Water…the Natural Healer?

What if I told you that there was an all natural way to prevent or cure various ailments or disease?  And what if I told you it was free?  I’m talking about water!  Did you know that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated?  Really?!  All those aches, pains, lack of energy…it all points to dehydration.  We live in a time where prevention isn’t really discussed…it’s all about the quick fix, cover up, and move on.  I admit, I was part of this – I got tired of living with the pain and thought that I had tried everything, so I went the medication route – masked the pain.   We don’t even think that there is an easy and natural way to heal our bodies.  We are so quick to take an aspirin when a headache emerges, or cold/flu medications when we get sick.  We in part learn this from our doctors….they’ve been taught to silence our body’s signals for dehydration with chemical products.  Those signals are often times mistaken for or translated as disease symptoms.

“Water is the basis of all life and that includes your body.  Your muscles that move your body are 75% water; your blood that transport nutrients is 82% water; your lungs that provide your oxygen are 90% water; your brain that is the control center of your body is 76% water; even your bones are 25% water.”  It’s no wonder our body begins to fall apart when we don’t drink enough water!  I stumbled upon a really great magazine article online titled, “You’re Not Demented, Just Dehydrated,” which talks about how not drinking enough water will greatly affect your body’s functions…especially the brain.  This made me think about what Dr. Batmanghelidj mentioned in his book, Your Body’s Many Cries For Water – “The primary cause of Alzheimers disease is chronic dehydration of the body.  In prolonged dehydration, the brain cells begin to shrink.”

As Dr. B says, here’s some of the ‘wonders of water’*….

Water prevents and helps to cure:

Heartburn – Heartburn is a signal of water shortage in the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract. It is a major thirst signal of the human body. The use of antacids or tablet medications in the treatment of this pain does not correct dehydration, and the body continues to suffer as a result of its water shortage.

Arthritis – Rheumatoid joint pain – arthritis – is a signal of water shortage in the painful joint. It can affect the young as well as the old. The use of pain-killers does not cure the problem, but exposes the person to further damage from pain medications. Intake of water and small amounts of salt will cure this problem.

Back Pain – Low back pain and ankylosing arthritis of the spine are signs of water shortage in the spinal column and discs – the water cushions that support the weight of the body. These conditions should be treated with increased water intake – not a commercial treatment, but a very effective one.  Not recognizing arthritis and low back pain as signs of dehydration in the joint cavities and treating them with pain-killers, manipulation, acupuncture, and eventually surgery will, in time, produce osteoarthritis when the cartilage cells in the joints have eventually all died. It will produce deformity of the spine. It will produce crippling deformities of the limbs. Pain medications have their own life-threatening complications.

Angina – Heart pain (Angina)  is a sign of water shortage in the heart/lung axis. It should be treated with increased water intake until the patient is free of pain and independent of medications. Medical supervision is prudent. However, increased water intake is angina’s cure.

Migraines – Migraine headache is a sign of water need by the brain and the eyes. It will totally clear up if dehydration is prevented from establishing in the body. The type of dehydration that causes migraine might eventually cause inflammation of the back of the eye and possibly loss of eye sight.

Colitis – Colitis pain is a signal of water shortage in the large gut. It is associated with constipation because the large intestine constricts to squeeze the last drop of water from the excrements – thus the lack of water lubrication.  Not recognizing colitis pain as a sign of dehydration will cause persistent constipation. Later in life, it will cause fecal impacting: it can cause diverticulitis, hemorrhoids and polyps, and appreciably increases the possibility of developing cancer of the colon and rectum.

Asthma – Asthma, which also affects 14 million children and kills several thousand of them every year, is a complication of dehydration in the body. It is caused by the drought management programs of the body. In asthma free passage of air is obstructed so that water does not leave the body in the form of vapor – the winter steam. Increased water intake will prevent asthma attacks. Asthmatics need also to take more salt to break the mucus plugs in the lungs that obstruct the free flow of air in and out of the air sacs.  Not recognizing asthma as the indicator of dehydration in the body of a growing child not only will sentence many thousands of children to die every year, but will permit irreversible genetic damage to establish in the remaining 14 million asthmatic children.

High Blood Pressure – Hypertension is a state of adaptation of the body to a generalized drought, when there is not enough water to fill all the blood vessels that diffuse water into vital cells. As part of the mechanism of reverse osmosis, when water from the blood serum is filtered and injected into important cells through minute holes in their membranes, extra pressure is needed for the “injection process.” Just as we inject I.V. “water” in hospitals, so the body injects water into tens of trillions of cells all at the same time. Water and some salt intake will bring blood pressure back to normal!  Not recognizing hypertension as one of the major indicators of dehydration in the human body, and treating it with diuretics that further dehydrate the body will, in time, cause blockage by cholesterol of the heart arteries and the arteries that go to the brain. It will cause heart attacks and small or massive strokes that paralyze. It will eventually cause kidney disease. It will cause brain damage and neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Early Adult-onset Diabetes – Adult-onset diabetes is another adaptive state to severe dehydration of the human body. To have adequate water in circulation and for the brain’s priority water needs, the release of insulin is inhibited to prevent insulin from pushing water into all body cells. In diabetes, only some cells get survival rations of water. Water and some salt will reverse adult-onset diabetes in its early stages.  Not recognizing adult-onset diabetes as a complication of dehydration will, in time, cause massive damage to the blood vessels all over the body. It will cause eventual loss of the toes, feet and legs from gangrene. It will cause eye damage, even blindness.

Water lowers blood cholesterol – High cholesterol levels are an indicator of early drought management by the body. Cholesterol is a clay-like material that is poured in the gaps of some cell membranes to safeguard them against losing their vital water content to the osmotically more powerful blood circulating in their vicinity. Cholesterol, apart from being used to manufacture nerve cell membranes and hormones, is also used as a “shield” against water taxation of other vital cells that would normally exchange water through their cell membranes.

Water helps you lose weight

Dehydration can cause chronic fatigue, stress, and depression

* All of the above information and more can be found at www.watercure.com

We’ve all heard that we’re supposed to drink 6-8 8oz glasses of water per day…is that true?  Or what about drinking half your body weight in ounces?  I think it’s all based on your weight and environmental conditions (heat, cold, dry, etc)…some people will drink less, some more.  Your body will tell you if it needs more water.  Those that know me will tell you that I never go anywhere without my Klean Kanteen bottle filled with water…I drink a lot.  In fact, I start my morning by drinking two large glasses of water before eating any food…doing so helps to flush out some of the toxins from your body.

So…what are the symptoms of dehydration?  According to www.symptomsofdehydration.com:

“Symptoms of dehydration usually begin with thirst and progress to more alarming manifestations as the need for water becomes more dire. The initial signs and symptoms of mild dehydration in adults appear when the body has lost about 2% of its total fluid. These mild dehydration symptoms are often (but not limited to):

If the dehydration is allowed to continue unabated, when the total fluid loss reaches 5% the following effects of dehydration are normally experienced:

When the body reaches 10% fluid loss emergency help is needed IMMEDIATELY! 10% fluid loss and above is often fatal! Symptoms of severe dehydration include:

http://www.thelongevitynowconference.com/vitalis-video-1.html

http://www.watercure.com

The Tao of Detox by Daniel Reid….excellent book!

Your Body’s Many Cries for Water by F. Batmanghelidj, M.D……AMAZING book!