Water

[Guest guest]

***There's a wealth of wonderful information in this little article about

water! LaDonna

 

Water

Source: Counsels on Health [ list]

 

Water is the most common molecule in the human body. Adults are about 45-75

percent water, depending on the percentage of body fat--fat cells contain

less water than muscle cells. Muscle tissue, about 50-70 percent water,

contains approximately 1/2 of the water found in the body. No wonder one

feels weak when short of water. Blood is up to 80 percent water, brain gray

matter 70-85 percent and bones 20-33 percent. Approximately five eighths of

the body water is inside the cells and three eighths is outside, between the

cells and in the circulation.

 

Respiration, digestion, circulation, glandular secretion, temperature

regulation, waste elimination, and virtually every body function, require

water. Water helps to lubricate, insulate, protect, and give flexibility to

the muscles, ligaments, and joints.

 

We also need water on the outside. The days of the " weekly bath, whether

needed or not, " are gone. Even if we do not get obviously dirty from manual

labor outdoors, our pores are constantly at work secreting perspiration,

body oils, and wastes. Thus our skin is benefited and our overall health

improved by daily bathing, either in a tub or shower. Even washing the body

with a washcloth while standing at the sink will do.

 

Water is even more than a nutrient and a cleanser. Its many uses externally

as a tonic, stimulant, sedative, and healing agent make it nature's elixir,

if there ever was one. Warm water is relaxing. A short, cold bath or shower

tends to stimulate. Prolonged cold depresses.

 

Water, in all its forms, (ice, liquid, and steam) can be used to make

thermic impressions on the skin. As these temperature changes are sensed by

the nerves in the skin, they cause profound reactions all through the body

that have a direct effect on health and healing. There are whole books

written on the subject of " hydrotherapy " or " water treatment, " as it is

often called.

 

One example of such a treatment is the use of ice packs to lessen the

swelling of an acute strain or sprain. After the initial trauma has

subsided, alternating hot and cold applications to the affected area

increase the circulation, thus bringing in fresh blood to repair the damage

and to carry away wastes, speeding up the healing process and lessening

pain.

 

Infections and inflammations can also be treated with alternating hot and

cold. The hot and cold also stimulates the action of the germ-killing white

blood cells, helping them to do their job better.

A congestion headache, or almost any pain caused by congestion or swelling,

can be treated by applying cold over the affected area while at the same

time immersing the feet in hot water up over the ankles. The cold tends to

" push " the congestion away while the heat draws or " pulls " it away, thus

equalizing the circulation and reducing the swelling and pain.

 

The body recycles all but about 10 of the 40,000 glasses of water that it

uses every day. About 400 gallons of blood pass through the kidneys each

day, and about 50 gallons is actually filtered. Of this amount only about 56

cups of water are lost in the urine. Another 2 cups is exhaled through the

lungs in the form of water vapor, half a cup is lost through the bowels and

2 cups are evaporated from the skin through the 2 million sweat glands

located there. Of the 10 cups of water lost per day, we gain about three

cups in the food we eat and another one and a half is available as a

byproduct of energy metabolism. This leaves five and a half cups of water

per day that must he replaced by drinking water. Of course this is the

minimum requirement. It'ss a healthful idea to drink more than that to

insure that we have all we need.

 

Several factors can increase our daily need of water. Living in a hot, dry

climate or at higher altitudes, as well as physical exercise and sickness,

can increase our need by 80 percent or more. An excessive amount of salt,

sugar, or protein in the diet requires more water to process. Vomiting,

diarrhea, lactation, and even a runny nose increase water loss and must be

replaced by drinking water.

 

Symptoms of dehydration (not having enough water) include thirst, dry mouth,

lethargy, mental confusion, reduced skin elasticity, sunken eyes, fever,

scanty dark urine, accumulation of urea, creatinine and sodium in the blood,

thickening of the blood, shock, constipation, kidney and bladder infections

and stones, and elevated hemoglobin/hematocrit readings. A 20 percent water

loss usually spells death. Thirst is not necessarily a good guide in

insuring that we are drinking enough. We usually need more water than we

realize.

 

A systematic approach to water drinking is best. Here is one suggestion.

Drink 2 glasses (16 oz.) upon arising. This is a good internal cleanser

first thing in the morning. Then, another 2 glasses midmorning and 2 more

mid-afternoon. Another way is to take a quart with you in the morning and

sip it all morning and then another quart in the afternoon and do the same.

More water than this amount may be needed, depending on the circumstances.

 

By increasing our water consumption we decrease the work load on the

kidneys, whose job ills to cleanse the blood. It's like washing a load of

dishes in a full kitchen sink versus doing the job in a small bowl. Much of

the so-called tired blood is probably dirty blood in need of a good internal

bath.

 

It is best to avoid drinking anything for 10-15 minutes before eating and

for 1-2 hours after meals. This practice improves digestion, as the

digestive juices are not diluted. Also, very cold water is not good to drink

with meals because it arrests digestion temporarily. Very cold water also

deadens the thirst signals so that one would tend not to drink enough. The

best water to drink is slightly warm or cool. Hot water just before meals is

a good medicine when one is sick. However, drinks like tea, coffee, cocoa,

soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages, are better avoided, as they contain

some unhealthful ingredients and actually increase thirst by acting as

diuretics. Many people prefer these beverages to the taste of their drinking

water. Bad taste is usually due to algae, minerals, gases, or organic

chemicals in the water. However, small amounts of impurities in the water

are less harmful than either reliance upon these substitute fluids, or not

drinking enough water.

 

There are healthful herb teas that are much better than regular tea. Cereal

beverages such as Postum, Pero, and Roma have a coffee-like taste and can

take the place of regular coffee. These products contain no caffeine at all

and no caffeol (a stomach irritant) which even decaf coffee still contains.

Carob is a naturally sweet and nutritious substitute for chocolate. It can

be made into a hot-cocoa type of drink. Carob candy may or may not be a

health treat, depending on the other ingredients added to it.

 

For alcoholic beverages there are nonalcoholic sparkling fruit juices, or

sparkling mineral waters. These drinks will not mar that special occasion as

alcohol so often does. Soft drinks can't win. If you take out the added

caffeine, there is still the sugar. Remove the sugar. and caffeine, and

there are still the acids that contribute to calcium excretion and bone

demineralization. How about good old water in place of the pop? An

occasional fruit juice may do. But these should not be overused because they

are really a refined product. You get a heavy dose of the fruit sugar, and

sometimes a lot of added sugar as well, without the fiber. Remember, it

takes five oranges to make a glass of orange juice. Watch out for the sodium

content of some vegetable juices. Pure water is still the best choice to

drink. A little lemon or mint in a pitcher of cool water makes normal tap

water quite pleasant to drink.