CasualWellness.com

Drinking enough water is really important, because a large part
of our physical bodies is made up of water. Water is critical to
our health: we can survive much longer without food than we can
without water. Water is a coolant, a lubricant and a solvent. A
large part of what I call ?me? is simply water.

If we do not drink enough water, the body will do various
things to conserve water. These conservation strategies can
lead to various unpleasant symptoms, but from the body?s
viewpoint these are less harmful than being depleted further of
water.

For example, simply drinking more water can relieve many cases
of constipation. If the body is short of water, it will extract
water from the faeces, making them hard and difficult to pass.
The end result is constipation. An abundant intake of water can
quickly solve this problem for many people. Many years ago when
my children were small I had a nanny to look after them for a
few months. Every Sunday she would disappear into the bathroom
and appear several hours later looking white faced. Eventually
I asked her what was going on, and she told me that she had
been severely constipated all her life. She managed to go once
a week but it was extremely painful. I suggested that she
should try drinking more water. After a few days she was amazed
that she was no longer constipated. She told me that as a child
she had been taken to various specialists, who could not find
anything wrong, but no one had suggested that she should drink
more water. What a simple solution to an excruciatingly painful
problem.

Dr F Batmanghelidj in his excellent book ?Your Body?s Many
Cries For Water? documents how he has helped people suffering
from a wide range of illnesses including asthma, headaches,
depression, colitis and hypertension, just by getting them to
drink more water.

For many years top models have been fanatical about drinking
water to maintain a clear skin. No wonder – water helps to
flush out toxins and plump out the skin making it look more
youthful. If you want to lose weight, try drinking a large
glass of water whenever you feel peckish. Wait ten minutes, and
then decide if you still need that food.

A study by Dr David Lewis sponsored by Brita, the UK water
filter company, shows that water plays a vital role in our
immune systems ability to fight infection, making those who
drink sufficient less likely to suffer from flu and colds. This
study also showed that those who drank enough water were less
likely to suffer from the winter blues and recovered from
stress more easily.

Athletes know that, if they wait till they are thirsty before
drinking, they are probably already dehydrated, and that means
that their performance will be affected. Even if you are not an
athlete your performance at work, at home and at school can be
affected by insufficient water.

How do you know if you are drinking enough water? Most experts
think we should be drinking at least 2 litres (approximately
4.25 US pints) of water a day ? not as tea, coffee, cola or
beer ? but as water. You will need even more if you are
exercising or if it is hot.

To begin with you may find this difficult, because you don?t
feel thirsty. It seems that the body damps down the thirst
reflex when it goes unanswered for so many years. Initially you
may find you need to go to the toilet more, but gradually your
system gets used to the extra intake.

Try this: for several days commit yourself to drinking 2 litres
of water per day. Put it into a jug or bottle and drink it
whether you are thirsty or not. After a few days you will
probably find that your body starts to indicate that it is
thirsty, and you will wonder how you managed to drink so little
in the past.

Of course, the two litres a day is a guide. Probably a more
accurate way is to check your urine. Ideally your urine should
be very pale (straw coloured). Darker urine is usually telling
you that you are not drinking enough water, although B vitamins
will colour your urine as will some medication. (It can also be
a sign of health problems, so if it is still dark after you
have upped your water intake consult an appropriate health
practitioner or doctor.)

Want to look younger and feel better quickly? Checking you are
drinking enough water could do just this. Think about how lank
and miserable plants look when they don’t get enough water.
Pretend you’re a plant and perk yourself up with more water.

About The Author: Jane Thurnell-Read is a writer on health. Her
health and happiness web site http://www.healthandgoodness.com
has lots more articles and information on good health. There’s
also an international therapist listing service, so you can
find a caring complementary/alternative medicine practitioner.

Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=79324