Dan's Papers -January 9, 2009 - Exotic Pink Salt from Tibet will Heal what Ails You

Most people think of salt as something that needs to be cut out of their diets. But, in contrast to the iodized table salt used daily by many, exotic pink Himalayan crystal salt is an entirely different story.

The salt, culled from the mountains in Tibet, contains the 84 colloidal elements found in our body and recognized by our DNA, creating a natural balance within the body. When mixed with spring water and taken in small doses, the salt is thought to have amazing health benefits, from regulating the water in your body and promoting a healthy pH balance in your cells to helping with the absorption of food and aiding in respiratory health, vascular health, bone strength, blood pressure and sinus health among other things.

And now, East Enders can easily purchase this salt, thanks to Southampton native Bret Evans, who became a licensed vendor and importer of the salt and opened the shop, The Hampton's Original Himalayan Crystal Salt Company, on Montauk Highway, just down the block from Southampton College.

Having only used the salt himself for about a year, Evans first encountered it when he purchased a Himalayan crystal salt lamp and, knowing vaguely of the health benefits, he licked it. "I was amazed by the warming and magical colors, like when your eyes are closed at the beach and you're looking through your eyelids and see a warm pinkish red," he said. Having always been interested in homeopathic remedies, Evans eventually did the research online and discovered the book Water and Salt, written by German scientists and regaling the health benefits of the salt. Engaging in the salt therapy, he lost 26 pounds in a month. "A lot of physical changes happened to my body that were amazing to me. I said, 'This is for me. This is where my passion is.' So I wanted to bring that same health to the Hamptons and to the masses."

There are different ways to utilize the Himalayan crystal salt. First is the salt and water mixture, where you let the salt dissolve in spring water overnight until it is diluted down to 26% (it stops when there are enough crystals in the water). Then, you drink a teaspoon of this mixture with a glass of regular spring water every day. The first month of doing this has a cleansing effect on the body, Evans says. "Anything in your intestines, it cleanses out and changes the body from an acidic base to a normal pH."

One teaspoon of the mixture contains 411 milligrams of salt, when our body requires 1,500 a day to survive. It's suggested that once you start using the crystal salt, you eschew overly processed foods with high sodium from heavy usage of iodized table salt that has more detriments than benefits for your body. "It's not the quantity, it's the quality of the salt," Evans said.

And there are other uses. You can cook with the crystal salt, replacing your table salt. Salt lamps and tea lights made of it improve air quality in whatever room their in. Evans brushes his teeth with the salt water solution. He also sells salt platters to serve and cook food on and salt licks for your pets.

You can also bathe in the salt water (a three pound bag of the salt is used for a normal 30-gallon bathtub.) This can be done on any day, but the greatest benefits come when you bathe in it on a full or a new moon. On a full moon, your body will absorb the 84 colloidal elements through the skin easily, like osmosis, Evans says, while bathing in the salt solution on a new moon is a detox for the body, the equivalent of a two or three day cleansing fast.

And for those who are skeptical, Evans already has many dedicated and repeat customers who have given testaments to how the Himalayan crystal salt has improved their health, from aiding people with third stage Lyme's disease to curing arthritis to ridding the body of harmful, heavy metals.