Taking a bath is a dip into mental bliss. But a bath isn’t just for the immediate sense of calm and relaxation – it can also be a way to improve your physical health in a very direct way. A detox bath adds more meaning to your warm water soak.

Infused with cleansing ingredients, your bath water will eliminate toxins, pesticides, and heavy metals through your skin, leaving you feeling, looking, and actually being better. Here are three detox bath recipes for a cleansed mind, body, and soul.

1. Salt Detox Bath

Epsom salt draws out toxins from the body and absorbs into the skin to relax tired muscles, relieve pain and cramps, ease muscle and nerve tension, improve circulation, and regulate blood sugar.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Himalayan salt
• 1/4 cup Epsom salt
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 8 to 10 drops of lavender essential oil

Directions

Boil a few cups of water and pour the water into a pitcher. Add in the salts and baking soda. Stir until dissolved. Fill the tub with warm-hot water and pour in the apple cider vinegar, followed by the salt and baking soda hot water mixture and essential oil.

2. Clay Detox Bath

In addition to being full of nutrients, such as calcium, magnesium, silica, sodium, copper, iron, and potassium, bentonite clay is able to expel heavy metal toxins from the body. In doing so, it increases immunity and reduces inflammation.

Ingredients

• 2 cups bentonite clay

Directions

Fill the tub with warm-hot water. In a bowl, mix the clay with enough water to create a smooth, wet consistency. Dump the wet clay into the bath and use your body and hands to distribute the clay throughout the bath water.

3. Hydrogen Peroxide Detox Bath

Hydrogen peroxide is a natural antiseptic and thus a great way to clean wounds and prevent infections.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide

Directions

Pour the hydrogen peroxide into a bath full of water. Soak and enjoy!

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Bentonite clay is food? Yup.

When Shailene Woodley recently revealed that she ingests clay for its supposed health benefits, it was like the whole world turned primal and sought out the ancient practice. But are these health benefits for real? The answer is yes, but of course, that doesn’t mean you should jump the gun and start gnawing on clay pots whenever the opportunity presents itself. Instead, ingest with caution and you may benefit greatly. Here are three major ways your body will thank you.

When you purchase dietary clay, go for bentonite clay – it is an edible, mineral-rich clay used for centuries to pull toxins from the intestinal walls and cleanse the colon. Bentonite clay is comprised of ash minerals and ocean water as well as potassium, calcium and sodium. When wet, bentonite clay expands like a sponge. It acts like a magnet in the body to attract toxins, absorb them, and carry them out of the body.

Sonne’s #7 is a well-known, trusted brand. I’ve personally used it myself and like it. All you have to do is mix about 1 tablespoon of it in a glass of water each morning and drink on an empty stomach. Later in the day, you can ingest another tablespoon, but this time undiluted. The directions may vary from brand to brand. Whatever clay you purchase for your own use, rest assured you’ll benefit in these three major ways:

1. Radiation Absorption

In 2006, the Radiation Protection Dosimetry published a study that showed that bentonite clay was able to break bond links, form hydrolyzed ions and redox reactions. It ultimately was able to reduce radiation-induced effects with increased dosage. A Duke University study determined bentonite clay to be effective in lowering high-energy gamma irradiation of adenine, which is an important organic molecule in the human body that forms DNA, RNA and ATP. Another study published in Cellular and Molecular Biology in 2002, showed that irradiated adenine was able to recover faster in systems with clay than in those without clay.

2. Improved Digestion

Because bentonite clay is able to attract toxins and liquid and soak them up like a sponge, it allows them to exit the body efficiently. This is good for those who suffer from constipation or a sluggish bowel. Add some bentonite clay to your daily regimen and see how digestion flows thereafter.

3. Allergies Reduction

Because of its cleansing properties, bentonite clay is better known as the liver’s best friend. When the liver is overworked by toxins, it produces fewer antihistamines, which the body needs to fend off allergies. Luckily, this “cleansing” property extends to most other bodily ailments. When you detox, you repair all over!

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Photo Credit: Diana Robinson

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