Salt of the Sea

Salt gets a bad rap. Most of us in North America eat mountains of it every year without even realizing it. Did you know that many European brands heavily salt their products, such as cheese, for export, assuming that we can’t tolerate milder tastes? Hello, high blood pressure! Well, there’s salt and there’s salt. When it comes to health, taking the waters – salty waters – is enjoying a revival. Formerly the habit of gout-ridden royals who would spend a month or so at the seaside resorts in places like Évian-les-Bains and Biarritz to repair their saturated livers and congested kidneys, today’s spas cater to busy professionals who need to recharge but care little for the boot-camp approach to wellness. January is often a favourite month for this type of retreat. Every year, Catherine Deneuve books the first two weeks off to visit Royal-Thalasso Barrière in La Baule, a four-star thalassotherapy centre in Brittany.

La Baule is a classic old-school centre with stately, if somewhat fussy, rooms, lavish landscaped gardens, state-of-the art treatment salt-water pools and treatment areas and a walkout to the beach, the longest in Brittany. Curistes, as the guests are called, are given a medical assessment upon arrival from which a personalized treatment program is created. Typically, mornings are spent in a series of 30-minute modules of exercise and various seawater-based treatments. There may be circuit training in the warm salt-water pool, scotch showers, algae wraps and salt scrubs. This is followed by a delicious lunch and then shopping or snoozing during the afternoon ahead of cocktails and dinner. Very civilized. A seven-day stay is considered the minimum in order to enjoy long-term (six months at least) health benefits, although, to accommodate busy people, most spas now offer shorter packages. The mineral-rich waters off the coast of Brittany make this area a mecca for thalassotherapy centres, ranging from medically focused to wellness focused and at every price level. Each location offers a different mix of nature, treatments, food and hotel comforts. Other top centres can be found in Tunisia and Greece.

One of my favourites can be found in Pornic (Latin for “shiny port”) along the Jade Coast in Brittany. Alliance Pornic is set among miles of coastline and hiking trails. The centre offers top treatments, delicious food and a friendly, low-key vibe. I took a cure there in 2008 and wish I could do one every year. I live in smoggy Toronto, so the centre’s proximity to the sea, with its delectable sea air, was a real treat. I kept my windows open every night and did gi-gong every morning on the beach outside the hotel. My treatment plan ran the gamut from salt scrubs and algae wraps to sea-salt inhalations to relieve bronchial congestion. There was something incredibly appealing about spending the day in a fluffy bathrobe and flip-flops. All the treatments were booked in the morning, so after lunch my days were free. At first I thought I would be restless with so much time alone. I had packed a stack of books and a sketch pad to while away the long afternoons, but, in fact, the seawater cure makes you quite sleepy and part of the benefit lies in resting so the body can heal itself.

The warm seawater used in thalassotherapy helps the body to absorb key minerals that aid in such human ills as poor circulation, nervous system/stress problems and respiratory weakness. It can both cure many diseases, as well as prevent others. Ideally, one books a one-week stay, twice a year. While many of these spas are not terribly costly, if you are traveling from North America, things will add up quickly with flights, trains and the still-serious euro. One way to manage costs is to book a modest hotel near a treatment centre and walk over for your visits. Of course, you could try to recreate the experience at home (good luck with that!) by taking sea-salt baths, booking algae wraps at a day spa, swimming in a warm salt-water pool and visiting a speleotherapy centre, which recreates natural salt caves. You can also add skin-care products based on marine salts to your beauty regimen. La Roche-Posay, Thalgo, and Phytomer are some brands to try. However, nothing beats a proper rest by the seaside, and all these fancy products can only help you maintain the benefits you would derive from a traditional cure. So, the next time you need a pick-me-up and reach for your credit card to buy a pair of Jimmy Choos, why not transfer that money into a thalasso fund? After a thalassotherapy cure, people won’t tell you that your shoes look great; they’ll tell you that you look great!