Pharmacology does not stand still. Pharmaceutical companies develop new drugs based on the latest achievements, pushing the old onto the sidelines. For example, when Soviet women needed to lose weight quickly, they knew that Glauber’s salt would do the trick, which was sold for mere pennies at any drugstore. Today, a pharmacist will simply shrug his shoulders in response to such a request. After all, this drug can now only be purchased at a veterinary drugstore. It happened because it was replaced on the market by a more successful analogue – magnesium sulfate. However, there is still a difference between these laxatives.
Brief description
Complete chemical name: sodium sulfate decahydrate.
Other names:
- Glauber’s salt;
- Siberian salt;
- mirabilite;
- sodium sulfate;
- guijar (guixar).
Chemical formula: Na2SO4 * 10H2O.
Release form: coarse powder crystals, white.
Description:
- large transparent crystals;
- geometric shape of crystals – prisms;
- taste – bitter-salty;
- odor – absent;
- melts quickly in the mouth, instantly dissolves in water;
- does not burn;
- dehydrates in air and when heated, loses weight;
- after complete dehydration, it becomes simple sodium sulfate.
Main purpose: laxative.
Method of administration: orally, after dissolving in water.
Pharmacokinetics: is not absorbed in the intestines.
Sources:
- it is a mineral that is mined in Canada, Georgia, Turkmenistan, and Western Siberia;
- seawater;
- mineral water from the resorts of Karlovy Vary and Marienbad (Czech Republic);
- deposits and crusts on rock salt and gypsum formations.
From the annals of history: it was first discovered in the winter of 1626 by the German alchemist, chemist, pharmacist, and physician Johann Rudolf Glauber as part of mineral waters.
The origin of the name. Glauber called the substance he discovered mirabilite, because «mirabile» is translated from Latin as «wonderful», because this salt once cured him of typhoid fever when he was extremely serious.
The main question
In medicine and veterinary medicine, Glauber’s salt is used as an effective and quick-acting laxative. Therefore, it is not surprising that it is so popular as a means for losing weight. The trouble is that not so long ago it was excluded from the register of medicines for humans and was allowed to be used only as a veterinary drug.
Therefore, many people who want to get rid of extra pounds with the help of mirabilite are first of all concerned about the question: is it possible for a human to drink a solution of powder that is sold in veterinary pharmacies and veterinary clinics?
Many sources claim that Glauber’s salt, which doctors in Soviet times often prescribed to their patients as a laxative, is no different from the one that is now used in veterinary medicine. On the one hand, it is true that both of these drugs are produced in the form of pure powder, without any impurities. But, on the other hand, it should be borne in mind that the requirements for drugs intended for the treatment of humans and animals are different.
No doctor will officially prescribe this drug to his patient today. Although, on the vast expanses of the network, you can find many positive reviews about losing weight with its help. Therefore, when deciding on this method of losing weight, it should be remembered that all responsibility for the consequences will have to be borne independently. Are you ready to take a drug with the following inscriptions on the package: “For veterinary use”, “For animals”, “For veterinary use”?
To reduce weight, you can just as successfully use a number of other laxatives, which are functional analogues but are approved for use in official medicine – the same magnesium sulfate. Yes, mirabilite acts faster, but with such an aggressive effect on the intestinal walls and a much larger number of side effects.
Even more so, you should not order bright jars with the inscription “Glauber’s salt for people” or “Glauber’s salt for weight loss”, etc., from dubious Internet resources. It is a scam.
Effect
Useful properties:
- eliminates constipation;
- improves digestion;
- normalises metabolism;
- stimulates bile production;
- alleviates the condition in case of poisoning;
- binds toxic substances that enter the digestive tract with food, preventing them from being absorbed into the blood.
Constipation and severe forms of poisoning were the main indications for the use of Glauber’s salt in Soviet medicine.
Slimming effect:
- activates intestinal peristalsis, having a laxative effect;
- thereby frees the digestive tract from stagnant faecal masses;
- binds toxic substances in the stomach and removes them from the body;
- improves lymph flow;
- removes excess fluid due to diuretic properties (not as pronounced as in laxatives);
- cleanses the body.
Mirabilite helps reduce weight due to the elimination of faeces, toxins, waste and excess fluid. However, fat deposits do not disappear from this.
An interesting fact. Paustovsky’s story «Kara-Bugaz» tells about the extraction of Glauber’s salt in Turkmenistan. After its publication, colleagues began to call Paustovsky «the mirabilite of our literature».
