Alternative Cures

Yes, Water!

As we’re mostly made of water, it stands to reason that lack of it will make us ill. Dehydration is the cause of many “common” ailments that most people would never attribute to lack of the stuff. Here’s a few statistics:

1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated

2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger

3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one’s metabolism as much as 3%

4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study

5. Lack of water is the number One trigger of daytime fatigue

6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers

7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page

8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%. It can also slash the risk of breast cancer by 79% and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer

There’s more.

As a sufferer of arthritis in my past, I found that dehydration brought on severe attacks of gout. This theory was given a lot of weight after speaking to several people who had major operations and found that upon recovery then suffered attacks of gout, due to the natural dehydration that their bodies suffered because of the operation in that they were unable to take liquid pre-op and also during the long sleep afterwards. The saline drip does not provide enough liquid to completely stave off dehydration.

This state of dehydration must tie in with reduced kidney function reducing their ability to purge uric acid from the bloodstream. Increased levels of uric acid in the blood is a known cause of arthritis and gout (actually these two are one and the same disease - gout is just a severe, localised arthritic attack in one joint or another).

There are only benefits to drinking plenty of water each day. It should not be substituted with fizzy drinks which are only bad for you or tea, coffee or alcoholic drinks which all dehydrate you. Aim to drink around two lites of water a day and you’ll be surprised at the improvement ion your general health, skin complexion and state of mind!

Terry Didcott
Alternative Cures