Many of us are troubled by never ending health problems and spend time and money on doctors and hospitals. But most importantly, ill health is a big obstacle in reaching our goals of life. Most of the problems start because of a few errors in diet and wrong life styles. Many health problems start and become serious when the body is starved of water for long durations.

Water is essential for-

  • Digestion
  • Absorption of nutrients
  • Expulsion of solid waste (stool)
  • Expulsion of liquid waste (urine)
  • Expulsion of toxins
  • Maintaining blood viscosity for proper circulation
  • Regulation of body temperature
  • Cooling the body during high physical activity
  • Lubrication of joints and body tissues

You need to replace the approximate amount of water the body uses for all these activities in a day to maintain body water balance.

How much water do we need to drink per day? There are different answers and opinions.
Many say 8 to 12 glasses. How much is one glass? If 250ml make one glass, it amounts to 2 to 3 litres. It is much less than needed, as this calculation shows:
Quantity of water used in major organs in a day:

  1. Lungs: 500ml
  2. Colon (large intestines): 400ml
  3. Skin: 500ml

Added to this, 1 to 1 ½ litres of water goes as urine and sweat.
Total quantity of water used: 2.5 to 3 litres. So, it looks as if it is enough if we replace the same amount.

It is correct if we eat only natural raw foods without processing. But we eat processed foods with lots of salt, oil, milk products, sugar, spices etc.. We are not considering alcohol intake here.

Body needs more water if we consume such foods. Sweets and spices also increase water requirement. We absorb a number of chemicals that enter through the food we eat and various medicines we use. Water is needed to dissolve these chemicals and flush them out of the body. Body uses additional water during mental stress and tension, which are common with the present day hectic lifestyle.

With such additional burden we put on our body because of wrong food and living habits, the theoretical 2.5 to 3 litres is not enough. Practical experiments and observations over many years indicate that an average person needs 4 to 5 litres of water per day. People working in hot sun and sweat a lot require 5 ½ to 6 litres.

What happens if we don't drink enough water?

  • We produce less saliva
  • Acidity-burning sensation in stomach
  • Gastric pain (food does not pass from stomach to small intestine)
  • Joints get worn out
  • Neck pain (no cushioning)
  • In crease in bad cholesterol
  • Bad odour from mouth and sweat
  • Urinary infections
  • Kidney stones (precipitation and crystallization of chemicals)
  • Allergies
  • High/low blood pressure
  • Sun allergy
  • Headache
  • Tiredness
  • Constipation
  • Immune system failure
  • Pain in the lower back
  • Swelling of limbs
  • Increase of weight (by eating when thirsty)

When people are thirsty, they think they are hungry and start eating- causing weight gain. Some take soft drinks, beer, coconut water, sugarcane juice etc. But body needs water and we need to give water only.

How will you know that the body water is not enough?
Body indicates in 7 ways:

  1. Urine has dark yellow or light red colour, less in quantity, concentrated, hot and frothing. Bad and pungent smell.
  2. Burning sensation while passing urine
  3. Headache and dull sensation in the head
  4. Feeling of heat in the body
  5. Burning eyes
  6. Skin burns when you go out in the sun
  7. Dry mouth.

Normally we don't think about water with the first 6 symptoms. We act only when we mouth gets dry. Even then, instead of water, we take soft drinks, beer etc.

If the body does not get enough water, it tries to store the available water and use it for the essential purposes. It does this by blocking salt in the body since salt stores water- 1gm of salt stores 80gm of water.

Water starved body also takes water from various organs: For example, it takes 8% of water from blood veins. Loss of water makes veins contract causing high blood pressure.

  • Drink enough water
  • Avoid drinking water just before food, during food and immediately after food.
  • Eat less salt- the lesser the better. The best thing is- eliminate salt from your diet. It is the worst evil.
  • Avoid food cooked with oil.
  • Avoid sugar. Use honey and sweet fruits like dates(sweet desert fruit).
  • Use minimum medication.

Follow these simple steps and your health will improve the natural way.

Author's Bio: 

My name is Gowripathi. I am an electronics engineer by profession. I worked in a reputed public sector Telecom company, starting as a research engineer and reached to senior management position.

I am not a Self Improvement coach but my involvement in people related issues during my long career taught me lessons that I applied successfully. Those results gave me confidence and encouragement to write articles so that I can bring similar success in the lives of others. I am a freelance non-fiction writer.

For more detailed discussions and articles on Health and Self Improvement, please visit my Website http://www.self-improvement-success.com

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