Cell Salts, an overview
I just realized that I have mentioned individual cell salts many, many times previously but I’ve never covered these marvelous little goodies as a whole.
Let’s talk about cell salts!
This image was grabbed from an online search and it appears to originate from Hylands.
Cell salts, also known as tissue salts, Schüssler salts or Schüssler biochemical cell salts, are a very gentle way to support your body
Cell salts lie somewhere between a homeopathic remedy and a nutritional supplement — “in a limbo between material medicine (that which is used in allopathic treatments) and energy medicine (that which is common to such treatments as homeopathic medicine and acupuncture, among other therapies) (McCabe 2009). “Micro dosed prepared minerals which support the healing processes in the body by regulating mineral levels in the cells” (Schuesslertissuesalts.com.au 2023).
German physician Dr. Willhelm Heinrich Schüssler discovered that when body tissue is reduced to ashes, what remains are the tissue salts. “He looked at that ash and at its component parts, searching among them to identify the building blocks, the chemical compounds that give the structure and function to the human body. … It was important to Schuessler* that these substances be ‘native’ to the human system because of his belief in the concept of deficiency. Since he believed that the health of the body as a whole was determined by the health of each individual cell of the body, it was of great importance to him that each of those cells had all the nutrients it required to form, grow and function” (McCabe 2009). Because all these substances are naturally present in the human body, “each of the twelve remedies is totally benign. Schuessler’s treatments are nourishing to your system and to your health. They bring balance to our bodies; a balance of nutrition, form, and function that can lead to a state of total health” (McCabe 2009). Dr. Schüssler did his thing back in the late 1800s and since that time, many more “tissue salts” have been added to the original list, though the biochemic system remains with only the original 12 salts.
McCabe goes on to state that the cell salts “represent a simplification of homeopathy, they are well within the easy grasp of every person who is seeking a means by which they can encourage good health.”
Cell salts can be used individually or in combination (on their own, or, in conjunction with homeopathic remedies or even with allopathic medicine) to address all sorts of physical ailments. “When your body lacks these important cell salts, you are more vulnerable to common health concerns. By replenishing them, your body is better prepared to treat illnesses and enjoy better overall wellness” (Hyland’s 2024).
“A disturbance of the molecular motion of one of the inorganic materials in a tissue causes a sickness, for the cure of which it suffices that a minimal dose of the same inorganic substance be furnished, since the molecules of the material thus used as a remedy fill the breach in the chain of molecules of the cell-salts or tissue-salts under consideration.”
—W.H. Schuessler (McCabe 2009).
Cell salts are limited in their potency to 12x ensuring each remedy still has its nutrient substance. (For further information, see X? C? Homeopathic potency briefly explained.) Avogadro's number is a point of dilution where nothing of the original substance remains and that level of dilution is 23x or 12c. (That’s right! Most homeopathic remedies have “nothing” in them — nothing that our current instruments can see. Since cell salts are all 12x and below, something of the original substance remains in each remedy.)
All of the cell salts are “compound remedies” meaning they are made from more than one substance before they are made into their homeopathic form. Author Vinton McCabe does a nice job explaining the importance behind this. “The easiest way… to think about the cell salt remedies is as if they were the children of specific marriages between parents. Each remedy will share some aspects with each of its parent remedies. Natrum Muriaticum will have some of the attributes common to the Natrums and some attributes that it gets from the Muriaticum side of the family. In the same way, each of the compounds will ‘inherit’ a mix of traits, divided between the two parent remedies.” (The below family information all comes from McCabe’s The Healing Echo: Discovering Homeopathic Cell Salt Remedies.)
The Calcium/Calcarea Family = relate to the idea of structure
The Chloride/Muriaticum/Muriatica family = on a physical level… tends to have swelling, physical enlargement of organs, and/or bloating
The Fluoride/Fluorica/Fluorata/Fluoratum Family = conditions of the teeth and bones and joints as well as conditions in which the elastic tissues of the body become stretched and lax
The Iron/Ferrum Family = relating to blood
The Magnesium/Magnesia Family = sensitive/allergic; pains shift from place to place
The Phosphorus/Phosphoricum/Phosphorica Family = bleeding; burning pains; suddenness
The Potassium/Kali Family = chronic illnesses of all sorts (rheumatism, arthritis, headaches, PMS); muscle twitching and muscle weakness
The Sodium/Natrum Family = because sodium causes retention, Natrum types can be chronically bloated and will always feel better after any discharge
The Sulfur/Sulphurica/Sulphuricum Family = tendency toward sweat, toward itch and toward functional disorders
Silicea/Silica (the only cell salt that is taken from a single source and not from a chemical compound) = a building block, giving strength and stability to all things that contain it
Each of the individual 12 salts correspond to specific bodily functions. A very brief overview follows with information taken from various sources:
Calc fluor = the elasticity cell salt; strengthens bones and teeth enamel
Calc phos = builder of bone tissue and structure; builds cells
Calc sulph = blood purifier and healer; infections; skin conditions
Ferrum phos = fevers and inflammations; acute conditions
Kali mur = second stage of illness; congestion
Kali phos = nervous system; fatigue
Kali sulph = skin issues; infections
Mag phos = pain: cramping pains/radiating pain/ neuralgic pain
Nat mur = fluid distribution; headaches
Nat phos = acid balancing; indigestion
Nat sulph = liver stimulation; eliminates fluids
Silicea = connective tissues; hair & nails
How do our cells become depleted of these tissue salts?
The usual culprits which deplete us: sickness, whether bacterial or viral; injury; stress; poor diet. Cell salts are excellent for growing children as well as for the elderly.
How to take Schüssler cell salts?
Every author offers a variation on a theme, but what they all hold in common is repetition. (For this list I have referred to Skye Weintraub’s Natural Healing with Cell Salts” — which is a very nice and easy book to use!)
Adults: 3-4 tablets, 3-4 times a day
Children: 2 tablets, 3-4 times a day
Infants: 1 tablet dissolved in warm water three times a day and sipped. Or, the liquid can be placed in the belly button three times a day; hold in area for about 5 minutes
Chronic cases:
3-4 times a day. The remedy or remedies may have to be taken for a month or longer
Acute cases of sudden onset:
take one dose 1-2 hours apart and decrease frequency as symptoms improve
Acute, severe or painful cases:
dose every 15 minutes to an hour and decrease frequency as symptoms improve
Less acute cases:
give the remedy hourly, and decrease the frequency as symptoms improve
To apply topically:
dissolve 2-3 tablets of each indicated remedy in a tablespoon of hot water. After they have completely dissolved, dip a cotton swab in the liquid and dab it on the affected place.
Apply the cell salts in powdered form to areas needed for first-aid conditions, such as cuts and wounds. Follow external applications with the internal treatment of cell salts.
Why not mix all of them together?
You can do this. The 12 cell salts combined are most frequently found in the US under the name Bioplasma** by Hyland’s.
I have found this combination to be excellent at the start and then, not so much. I have heard it referred to as a “picker-upper” and in the beginning of taking it, it seems to be just that. It replenishes what is missing and then the benefits don’t actually wear off, per se, they just aren’t as useful in the full complement. If you have tried this and then found it to be not quite so helpful after a while, it is a good indication that it is time to fine tune your cell salts and by doing so, I am sure great benefit will be found.
Sometimes one single cell salt is all you need. However, they work beautifully in combination with each other. For example, let's look at the first few entries in Weintraub's Eye section:
ache of eyeballs: Calc fluor and Calc phos
affections, with flow of tears: Nat mur
bloodshot: Nat mur, Ferr phos, Nat phos
burning sensation in: Ferr phos
You see, sometimes just a single cell salt and for others, a combination of two or three is what is needed.
Another readily available combination is known as Biochemical Phosphates. This is a combination of 5 phosphates to help address stress and overload. It’s a beautiful thing! My old container from Hyland’s says it’s for: Nervousness, Irritability and Occasional Sleeplessness. (Note: It appears Hyland’s has renamed this product to “Nerve Tonic.”)
These little cell salt beauties are powerful healers. There are even practitioners who treat their clients with nothing other than cell salts. Pick up a cell salt book and get started — I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. (As mentioned above, I really like Weintraub's Natural Healing with Cell Salts and Lisa Strbac's newly published Schüssler's Tissue Salts Rediscovered: The 21st Century Guide to Self-Healing is great, too!)
Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath
#wellnessawaits
* Various authors spell his name differently. When I have quoted a text, I have used the spelling used by the author.
** I have no affiliation with this or any other company.
Reference list
Carey, G. W., 1996. The Biochemic System of Medicine. Health Research Books.
Chapman, E., 1960. How to Use the Twelve Tissue Salts. Nutri Books.
Dewey, W. A. and Boericke, W., 2022. The Twelve Tissue Remedies of Schüssler: Comprising the Theory, Therapeutic Application, Materia Medica, and a Complete Repertory of These Remedies. H. Legare Street Press.
Hyland's, 2024. Cell Salt #1 Calc Fluor [online]. Hyland’s.
McCabe, V., 2009. The Healing Echo. ReadHowYouWant.com.
Schuesslertissuessalts.com.au, n.d. Schuessler Tissue Salts - 150 Years Of Natural Medicine In Australia [online]. Schuessler Tissue Salts.
Schüssler, W. H., 2003. Schüssler’s twelve tissue remedies : comprising the theory, therapeutic applications, materia medica and a complete repertory of tissue remedies. Sittingbourne, Kent: Homæopathic Book Service.
Strbac, L., 2024. Schuessler’s Tissue Salts Rediscovered.
Weintraub, S., 1999. Natural healing with cell salts. Pleasant Grove, Ut: Woodland Pub.
Loved this!