RAPAN® PRODUCTS

Compiled by G. St George

Medicina (UK) Ltd

People all over the world have been enjoying and appreciating the numerous therapeutic benefits of salts, muds and clays.

Ancient records show that people travelled many miles to bathe in salt waters. Mineral-rich, salty waters have been known to help alleviate skin disorders, stimulate circulation, hydrate the skin, increase moisture retention, promote cellular regeneration, detoxify the skin, and help heal dry, scaly, irritated skin. They also reduce inflammation of the muscles and joints, relax muscles and relieve pain and soreness. Important minerals are readily absorbed into the skin when we bathe in a warm sea salt bath.

Muds and clays have also been used since times immemorial. People have been smothering themselves in muds to get relief from itchy skin, aches and pains and just for the pure enjoyment of it. Animals are instinctively drawn to mud, with many species enjoying mud baths at every opportunity. People have also learned to understand and use the many benefits of various muds. Their popularity has grown immensely in the past few decades. If in the past, their use was based on a belief that they were good for us. Now we can rely on science to explain the benefits we get from applying mud on our body.

The popularity of clays has also increased immensely in the recent years. People have been using clays both on their bodies and internally. As a matter of fact, there are many edible types of clay which both people and animals have been eating since ancient times. Clays are extremely rich in minerals and are widely used in cosmetics and complementary medicine, as well as in spas and resorts to treat a large number of problems.

Few people haven't heard about the famous Dead Sea and the miraculous results obtained by using the Dead Sea muds, salts and clays to treat such conditions as psoriasis, eczema, acne, dermatitis, as well as arthritis, rheumatism, other musculo-skeletal problems and disorders of the genito-urinary and other body systems. The therapeutic effects of bathing in the the salt waters of Dead Sea were well known even in times of antiquity. Galenus, for instance, stated that the salt water of the Dead Sea was good for the treatment of arthritis, eczema, muscle aches, rheumatism, arthritis, psoriasis, nervous tension, relaxation, and maintaining healthy skin. According to the book of Samuel, King Solomon presented the Queen of Sheba with Dead Sea salts upon her visit to the Holy Land. The Empress Cleopatra, who was an ardent user of Dead Sea beauty potions, was presented the entire region by Mark Anthony after he had conquered it.

The use of Dead Sea products brings excellent results. For many years, salts of the Dead Sea have been used as an alternative method for treating psoriasis, eczema and other skin disorders. The effectiveness of Dead Sea salts is so obvious that many clinics have been using them to treat their patients with remarkable results. However, Dead Sea products don't come cheap. The procedures where highly concentrated solutions are used (up to 10%) are costly.

This has prompted us to look for close alternatives with similar or better properties at more affordable prices. And we have found them in frosty Siberia, in a place which has preserved remarkably clean ecology. The salts we have found have been researched by Scientific Research Institutes of Siberia. Some therapeutic parameters of the Rapan salt have been proven to exceed those of the Dead Sea salts up to 20 times (researched and recorded data).

The RAPAN® Range - General Information

The Rapan® range is manufactured by a Russian company Siberian Technologies V.A.S. It includes natural products derived from an ancient Siberian Arctic salt lake Ostrovnoye. It is a vast shallow lake, with an average depth of 0.25m (max 0.9m) and the total area of the water surface at 11933 m². The deposits are represented in black silt (average thickness of the layer of black silt at 0.12m, max at 0.2m). Below the black silt lies dark-grey silt (average thickness at 0.05m).Both silts have similar physico-chemical characteristics and are variations of the same type of silt. The environmental biological data allows us to classify the lake as ecologically clean.

The lake brine (or 'rapah' in Russian, hence the name of the product) is a complex solution of various salts which covers the silt deposits. The brine is a by-product of the biological activity of numerous micro-organisms, algae and the animal world. They are what the Russian Academician V.I.Vernadskiy called “the living matter” of our planet which reflects its evolutionary processes and regional geochemical specifics. It contains ions of Na, K, Mg, Ca, N, carbonate, hydrocarbonate, sulphate, chloride, bromide, phenols, microelements (P, As, Zn, Sn, Cu, Ni, Pb, Ag), silica acid, vitamins, hormones, biostimulators, amino acids, fatty acids, polysaccharides, etc.). The presence of these biologically active components, as well as hydrogen sulphate, determine the medicinal properties of the Rapan products.

The peloids have been formed as a result of crustacean and micro-organic activity in the most unusual circumstances - the over saturated salt solution. Their survival itself was due to a development of specific mechanisms which allowed them to survive in such extreme conditions. As a result, the evolution of “the living matter” in extreme environment was accompanied by an appearance of certain biologically active compounds which possessed adaptogenic and, possibly, medicinal qualities. It seems that this combination of biologically active compounds both in peloids and in brine achieved a maximum therapeutic effect.

Peloids and brine form a basis for treatments at a number of West Siberian resorts. The resorts treat various health conditions - from musculo-skeletal to genito-urinary. The products have been and are still being thoroughly researched by the Siberian branch of the Russian Scientific Academy. The studies are headed by Professor V.Kulikov.

It must be pointed out here that in Russia balneology, thalassotherapy and peloid therapy have a very long history of use. During the Soviet era, a large number of health resorts were built on the basis of natural therapeutic resources so abundant in Russia. Because Russia, as part of the USSR, used to be such an isolated society, with few going on holidays abroad, most people planned their yearly holidays around resorts, thanks to the fact that their stay and treatment was heavily subsidised by trade unions, so most people could afford it. Courses of treatments lasted on average between 14 and 24 days. Because of this, resorts flourished in the Soviet times, with vast sums of money allocated to scientific research and development of new treatments.

Resorts are not part of the British way of life. The closest relative of a resort is a spa where clients come to relax and unwind for a day or two. They are non-medical establishments, so medical conditions are not diagnosed or treated here. It has a much more serious footing in Europe though.

In Russia, resorts/spas have a solid medical foundation, with medical staff assessing and treating patients for a variety of conditions. All resorts are specialist establishments, depending on the resources available. For example, some would specialise in treating digestive disorders thanks to the particular properties of mineral waters they are using for treatments, others would treat predominantly musculo-skeletal problems thanks to a specific mineral content and qualities of muds and clays in their disposal, etc.

Due to their powerful anti-oxidant properties, natural salts and peloids (muds and clays) have an analgesic and anti-inflammatory action, regulating the endocrine system and improving micro-circulation, increasing body immunity and acting as adaptogens. Apart from all this, peloid therapy has a powerful stress relieving effect on the body and mind.