Water Precious Water
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Frederic Patenaude's blog
Today I’m going to talk about a very important health principle that is so often forgotten.
I also want to ask you to be careful with the three most dangerous words in the English language, which are: “I KNOW THAT”.
What I’m going to talk about today, you’ve already heard before. But it’s one of those principles that is so obvious, so universal, so important and yet so neglected!
I’m talking about the importance of drinking enough water.
First Things First
I’m not going to bore you with high-school class facts such as “your body is made up of 75% water” and so on. We know that water is essential to life.
My point is, it’s easy to forget how essential water actually is, and get into the habit of being chronically dehydrated without realizing it.
Here are some possible signs that you could be dehydrated:
- Lack of energy & fatigue
- Migraine headaches
- Dandruff
- Apathy
- Irritability and mild depression
- Chronic pain
- Low back pain
- Dry mouth or crusty nasal passages
- Dry and flaky skin
- Weakness
- Excessive sleepiness
- Constipation
- Salty sweat
Americans Don’t Drink Enough Water
Most people are aware of the recommendation of drinking 8 to 10 cups of water a day. But how many actually do? A recent survey shows that less than 34% do.
Dehydration is insidious. You’re much more at risk of becoming dehydrated than becoming malnourished from lack of food. Our hunger mechanism prevents the vast majority of us from eating too little. But the thirst mechanism is usually not working very well in most people.
In other words, we become dehydrated without even realizing it.
It has happened to me before. And it’s amazing how during those times I didn’t feel “thirsty” at all! I thought I didn’t need to drink that much water.
But as soon as I started drinking more, my thirst came back, like a lost sense that was suddenly awoken.
And as you get older, you’re even more likely to be less aware of the sensation of thirst and become chronically dehydrated.
Chronic Cellular Dehydration
Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj wrote a book called “Your Body’s Many Cries For Water”, where he blames lack of water for most of humanity’s health problems.
Dr. Batmanghelidj found chronic dehydration to be the cause of many conditions including asthma, allergies, arthritis, angina, migraine headaches, hypertension, raised cholesterol, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, depression, and diabetes in the elderly.
His book isn’t necessarily a pleasant read, and the science may be questionable. But knowing that the basic principle of the importance is true, what do you have to lose by applying his recommendations?
Drinking more water won’t hurt you. It most likely will do you a whole lot of good.
Even Raw-Foodists Need Water
Let’s get it straight. You need to drink water, even if you’re a raw-foodist. Even though fruits and vegetables may contain a lot of water, it’s often not sufficient enough to cover your needs.
I’ve noticed that certain sweet foods with a high glycemic load can be dehydrating. This is often puzzling because those fruits contain a lot of water!
Anyone who has tried to eat only watermelon for a few days know that you can actually feel dehydrated when eating too much watermelon. This fruit (and a few others) contains a sugar that enters the blood particularly fast. So when too much sugar is present, the excess is eliminated through urine (water)… leading to a possible sensation of thirst.
So my recommendation has always been to drink some water, if you’re going to eat a lot of watermelon.
And no matter what your diet looks like, make sure you remember to drink water.
Water Basics
A few quick tips.
1- Get good water. If your water is of low quality, you won’t feel inclined to drink. Get good bottled spring water or filtered water, or purchase your own purification equipment. Most methods are good (reverse osmosis is particularly good).
2- 8 glasses of water is a good minimum to shoot for. Keep in mind that water requirements vary greatly among individuals, and demand varies according to physical activity.
3- In times of hot weather, drink massive amounts of water. The main reason why people get sick when they travel to tropical countries is because they don’t drink enough water.
4-Rather than counting glasses, get one or two 32 ounces water jugs and try to go through 2 of those a day.
5- Certain beverages are dehydrating. Those include coffee, soda, alcohol, etc. If you have a drink (wine, etc.), have twice as much water. For example, if you drink a glass of wine, have 2 glasses of water. Same for coffee. You’ll be amazed on how much better you’ll feel.
Remember that “drinking enough water” is one of the most important health principles! There are many others that I’ll share with you in the future, but this one is probably the most neglected.
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Frederic Patenaude, is the author of the best-selling e-book
The Raw Secrets and is known for his no-gimmick, BS-free approach to health and nutrition. You can get a free subscription to his “Outrageous Health & Success” ezine by visiting
http://www.fredericpatenaude.com
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