Water for LIFE

The Martial Art of Wellness
Volume 16 – May 2017

(Archive of Previous BioNews)

DEAR FRIENDS

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

” Water is life’s matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water. ”

– Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

THIS ISSUE’S TESTIMONIAL:  ( Surprised to discover she was pregnant )

– Valentina, USA

THE MARTIAL ART OF WELLNESS ( Water for LIFE )

In last month’s issue, I suggested self-doctoring and how your body’s innate ability to heal is the first doctor. In this article, I suggest that drinking more water is a major prevention and healing factor that will immediately provide you with better overall health.  I have written several times on water before.  Yet it is so important that I choose to write about it in this article.

No water, no life

Drinking water is essential to a healthy lifestyle. What do humans, fishes, birds, bees, even trees have in common? Give up? Well, there are many things we have in common, and water is one of them. All living beings must have water to survive, whether they get it from a fountain, a rain cloud, or a bottle attached to the side of a runner’s belt.

Water is at the center of human metabolic life – both inside and outside of us! Every system in your body depends on water. It might not seem like it, but water is the most necessary nutrient after oxygen. Do you know that your whole body is mainly water?  As babies, we are composed of about 75% water, but as we age, we gradually lose this vital fluid.  An adult carries from 55% to 65% water.  Depending on his age, an average 120-pound person carries about 75 pounds of H2O molecules (water), the rest are molecules like minerals, fatty acids, fats, etc.

Lack of water leads to dehydration, a condition that occurs when you don’t have enough water in your body to carry on normal functions. Even mild dehydration – as little as a 1 percent to 2 percent loss of your body weight – can sap your energy and make you tired. Dehydration poses particular health risks for the very young and the very old. Signs and symptoms of dehydration include:

• Excessive thirst
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Dry mouth
• Little or no urination
• Muscle weakness
• Dizziness
• Light-headedness
• Arthritic pain
• Lower back pain

But the worse health risk of chronic or constant lack of water is faster aging and declining health.

Water flows in you

Water – like in a river – loves to move and circulate! When water stagnates, it becomes impure – like a swamp.   So, it’s important to be aware of the quality and quantity of water within ourselves. Water is the main ingredient of all the fluids in your body’s systems.

Fluids travel through your body, carrying nutrients and waste to and from your organs, glands, tissues, bones, ultimately to and from all ~100 trillion cells in your body. Your heart, your eyes, your intestines, and even your big toe need water-based fluids not only to survive but to thrive. In your circulatory system, water is the main molecule of blood. Water is also a major volume in your lymphatic system, your second circulatory system.  Proper water intake determines the balance and health conditions of organs, systems, and functions in the body because it is directly affecting the mighty lymph fluid.

How important is water to the health of your lymphatic system?

Water is simply crucial to the lymphatic system!  Why?   Because the lymphatic system is about 96% water. Most of your body’s water is the lymphatic fluid.  Anatomically, the lymphatic system is much bigger in volume and number of vessels than the blood system.  It’s also much slower flowing than the blood because the heart does not pump the lymphatic fluid. In addition, the presence of hundreds of lymph nodes makes the lymph fluid even slower. For the body to function properly, we need to drink enough water to keep the lymph fluid clean and flowing freely. When we don’t drink enough water, or when we have a sedentary life or when we breathe shallowly, the water within – the lymph –  tends to get stagnant and dirty.  When it gets stagnant, the lymph fluid retains the toxic cellular waste that is supposed to move away from the body. The cells can’t get the nutrients they need. They gradually weaken or perish. At this point, rather than doing its job of nourishing and repairing cells and tissues, the lymph is impairing and damaging them! The lymphatic system can easily become a hazardous system to the other systems of the body when proper water intake is neglected. So, we need to assist lymph motion for us to have a healthy life. Drinking sufficient water – and exercise – are critical to the lymphatic system.

Water for digestion

Water is the basis of the juices in your digestive system, so you can digest foods. It’s the main ingredient in urine, helping you get rid of liquid waste. And all important perspiration is water that comes through the skin as your body’s temperature-regulating system.

Water is in charge when it comes to keeping things moving freely because it’s a big part of the fluid that lubricates the body’s joints. Water is also the biggest part of mucus and saliva, the slimy substance that’s in your eyes, nose, throat and mouth, and many other parts of your body that you can’t see, like your stomach.

What goes in must come out – Much water is lost when you urinate, have bowel movements, and sweat – especially on a hot day. But your body also loses water in an almost invisible way – evaporation. All year long, water escapes from your body through your skin and in your breath. How? Your breath contains droplets of water that are usually too tiny to see. They become visible for a quick second in the cold when you can see your breath.

Replenish that water!

As you can see, water works hard in your body every day. That’s why it’s important to give your body the water it needs to carry out all its different jobs. On a regular day, your body loses 2 to 5 quarts of water – enough to fill one or two 2-liter soda bottles.

Eating is one way to replace the water your body loses. Many foods have a lot of water in them, especially fruits and vegetables. Grapes, watermelon, oranges, and cantaloupe are delicious and full of water. On the veggie side, lettuce, cucumbers, and celery also are full of water. But you cannot rely on food alone to get that water you need, and that’s why it’s important to drink a lot of water every day.

How much water is enough?

Daily water intake needs to compensate for the amount of water lost through the kidneys (urination), skin (perspiration), lungs (breathing) and intestines (feces). Otherwise dehydration sets in. Dehydration means that more water is moving out of the body than the amount of water we take in.

The amount of water we need can be determined when we divide the body weight in pounds by two. The result would be the number of ounces of water you need daily. Another way to look at it is to drink half of your body’s weight (in pounds) in ounces. In other words, if you weigh 100 pounds, then your goal is to drink 50 ounces of water per day.

Keep in mind, that if you exercise heavily or if you’re in a hot climate you may need more water than that.  To be sure what’s correct for you, check with your health professional. And, please, don’t wait to be thirsty to drink water! We are already dehydrated when we feel thirsty!  Dehydration causes sluggish lymph function. We really don’t want this problem, so be sure to drink water regularly throughout the day.

Are soft drinks and energy drinks as efficient as water?

Water is the source of life. Unfortunately, Coca-Cola or beer don’t have the same restoring and balancing effects that water provides. Coffee and tea are diuretics, which means it makes you urinate more and it’s not helpful to be losing water when you’re trying to replace it. Calories are another concern in caffeinated drinks, such as soda. Juices contain too much sugar and calories.

If you’re exercising and sweating, drinking water is doubly important (lukewarm water is better). When it’s hot or humid, it’s even more important to drink water, because you are at a higher risk for heat exhaustion. When you’re exercising, don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink up. When it’s hot or you’re exercising, it’s much better to drink even when you’re not thirsty.

When it comes to water, remember that it’s better to drink more than enough water then to not drink enough, and best, although you might drink a lot, water contains no calories, no matter how much you drink.

Be mindful of how much water you’re drinking. There’s no need to drink large amounts at a time, instead, get into the habit of frequently sipping water. Happy water drinking!  Start today!