Because of that belief, salt is often used as a medicinal conductor to enhance the effectiveness of kidney medicines. For example, the herbal compound Liuwei Dihuang Wan can be taken with some light salt water to enhance the medicine’s effect on the kidneys. Other medicinal materials, such as Morinda officinalis and Eucommia, can be stir-fried with salt to increase their kidney-related effects.

Value of Salt in Traditional Chinese Medicine

According to Shu, in ancient China, salt’s unique characteristics applied in the treatment of many diseases.

Bone Disease

TCM believes that the kidneys govern all the bony, hard substances (including the teeth). In ancient China, there were records of using salt water to treat bone-related diseases, such as loose teeth. Centuries later, this role has been affirmed by modern medical research.

“The kidney plays an important role in the regulation of bone development and metabolism,” notes a review study published in the Journal of Nephrology in 2016. “The kidney is the major organ involved in the regulation of calcium and phosphate homeostasis, which is essential for bone mineralization and development.”

How to do it: Put the salt in your mouth, rinse with warm water, and let the saltwater flow through the teeth. Do it 100 times every morning for five consecutive days, and the loose teeth can become firm once more.

Detoxification

To induce vomiting, fry salt until it’s yellow, add water to make a concentrated solution, and drink it. Because the stomach can’t hold the concentrated salt water, it will induce vomiting and help you expel the offending foods.

Sober Up

Some people drink too much alcohol, feel dizzy, have disrupted eyesight and nausea, but can’t vomit. If you drink a bit of light salt water to neutralize the alcohol, you will feel much better.

Detoxify Insect Bites

After being bitten by mosquitoes or stung by bees, you can mix salt with saliva and apply it to the affected area. Because saliva also has detoxification properties, the two work synergistically to help you heal.

Skin Diseases

For skin problems such as eczema, athlete’s foot, chilblain, and other skin problems, you can soak your feet in salt water.

Nasal Allergies

When you suffer from sneezing, runny nose, nasal congestion, and other symptoms without actually getting a cold, you can wash your nose with light salt water, flush it with water, and then blow it out. Make sure you use distilled or boiled water with a neti pot to avoid amoeba contamination, which can be very dangerous.

Swollen, Red, or Painful Eyes

When the eyes feel itchy, red, swollen, and painful and you have tears and eye mucus, you can use a cloth dipped in salt water to dab or wipe your eyes.

Dysmenorrhea and Cold Uterus

Before menstruation, you can stir-fry salt, apply it to the Guanyuan acupoint, then use moxa to burn on the salt, and change it after burning. Do this 30 minutes a day for the best results.

Salt Applied to 7 Everyday Ailments

Shu lists seven everyday conditions that can be treated with the emergency use of salt:

1. Female urinary tract infection: Put a teaspoon of salt in the sink or bath, add boiling water, and stir it. First, steam the affected part with the heat from the boiling water, and when the water gets cooler, take a 10–15 minute sitz bath, in which you sit in water up to your hips.

2. Prolapse of the anus and hemorrhoids: For the pain caused by prolapse of the anus and hemorrhoids, you can also use a saline bath to reduce inflammation, clear away heat, and detoxify and relieve the discomfort of the affected area.

3. Acute sore throat: Put salt water into the throat, keep it there for a few minutes, then spit it out. Repeat several times. The antipyretic and detoxifying properties of salt water can improve symptoms of inflammation, such as intense redness, swelling, and heat pain in the throat.

4. Acute oral inflammation: Add a teaspoon of salt to a glass of water and rinse your mouth with the solution repeatedly to improve oral ulcers.

5. Toothache: Dip a cotton swab in a little water, then dip the wet cotton swab in salt and put the salt on the painful area. This can help reduce inflammation and relieve pain.

6. Foot odor and beriberi: This is a problem of foot inflammation. You can prepare a foot bath using a spoonful of salt and half a basin of water and soak your feet in it for 15 minutes. A large, durable plastic storage bin can function as a basin.

7. Children’s frequent bed-wetting: You can stir-fry the salt, wait until it cools down, then spread a layer of salt on the child’s navel. Heat it with moxa and burn it on the salt, then replace it with another one after burning, and do this for 30 minutes a day. Frequent bed-wetting is a sign of kidney deficiency. Moxa won’t burn the skin, but the heat will penetrate deep into the body through salt, which can help treat this problem.

5 Types of People Who Shouldn’t Use Too Much Salt

1. Young children who are fed on milk: Children under 1-year-old who are still fed on milk aren’t suited to eating salt, because breast milk or formula milk already contains salt. It isn’t suitable to supplement this food with added salt.

2. Meat eaters: Meat contains a lot of salt, so people who eat a lot of meat should reduce their salt intake.

3. People with low libido: Having no sexual desire might be an indication that the kidney energy is insufficient; in which case, it isn’t recommended to eat too much salt, which can further damage the kidneys.

4. People with excessive phlegm and edema: Because salt has the property of retaining water, people with edema, too much body moisture, or excessive phlegm should eat as little salt as possible.

5. Thick skin: Salt is a chemical compound called sodium chloride. If you eat too much salt, the sodium ions in the body will increase, which will cause the facial cells to lose water and appear dry, and that will cause the skin to age and become thick.