The pharmaceutical industry does not stand still. Pharmaceutical companies release new products based on the latest discoveries, replacing the old ones. So, quite recently, Soviet women who wanted to quickly lose weight knew that there was Glauber’s salt for this purpose, which was sold for a penny in every pharmacy. Today, the pharmacist will shrug his shoulders in response to such a request because the only place where you can still buy this product is in a veterinary pharmacy. And even then, only because it has been squeezed out of the market by a more successful analogue — magnesium sulfate. Although there is one difference between these laxatives.
Brief description
Full chemical name: sodium sulfate decahydrate.
Other names:
- Glauber salt;
- Siberian salt;
- Mirabilite;
- Sodium sulfate;
- Gujjar.
Chemical formula: Na2SO4 · 10H2O.
Release form: white crystalline powder.
Description:
- large transparent crystals;
- geometric shape of crystals — prisms;
- taste — bitter-salty;
- odor — absent;
- quickly melts in the mouth, instantly dissolves in water;
- not combustible;
- with prolonged exposure to air and when heated, it is weathered, losing weight;
- after complete weathering it turns into simple sodium sulfate.
Purpose: laxative.
Method of application: orally, after dissolving in water.
Pharmacokinetics: not absorbed by the intestines.
Sources:
- extracted as a mineral deposit in Canada, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Western Siberia;
- seawater;
- mineral waters of Karlovy Vary and Marianske Lazne (Czech Republic);
- scum and crusts on rock salt and gypsum deposits.
Historical background: first obtained in the winter of 1626 by the German alchemist, chemist, pharmacist, and physician Johann Rudolph Glauber from mineral waters.
Origin of the name. Glauber named the substance mirabilite, which means “wonderful” in Latin. This salt saved him from typhus when he was in extremely serious condition.
The main question
In human and veterinary medicine, Glauber’s salt is used as an effective and fast-acting laxative. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that it is so popular for weight loss. The problem is that not so long ago it was excluded from the register of medicines for human use, remaining only as a means of veterinary medicine.
Therefore, many people who want to get rid of extra pounds with the help of mirabilite are concerned about the main question: can a person drink a solution of powder sold in veterinary pharmacies and hospitals?
Numerous sources claim that Glauber’s salt, which was once prescribed by Soviet doctors as a laxative, is no different from that which is used in veterinary medicine today. On the one hand, it is true that both products are pure powder, free of impurities. However, it is worth remembering that the requirements for medicines intended for the treatment of people and animals are different.
Glauber’s salt
Today, no doctor will officially prescribe this drug to his patient for treatment, although there are a lot of positive reviews about losing weight with it. That is why, when deciding to use this method of losing weight, you need to understand that you will have to take all responsibility for the consequences yourself. Are you ready to take a drug marked: “For veterinary use,” “For animals,” “Veterinary medicine”? For equally effective weight loss, you can use a whole range of other laxatives that are its functional analogues, but are approved by official medicine — such as the same magnesium sulfate. Yes, mirabilite will work faster, but it will also irritate the intestinal walls more aggressively and have more side effects.
Moreover, you should not order colorful jars with the inscriptions “Glauber’s salt for people” or “Glauber’s salt for weight loss”, etc. on unverified Internet resources. This is fraud.
Mechanism of action
Therapeutic effects:
- helps with constipation;
- improves digestion;
- normalizes metabolism;
- stimulates bile secretion;
- reduces symptoms of poisoning;
- binds toxic substances that enter the digestive tract with food, preventing their absorption into the blood.
Constipation and severe poisoning were the main indications for the use of Glauber’s salt in Soviet medicine.
Slimming effect:
- activates intestinal peristalsis, which leads to a laxative effect;
- clears the gastrointestinal tract from fecal stones;
- binds toxic substances in the gastrointestinal tract and removes them from the body;
- improves lymph flow;
- removes excess fluid, having a diuretic effect (although weaker than laxative);
- cleanses the body.
Mirabilite promotes weight loss by removing feces, toxins, waste products and other waste, as well as excess fluid. Body fat, however, does not go anywhere.
Fun fact: Paustovsky’s novel “Kara-Bugaz” describes the extraction of Glauber’s salt in Turkmenistan. After its publication, the writer’s colleagues began to call him “the mirabilite of our literature”.
Possible harm
As a rule, before losing weight with the help of any medicines, it is recommended to undergo a medical examination and consult with a doctor and nutritionist. However, such a recommendation is absolutely useless in the case of Glauber’s salt: no qualified doctor will prescribe a veterinary drug to a person. Therefore, when deciding on such an extreme method of losing weight, you will have to rely only on yourself. At the very least, you should familiarize yourself with its contraindications and side effects.
Contraindications:
- individual intolerance;
- hypovitaminosis;
- anemia;
- dehydration;
- serious gastrointestinal disorders, any problems with bowel movements (diarrhea, in particular);
- cholecystitis;
- aggravation
