15 drops lavender, 15 drops lime and 10 drops lemongrass. You can swap out whatever essential oils you have on hand, or go with a seasonal aproach, such as flower-like scents for the spring, citrus for summer, woodsy for fall and spices for the winter! Lastly, carefully pour in 3 ounces of distilled (or purified) water. Boiled water completely cooled (!) is a good alternative. Give it a good shake and you’re good to go. 🙂 How to use your DIY poo pray? Simply spray 3–4 pumps into toilet bowl, misting the water with this essential oil spray prior to using the bathroom. BONUS: This also works as an effective air freshener for after bathroom use as well. How does poo spray work? Essential oil–based bathroom sprays leave a film on top of the water that is said to trap odors from bodily waste and keep them below the surface. As waste hits the film and enters the water, a pleasant bloom of essential oil fragrance is released into the air, not only masking unpleasant odors, but also leaving a pleasant smell behind. The next time you feel the urge, give this natural bathroom spray a try and toss out the synthetic products. DIY Poo Spray Author: Candice Bruhn | Total Time: 5 minutes | Yield: 40 uses Before ever buying a synthetically scented poop spray or purchasing the expensive Poo Pourri brand, try this all-natural bathroom spray that serves as an affordable and effective alternative. Ingredients 1 teaspoon isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol 40 drops of essential oil (I used 15 drops lavender, 15 drops lime, 10 drops lemongrass) 3 ounces distilled water (boiled water completely cooled is a good alternative) Instructions In a small glass spray bottle, add 1 teaspoon of isopropyl alcohol. Add 40 drops of essential oils to rubbing alcohol, and gently swish to combine. Carefully pour in 3 ounces of distilled (or purified) water. Shake and use when ready! Notes Spray 3–4 pumps into toilet bowl, misting the water with this essential oil spray prior to using the bathroom. BONUS: This also works as an effective air freshener for after bathroom use as well. Prep Time: 5 min | Method: Mixing To read the original article click here.

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Giant Viruses Found on Greenland Ice Sheet

The AHA! Team — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 08:39:57 +0000

Aarhus University via EurekAlert! – The viruses probably regulate the growth of snow algae on the ice by infecting them. Knowing how to control these viruses could help us reduce some of the ice from melting Every spring when the sun rises in the Arctic after months of darkness, life returns. The polar bears pop up from their winter lairs, the arctic tern soar back from their long journey south and the musk oxen wade north. But the animals are not the only life being reawakened by the spring sun. Algae lying dormant on the ice starts blooming in spring blackening large areas of the ice. When the ice blackens it’s ability to reflect the sun diminishes and this accelerates the melting of the ice. Increased melting exacerbates global warming. But researchers might have found a way to control the snow algae growth – and maybe in the long run reduce some of the ice from melting. Living on the ice alongside the algae, postdoc Laura Perini from the Department of Environmental Science at Aarhus University and her colleagues, have found giant viruses. She suspects that the viruses feed on the snow algae and could work as a natural control mechanism on the algae blooms. – We don’t know a lot about the viruses, but I think they could be useful as a way of alleviating ice melting caused by algal blooms. How specific they are and how efficient it would be, we do not know yet. But by exploring them further, we hope to answer some of those questions, she says. Bigger than bacteria Viruses are normally much smaller than bacteria. Regular viruses measure 20-200 nanometers in size, whereas a typical bacteria is 2-3 micrometers. In other words, a normal virus is around 1000 times smaller than a bacteria. That is not the case with giant viruses though. Giant viruses grow to the size of 2,5 micrometers. That is bigger than most bacteria. But the giant viruses are not only bigger in size. Their genome is much bigger than regular viruses. Bacteriophages – virus infecting bacteria – have between 100.000 and 200.000 letters in their genome. Giant viruses have around 2.500.000. Never found on the ice before Giant viruses were first discovered in 1981, when researchers found them in the ocean. These viruses had specialized in infecting green algae in the sea. Later, giant viruses were found in soil on land and even in humans. But it’s the first time that giant viruses have been found living on the surface ice and snow dominated by microalgae, Laura Perini explains. – We analyzed samples from dark ice, red snow and melting holes (cryoconite). In both the dark ice and red snow we found signatures of active giant viruses. And that is the first time they’ve been found on surface ice and snow containing a high abundance of pigmented microalgae. A few years ago everyone thought this part of the world to be barren and devoid of life. But today we know that several microorganisms live there – including the giant viruses. – There’s a whole ecosystem surrounding the algae. Besides bacteria, filamentous fungi and yeasts, there are protists eating the algae, different species of fungi parasitizing them and the giant viruses that we found, infecting them. – In order to understand the biological controls acting on the algal blooms, we need to study these last three groups. Haven’t seen them with the naked eye Even though the viruses are giant, they can’t be seen with the naked eye. Laura Perini hasn’t even seen them with a light microscope yet. But she hopes to do so in the future. – The way we discovered the viruses was by analyzing all the DNA in the samples we took. By sifting through this huge dataset looking for specific marker genes, we found sequences that have high similarity to known giant viruses, she explains. To make sure that the viral DNA didn’t come from long dead microorganisms, but from living and active viruses, they also extracted all the mRNA from the sample. When the sequences of the DNA that form genes are activated, they are transcribed into single stranded pieces called mRNA. These pieces work as recipes for building the proteins the virus needs. If they are present the virus is alive. – In the total mRNA sequenced from the samples, we found the same markers as in the total DNA, so we know they have been transcribed. It means that the viruses are living and active on the ice, she says. DNA and RNA in viruses At the center of the giant viruses is a cluster of DNA. That DNA contains all the genetic information or recipes needed to create proteins – the chemical compounds that are doing most of the work in the virus. But in order to use those recipes, the virus needs to transcribe them from double-stranded DNA to single stranded mRNA. Normal viruses can’t do that. Instead they have strands of RNA floating around in the cell waiting to be activated, when the virus infects an organism and hijacks its cellular production facilities. Giant viruses can do that themselves which makes them very different from normal viruses. Whereas DNA from dead viruses can be found in samples, mRNA is broken down much faster. mRNA is therefore an important marker of viral activity. In other words mRNA-recipes of certain proteins show that the viruses are alive and kicking. Not sure exactly how they work Because giant viruses are a relatively new discovery not a lot is known about them. In contrast to most other viruses they have a lot of active genes that enable them to repair, replicate, transcribe and translate DNA. But why that is and exactly what they use it for is not known. – Which hosts the giant viruses infect, we can’t link exactly. Some of them may be infecting protists while others attack the snow algae. We simply can’t be sure yet, Laura Perini says. She’s working hard on discovering more about the giant viruses and has more research coming out soon. – We keep studying the giant viruses to learn more about their interactions and what is exactly is their role in the ecosystem. Later this year we’ll release another scientific with some more info on giant viruses infecting a cultivated microalgae thriving on the surface ice of the Greenland Ice Sheet, she concludes. Journal Microbiome DOI 10.1186/s40168-024-01796-y To read the original article click here.

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