Here again is yet another vital factor in our health that is hardly discussed in medicine. We can survive weeks without food but only a few days without water, we are 75% made of water, we don't have copper wires to carry nerve signals, our nerves are fluid wires and our brain is 85% water. Imagine the consequences of serious water loss, how it would affect the entire functioning of our body and in particular our nervous system and our ability to use our brain.
Podcast # 13 Water – The Foundation of Health & Life
Here again is yet another vital factor in our health that is hardly discussed in medicine.
We can survive weeks without food but only a few days without water, we are 75% made of water, we don't have copper wires to carry nerve signals, our nerves are fluid wires and our brain is 85% water. Imagine the consequences of serious water loss, how it would affect the entire functioning of our body and in particular our nervous system and our ability to use our brain.
Besides this, water is a unique fluid with many strange properties we are now only beginning to understand, so it is no use thinking you can replace pure water with any other fluid or beverage to meet the body’s demand for water, it doesn’t work. Most of our chosen drinks like tea, coffee, beer, wine, fizzy drinks not only don’t add to the body’s water supply but usually cause increased elimination of water so that we loose more than we take in.
Most of us would say, don’t worry because we know when we need water we get thirsty and have a dry mouth. Sadly this is not true, the thirst for water and a dry mouth is at the extreme end of water shortage while the body has been suffering dehydration for some time.
So what does water do for our bodies? The greatest authority on this subject is a Doctor Batmanghelidj who spent a lifetime of research studying the role of water in our lives. In his book “You’re not sick, you’re thirsty! he lists forty-six reasons why your body needs water every day, I will give just a few of these reasons here; there is no life without water, water is the prime solvent for all foods, water is the transport system of nutrients for the body, water clears toxins from the body, water lubricates our joints, water is the essential fluid for our cooling system- sweating, adequate water protects our blood from clotting while circulating and water is involved in all energy exchange systems in the body.
Dehydration is almost an epidemic today laying the foundation for many common ailments from asthma and allergies to stress and strokes.
It appears as we age we become less sensitive to the need for water and many elderly people are often severely dehydrated.
So summarizing: some of the Myths in medicine about water:
• A dry mouth is the only sign of dehydration
The truth is, a dry mouth is the very last sign of dehydration!
• Water is a simple liquid
Water is now recognized a remarkable unique fluid: it is life-sustaining and
health promoting.
• The body can regulate water needs and intake.
Our perception of thirst is not reliable: as we get older it fails us.
• Any fluid can replace water.
Most other fluids: Tea, Coffee, Fizzy drinks, Alcohol, etc. not only do not
replace water but cause loss of water.
Some of the key Facts:
• Every 24 hours the body recycles the equivalent of 40,000 glasses of water!
• Every day the body becomes short of 6 to 10 glasses of water.
• We all need about half our weight in ounces of water per day for good hydration.
Advice:
• Drink water before eating.
• Always drink water when thirsty even during a meal.
• Drink water 2 to 3 hours after a meal.
• Drink water first thing in the morning to correct for loss during sleep.
• Drink water before exercising, to prepare for sweating.
• Drink more water if constipated; 2 to 3 glasses in the morning act as a good laxative.
• So just how much water do we need to protect ourselves from the ravages of dehydration? As a general rule the same number of fluid ounces as your weight in kilos or the same number of fluid ounces as half your weight in pounds. On average about two litres per day for the average weight person. Remember tea, coffee and beer don’t count but add to the need for more water.