The power of salt

No, I’m not talking about the movie, although part of it was filmed in good old Albany and a big contributing factor to why I want to see it.  Anyway, I’m talking about salt the ingredient.  Not only does it make everything taste better, but it has also had a starring role in our household this past week.  I’m suffering from some hardcore allergies and my poor husband and daughter are both getting over colds, and salt is helping us getting over our maladies.

I’m a fervent believer in the neti pot, which basically looks like a little tea pot with an extra long snout., which you then use to put up your nose (sexy huh?).  The idea is to have the water flow through each nostril and rinse the sinuses using a salt and sodium bicarbonate mixture (baking soda).  I buy the premixed packages but you can Google neti rinse recipes.  It’s not the most attractive thing to be doing, but GODDAMN, do my sinuses feel clear after a good neti rinse. J was really, really against the neti pot for a long time, but he finally came around and is also a true believer.

So salt helps clear my sinuses, but gargling with a salt water mixture also helps ease the effects of cold symptoms (according to this NY TIMES Article).  J has been doing just that this past week, and it’s definitely helping.  So salt is pretty freaking amazing, isn’t it?