Courtesy: WaterCure.com

Edited by TREN.net

Water is the basis of all life and that includes your body. Your muscles that move your body are 75% water; your blood that transports nutrients is 82% water; your lungs that provide your oxygen are 90% water; your brain that is the control center of your body is 85% water; even your bones are 25% water.

Our health is truly dependent on the quality and quantity of the water we drink. Dr. B's pioneering work shows that Unintentional Chronic Dehydration (UCD) contributes to and even produces pain and many degenerative diseases that can be prevented and treated by increasing water intake on a regular basis.

Frequently Asked Questions*

HOW DO YOU GET DEHYDRATED?

Through activities of daily living, the average person loses about 3- 4 liters (about 10-15 cups) of fluid a day in sweat, urine, exhaled air and bowel movement. What is lost must be replaced by the water/ fluid we drink and the food we eat. We lose approximately 1-2 liters of water just from breathing. The evaporation of sweat from the skin accounts for 90% of our cooling ability. Exercise, sweating, diarrhea, temperature, or altitude can significantly increase the amount of water we lose each day. The most common cause of increased water loss is exercise and sweating. Even though we are all at risk of dehydration the people most vulnerable are infants, elderly adults, and athletes. They are either not able to adequately express their thirst sensation or able to detect it and do something in time.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU’RE DEHYDRATED?

If you are thirsty, it means your cells are already dehydrated. A dry mouth should be regarded as the last outward sign of dehydration. That’s because thirst does not develop until body fluids are depleted well bellow levels required for optimal functioning. Monitor your urine to make sure you are not dehydrated:

• A hydrated body produces clear, colorless urine.
• A somewhat dehydrated body produces yellow urine.
• A severely dehydrated body produces orange or dark-colored urine.

The effects of even mild dehydration include decreased coordination, fatigue, dry skin, decreased urine output, dry mucous membranes in the mouth and nose, blood pressure changes and impairment of judgment. Stress, headache, back pain, allergies, asthma, high blood pressure and many degenerative health problems are the result of UCD (Unintentional Chronic Dehydration).

HOW MUCH WATER DO YOU NEED TO DRINK? WHEN TO DRINK?

In a February 11, 2004 report, t he Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine released the sixth in a series of reports presenting dietary reference values for the intake of nutrients by Americans and Canadians. This report establishes nutrient recommendations on water, salt and potassium: The report states that the vast majority of healthy people adequately meet their daily hydration needs by letting thirst be their guide. The report did not specify exact requirements for water, but set general recommendations for women at approximately 2.7 liters (about 11 cups) of total water -- from all beverages and foods -- each day, and men an average of approximately 3.7 liters (about 16 cups) of total water. The panel did not set an upper level for water. This simplistic recommendation does not take into consideration different weights and masses of the human body, and according to Dr. Fereydoon Batmaghelidj, the father of hydration therapy, thirst is a poor guide for hydration.

To better determine how much water you need each day, divide your body weight in half. The answer is the approximate number of water ounces you should drink daily. You should drink half of your body weight in ounces. If you weigh 200 pounds, you should drink 100 ounces water (3.13 quarts, 2.98 liters or about 10-12 cups of water a day). If you weigh closer to 100 pounds you will need only about 50 ounces of water (about four 12-ounce glasses) daily. Individuals who are physically active or live in hot climates may need to drink more.

WHAT SHOULD WE DRINK? WHAT SHOULDN’T WE DRINK?

We are designed to drink pure, natural water.

• Avoid sodas/soft drinks to provide your fluid needs. The high sugar content and artificial flavors in soft drinks are harmful to your health.
• Tea, coffee, soft drinks contain water, but the diuretics contained in these caffeinated beverages flush water out of your body. Don’t count on them to replenish fluid loss.
• It is OK to drink them occasionally, but if you drink them constantly and don’t drink enough pure natural water, then you are severely compromising your long-term health.
• Natural pure water is the best choice. If you are committed to a healthy lifestyle and long-term health, make water a habit and a priority in your life.

CAN WE DRINK TOO MUCH WATER?

During intense exercise the kidneys cannot excrete excess water. The extra water moves into the cells, including brain cells. The result can be fatal. For that reason, athletes should estimate how much they should drink by weighing themselves before and after long training runs to see how much they lose, and thus how much water and salt they should replace.

Studies found that 13% of runners tested drank too much water, resulting in abnormally low blood sodium levels. The low sodium levels made many of these people very sick, and close to the point of death. The important lesson here is to balance your water intake with your sodium intake.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOUR TAP WATER IS SAFE TO DRINK?

Almost all-municipal water in is of high quality and very drinkable. The best source of specific information about the water quality in your area is your local water supplier. Water suppliers are required to send their customer an annual water quality report. Contact your water supplier to get a copy, or see if your report is posted on line. It is important you know your local sources of water quality, and the quality of your local drinking water. To get facts and information about your tap water, drinking water standards and contaminants, contact your local water supplier. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and American Water Works Association (AWWA) are the two credible institutions that provide information you need regarding quality of your water.

EPA website www.epa.gov/safewater AWWA website: www.awwa.org.

WHAT ABOUT BOTTLED WATER?

Bottled water’s biggest advantage is convenience. Americans now drink more water from bottles than any other nation. Bottled water is a $16 billion-a-year industry. The EPA sets standards for tap water provided by public water systems. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets bottled water standards based on EPA’s tap water standards. Most bottled water is simply tap water put through conditioning filters to make it taste better. Pepsi’s Aquafina and Coco-Cola’s Dasani are both made from purified tap water. This is something to consider when adding up cost and benefits. Bottled water is safe to drink if it meets the standards. Contrary to popular belief the FDA does not carefully regulate the bottled water industry; therefore even bottled water can be impure. Just make sure your choice of water does not become a limiting factor to drinking it. If you are drinking less water because of the cost of bottled water, supplement your bottles with reusable bottles or just fill up a previously used bottle with H 20 from the tap.

WHAT ABOUT FILTER AND FILTERED WATER?

It is always wise to get a filter if you are not sure how safe your tap water is. There are many water filter products on the market at many different prices. To shop for a good filter, you need to know what a filter factually reduces, or removes, and what it costs. Ideally, you want water that has been filtered to remove chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals, chlorine, fluoride, bacteria, and viruses. However, purified water, on a long term basis is not a good selection, as it will make the body acidic. The more purified water a person drinks, the higher the body acidity becomes and the greater the depletion of minerals from the body, increasing the risk for many degenerative diseases. How do you choose a good filter? It is important you do your own research – ask your local health food store, do on-line research and check “Consumer Reports” for products and price evaluations.

DRINKING TIPS FOR HEALTHY HYDRATION:

Start your morning right: Morning is when the body is most full of toxins and dehydrated. Reach for a big glass of water first thing in the morning – even before coffee or juice. This water in the morning gets the blood flowing.

• Drink a glass of water when you get up and another when you go to bed.
• Take regular water breaks.
• Avoid relying on sodas to provide your fluid need.
• Drink water before and after food; ideally drink a glass of water half an hour before you eat your meal and half an hour after the meal. You can drink water with meals, and drink water anytime your body feels like it.

It is very important that you balance your sodium intake with your water consumption. Take 1/4 teaspoon of salt per quart of water - every 4-5 glasses of water. Sea salt is best. The best is Celtic sea salt or Himalayan sea salt, both of which are readily available at any health food store.

You should always drink water prior to eating, and after eating, to support the digestive process. The stomach depends on water to help digest food, and lack of water makes it harder for nutrients to be broken down and used as energy. The liver, which dictates where all nutrients go, also needs water to help convert stored fat into usable energy. If you are dehydrated, the kidneys turn to the liver for backup, diminishing the liver’s ability to metabolize stored fat. The resulting reduced blood volume will interfere with your body’s ability to remove toxins and supply your cells with adequate nutrients.