Pharmacology is a field that is constantly evolving. Based on the latest discoveries, pharmaceutical companies release new drugs, relegating the old ones to oblivion. For example, not too long ago, Soviet women who wanted to lose weight quickly knew that they could buy Glauber’s salt at any pharmacy for next to nothing. Today, pharmacists would just throw up their hands at such a request. After all, the only place where you can buy this drug now is at a veterinary clinic. Glauber’s salt was replaced in the market by a more effective analogue: magnesium sulfate. Nevertheless, there is a difference between these two laxatives.
Brief Description
Full chemical name: hydrated sodium sulfate decahydrate.
Alternative names:
- Sal glauberi;
- Siberian salt;
- Mirabilite;
- Sodium sulfate;
- Gujir
Chemical formula: Na2SO4 · 10H2O.
Form of release: white crystalline powder.
Description:
- large transparent crystals;
- geometric shape of the crystals — prisms;
- taste — bitter and salty;
- smell — absent;
- melts quickly in the mouth, dissolves instantly in water;
- non-flammable;
- effloresces upon prolonged exposure to the air and when heated, losing weight;
- after complete efflorescence, it becomes simply sodium sulfate.
Main purpose: laxative.
Dosage form: oral, after dissolving in water.
Pharmacokinetics: is not absorbed in the intestine.
Sources:
- it is a mineral extracted in Canada, Georgia, Turkmenistan, and Western Siberia;
- sea water;
- mineral water from the health resorts of Karlovy Vary, Mariánské Lázně (Czech Republic);
- coatings and crusts on rock salt and gypsum deposits.
Historical background: first discovered in the winter of 1626 by the German alchemist, chemist, pharmacist and physician Johann Rudolf Glauber as part of the composition of mineral waters.
Origin of the name. Glauber named the substance he discovered mirabilite because the Latin word “mirabile” means wonderful. After all, this salt had cured him of typhus when he was in a very serious condition.
Main Issue
In medicine and veterinary medicine, Glauber’s salt is used as an effective fast-acting laxative. Not surprisingly, it is in such high demand for weight loss. The problem is that not too long ago it was removed from the registry of drugs for people and was left only as a means of treating animals.
Therefore, many who want to get rid of excess weight specifically with the help of mirabilite are concerned with the main question: can you drink a solution of a powder sold in veterinary pharmacies and clinics?
Many sources claim that Glauber’s salt, which during Soviet times doctors prescribed to their patients as a laxative, is no different from that used in veterinary medicine today. On the one hand, it is true that both drugs are available as a pure powder without any impurities. On the other hand, it must be borne in mind that medicines intended for the treatment of people and animals are subject to different requirements.
Glauber’s salt
No doctor today will ever officially prescribe this drug for the treatment of their patient. Nevertheless, you can find a huge number of positive reviews about weight loss with its help. Therefore, if you decide on this method of weight loss, you need to be aware that you will have to take all responsibility for the consequences. Are you sure you want to take a drug whose packaging has the following labels: “For veterinary use”, “For animals”, “For veterinary applications”?
For weight loss, you can just as well use a lot of other laxatives, which are functional analogues of Glauber’s salt but are approved by official medicine — the same magnesium sulfate, for example. Yes, mirabilite acts faster, but it also has an aggressive effect on the intestinal walls and has many more side effects.
Moreover, you should not order bright jars with the label “Glauber’s Salt for People”, “Glauber’s Salt for Weight Loss”, etc. from dubious Internet resources. This is cheating.
Effect
Health benefits:
- aids against constipation;
- improves digestion;
- normalizes metabolism;
- stimulates formation of bile;
- alleviates symptoms during poisoning;
- blocks toxic substances that enter the gastrointestinal tract with food, and prevents them from being absorbed into the blood.
The main indications for the use of Glauber’s salt in Soviet medicine were constipation and severe forms of poisoning.
Effect for weight loss:
- strengthens intestinal peristalsis, having a laxative effect;
- this frees the gastrointestinal tract from accumulated fecal matter;
- binds with toxic substances present in the stomach and removes them from the body;
- improves lymph flow;
- eliminates excess fluid thanks to its diuretic properties (not as potent as its laxative properties);
- cleanses the body.
Mirabilite aids in weight loss by removing fecal matter, toxins, slags, and other waste, as well as excess fluid. However, fat deposits do not go anywhere in the process.
This is interesting. Paustovsky’s story “Kara-Bugaz” tells about the extraction of Glauber’s salt in Turkmenistan. After it was published, colleagues began to call the writer “mirabilite of our literature”.
Possible Harm
It is usually recommended to undergo medical examination and consult with a doctor and nutritionist before losing weight with any medications. However, such advice is useless when it comes to Glauber’s salt: no medical professional will prescribe a veterinary drug for humans. Therefore, if you decide on such an extreme method of losing weight, you can rely only on yourself. At the very least, you should familiarize yourself with the contraindications and side effects.
Contraindications:
- individual hypersensitivity;
- vitamin deficiency;
- anaemia;
- dehydration;
- serious gastrointestinal diseases, any intestinal disorders (especially diarrhea);
- cholecystitis;
- exacerbation of any chronic diseases;
- pregnancy, lactation;
- children and elderly people.
Side effects:
- dehydration;
- deficiency of minerals, vitamins and other useful substances, which are not absorbed by the body due to mirabilite and are actively removed from it as soon as they enter the gastrointestinal tract;
- prolonged, uncontrolled diarrhea;
- vomiting (it is rare, but possible);
- worsening of general condition;
- excessive pallor of the skin;
- bags and bruises under the eyes;
- weakness, lethargy, drowsiness;
- sharp mood swings, irritability;
- allergic reaction.
Considering the rather long list of side effects, it is not surprising that Glauber’s salt was replaced by magnesium sulfate. It has a milder effect on the gastric mucosa.
Application
Self-treatment with Glauber’s salt as a laxative for weight loss is problematic due to the fact that the drug instructions are written for animals. In them, you will find dosages for horses, cows, deer, sheep, etc. None of this is relevant to humans. Therefore, the drug has to be used according to the recommendations of people who have managed to lose weight with its help.
Firstly,
