Pomorie mud cure – beauty and long life

published on 8/2/12 12:45 PM

Photo: BGNES

Mud has always been considered a primary source of life – the substance that turns the grain into a plant thanks to the nutritional organic and chemical compounds in it. Besides being essential for the development of each living organism, it also has extreme healing properties. That is why people have learned how to cure any diseases with it. Thus for instance ancient Egyptians along the Nile used mud for healing of any pain in their joints. Women on the other hand used greased clay from the river silt to preserve their youth and beauty. The Romans also were quite aware of the properties of this unique natural gift and the soldiers of the empire recovered and healed their wounds in special basins of sea mud. Exactly this mud from the marine estuaries is considered most healing, since it contains a great variety of micro elements. “The salt sea lakes near Burgas are a source of such mud in Bulgaria, the Pomorie one among them,” says Associate Professor Stefka Tepavicharova from the Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

“The lakes are unique with the lye and mud that they contain,” she explains. “These are products that come as a result from the developed output of sea salt in Bulgaria. It is formed after evaporation of sea salt to a certain concentration, when it starts to crystallize. The product that remains after the extraction of the sea salt is called waste sea lye. However, it could be seen not only as a waste product, but as a precious material for the extraction of different inorganic salts, or as a major compound of medical or pharmaceutical preparations. The sea water itself contains dissolved different quantities of all chemical components and their concentration is manifold higher in the lye due to the water’s evaporation. Besides that seawater contains more sodium salts, while lye has more magnesium salts. It is also irreplaceable, since it is rich in different microphytes and microflora, unique for our salt lakes.”

Although Bulgaria is extremely rich in healing mud, no matter if it is firth /in the sea lakes near Varna and Burgas/, peat /the village of Baikal, Pernik region/ or mineral /the village of Marikostinovo near Petrich and the one of Banya near Karlovo/ mud healing in this country started to develop barely in the 19th century. The first mud-curing center in Bulgaria was built up in 1925, after the recommendation of Prof. Parashkev Stoyanov, the first mud healer in this country. Today the place is one of the biggest spa centers in Bulgaria, famous across the globe.

“Mud is a unique product, analogical to lye in terms of salts’ concentration. This is a whole balance system, enriched with the plant and animal species, situated on the bottom of the lake. Then inorganic compounds, sand- and clay-typed are added to those. There is a parallel between Black Sea salt lakes and Dead Sea. The waste lye from the salt extraction is close in terms of ingredients to the Dead Sea water. We know that the latter is one of the saltiest lakes, while the Black Sea is among the sweetest seas, but still there is a parallel. Being a chemist and researcher I state that lye is better than any salt from the Dead Sea. Besides that its biological ingredients make it skin-friendly despite the salt containing. So when you use lye the skin softens and hydrates – a joint effect, regarding beauty and health.”

Spa experts recommend bathtub procedures, compresses and rubbings in the course of two weeks in cases of problems with the musculoskeletal system. The healing effect can be felt after the 6th procedure. These should be made at least once a year, Associate Prof. Tepavicharova maintains.

“I do recommend the usage of lye for the healing of different problems with the musculoskeletal system and colds", Prof. Tepavicharova goes on to say. "The high concentration of magnesium is the major active ingredient of the lye and it has a relaxing effect either. The other microelements are also necessary for the human or animal organism. The baths allow the microelements to penetrate through the skin that serves as a sort of a membrane, which knows and lets precisely what is necessary to the body. When we take minerals orally we overload the body with an excessive quantity.”

English version: Zhivko Stanchev

По публикацията работи: Darina Grigorova

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Pomorie mud cure – beauty and long life

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