The Sea, Oh The Sea . . .

Especially to someone who lives in a city, a holiday is not a holiday unless it is at the sea

Especially to someone who lives in a city, a holiday is not a holiday unless it is at the sea. A rocky coast or a mixed strand-and-rock beach may serve the purpose, but to have several kilometres of pure, unobstructed sand is best. And to walk barefoot at the edge of the tide is like a physical and mental massage. For many, that is enough, but then there are those who collect shells or pebbles of one kind or another, often to be collages, indoor or outdoor.

The French go far beyond the mere concept of sea air and sea water being good for you. They instal medical stations of Thallassa-therapie or sea therapy. We needn't go into all that. There is at least one place on our own West coast where seaweed baths are available, but a French magazine gives advice to women on the benefits of the sea.

As an anti-stress cure, it says, there is nothing like the sea with its iodine, its mineral salts and other trace elements. By just being there, you are already calming down. Good for your figure. Every morning you walk barefoot along the edge of the tide for an hour at a time. It takes, the article says, 20 minutes to get your lungs properly open, and three-quarters-of-an-hour to get your whole body going. Find your own pace. And swim. Just a little at a time, but often. Again, at your own pace. The trace elements in the sea help you to reach a balance. Your metabolism goes from 11 per cent to 15 per cent, your red corpuscles increase, according to a quoted doctor of medicine. And your heart is strengthened.

The French don't eat much seaweed, says the article - that is, seaweed they know of. But seaweed extracts occur in most ice creams, in sauces and in pre-prepared frozen dishes. People with heart troubles are warned against taking too much salt. But it's a necessary ingredient. Note, however, that in addition to salt added in cooking and eating as a condiment, there is 1 gramme of salt in a quarter of the normal Camembert, or half a slice of ham, in half of a baguette of bread, in 100 grammes of vegetable or 12 oysters.

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We're getting too technical. It all started from the satisfaction most people get from splashing along a sandy beach at the edge of the tide. Bracing air as they say. The sea, oh the sea ... Forgot: this article recommends that a hot bath into which you have poured one kile (a lot) of coarse sea salt is a great cure for jet lag and general lag.