THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER
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Without
food, most humans will die in a month, if they have water. Without
water, 10 days is about it. Water makes up 75% of the body, 90% of the
blood, and 85% of the brain. An odd little book was published in 1994 that made quite a stir: The Body's Many Cries
for Water, by an MD named Batmanghelidj. A claim is made by this doctor
that the cause of most diseases is simply dehydration. Dr. B provides
the reasoning as well as dozens of case studies to support the cure of
a variety of llnesses by simply drinking between two and three liters
of water per day. Doubting such a theory because of its overwhelming simplicity, the reader is shown that physiologically, it makes perfect sense. As Dr B points out, dry mouth is a late sign of thirst. Saliva is produced even in chronic dehydration, because it is a digestive enzyme. Thirst, or the need for water on the cellular level is something entirely different. Chronic dehydration brings its own symptoms, which we have been conditioned to cover up, either with food or with drugs. Here are a few examples of dehydration signals:
Dr B reports his successful treatment of 3000 peptic ulcer patients using water alone. Anecdotal? He explains how ulcer pain is really a thirst signal. It actually makes sense: if the intestine is too dehydrated to adequately refresh its mucus lining every time after the acidic products of digestion have passed by, the lining will become irritated and painful. The intestine is not protected from digestive acid like the stomach is. Antacids will only temporarily cover up the problem.
THIRST QUENCHERS When
we're thirsty, we don't drink water. We drink coffee and Coke and diet
Dr. Pepper and ice tea and beer and milk and anything else we've been
conditioned to buy. And we tell ourselves we don't need to drink water
because all these beverages have water in them. Right? Wrong.
It's a long story, but the punch line is this: all these drinks are
actually diuretics - they make the cells and the body lose water. The
sugar and caffeine in those drinks pull water out of the cells in order
to maintain the delicate pH and electrolyte balance in the blood.
Result: cell dehydration. Cell dehydration is the #1 cause of aging.
Also a big contributor to degenerative diseases, like arthritis,
hypertension, and diabetes. One way to tell if you're dehydrated is to check the color of the urine. If it's dark all the time, you're probably dehydrated. It's a good bet that one of the above drinks is your beverage of choice. Only one solution: TWO LITERS A DAY It's no picnic. Unless you already have this custom, drinking two liters of water a day takes effort. That's a least eight large glasses full. Every day. It takes planning and discipline. But it's cheap and harmless, and if you have any health problem whatsoever, including premature crows feet, you owe it to yourself to give this self-evident shotgun approach a try. In the unlikely event that it "doesn't work' after two months, something else needs to be tweaked. Probably in the dairy or sugar category. But read some of the testimonials in Dr B's book, and you'll likely find people with much more serious problems than yours who totally recovered. Many were on multiple medications.
What is in tap Water that can harm me? Chlorine Chlorine has been used in the U.S. as a treatment for water purification for most of the past century. When added to our water supply, chlorine complexes with free contaminants like iron, manganese, and hydrogen sulfide. Any chlorine left over can kill most bacterials and microorganisms. Chlorine was definitely responsible for a radical drop in cases of typhoid early in the century.
One thing's for sure - chlorine kills bacteria. Only problem with that is the three pounds of friendly bacteria that are supposed to be populating our colon. Their job: the final stages of digestion, as well as vitamin synthesis. Chlorine is in the same category with antibiotics - knocks out all bacteria, the good and the bad. The same killing power that makes chlorine a good disinfectant for drinking water also makes it a harmful additive. We need our good bacteria, called probiotics. Many researchers refer to them as our Second Immune System. Although we can live without probiotics, the digestive system is forced to operate in a diminished fashion. Over time, our health suffers as a result of chlorine's attack on probiotics.
Fluoride The fluoride added to drinking water is a compound of fluorine that is a chemical byproduct of aluminum, steel, cement, phosphate, and nuclear weapons manufacturing. Such fluoride is manmade. In this form, fluoride has no nutrient value whatsoever. It is one of the most caustic of industrial chemicals. Fluoride is the active toxin in rat poisons and cockroach powder.
Once in the body, fluoride is a destroyer of human enzymes. It does this by changing their shapes. Since
enzymes are proteins, once they've been changed, they're now
foreign-looking. The body now treats them as invaders, even though
they're part of that body. This is known as an autoimmune situation -
the body attacks itself.
Examples of fluoride studies:
* Taylor Study, University of Austin: fluoride concentration of 1PPM (parts per million) increases tumor growth rate by 25% * Fluoride is more poisonous than lead, and just less poisonous than arsenic - Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products -- 1984 * "A seven ounce tube of toothpaste, theoretically at least, contains enough fluoride to kill a small child."
The FDA requires all toothpaste manufacturers to print a warning on the label that if more than a pea-sized amount of toothpaste is swallowed, the local Poison Control Center should be notified.
Fluoride
prematurely ages the body, mainly by distortion of enzyme shape. Again,
when enzymes get twisted out of shape, they can't do their jobs. This
results in collagen breakdown, eczema, tissue damage, skin wrinkling,
genetic damage, and immune suppression. Practically any disease you can
name may then be caused.
The
bottom line is this: Drink plenty of water. If you only have tap
water available, that is better than being dehydrated. Put a good
filter on your home water supply. Any filter will help. The simple
carbon filters will do a good job of filtering out chlorine and the
associated taste. A better filter is necessary to filter out
fluoride. Bottled water is good. Just be sure to read the label. Not
all water is filtered before bottling. Look at the label. The best
water has been filtered using reverse osmosis as part of the process.
The heaver plastic bottles are best. The thin bottles that have
individual servings are usually No. 1 plastic, which may leach some of
the plastic into the water. Never refill these individual bottles,
even if they are washed and rinsed. The hot water increases the amount
of plastic released to the water. Hot
water is excellent for your body. It is sometimes called Chinese
penicillin. Heating water will release some of the added chemicals,
and the hot water is an excellent healing potion for the body. Never
heat water with a microwave. Microwave ovens will change the molecular
composition of water from it's natural state. Cold
water is good for weight loss. Your body will burn enough calories
bringing up the temperature of cold water to lose one pound per month. One
more additional benefit of drinking water is more energy. When your
body and brain become dehydrated, you become tired and lethargic.
Drinking one glass of water will bring your energy level back within 5
minutes. The next time you are feeling drowsy in that important
meeting, reach for your water. |