It’s your desire to stay looking and feeling healthy and youthful, right? Hey, isn’t it everybody’s? Yet, did you know that one of the keys to the kingdom may be right before your eyes, is free, and you may not be making the best use of it? In this article then, I’d like to enlighten you. I’d like to share what I know about your best guard against aging—one that is in front of you and easily accessible. Let’s discuss then why you should drink more water.
Are You Dehydrated?
You may not even know it, but your body could be dehydrated as we speak. After all, it takes a lot of water to make your engine go. Before we discuss how much, let’s first establish the environment that your body lives in; it’s no secret, it is comprised predominately of water. Your brain, your cells, your blood are all primarily water. In his book You're Not Sick, You’re Thirsty, Dr. Batmanghelidj makes the leap, if you suffer from any of the following conditions, your body is telling you that it’s dehydrated. Here they are1:
- Asthma
- Allergies
- Hypertension
- Constipation
- Type II diabetes
- Autoimmune diseases
For the sake of anti-aging and longevity purposes, prematurely drying and wrinkling skin is another sign of dehydration. In his book, Dr. Batmanghelidj has us imagine a ripe plum that’s been dried in the summer sun to create a wrinkly, bitter prune. What if, just with the addition of water, all of our prunes could become plumbs once again [or never prune in the first place]? Now you’re talking my language [smiling].
Drink More Water? How Much Water?
I’m not here to suggest drinking your fair share of water can reverse or even prevent all of these afflictions [although Dr. B does], what I am here to suggest is that by upping your water intake you can improve your health as well as the way you look. Why would you not do it?
For his Water Cure, Dr. B. suggests drinking eight, eight-ounce glasses of water a day. He does suggest that the timing of that water drinking is a key element, but I, like you, am busy, so I personally don’t give a lot of thought to the exact timing of my water drinking—in fact, I drink my water in “flushes.” I aim to drink one-half gallon of water a day, and you could do worse than to follow this protocol. I do try to space it out over the course of time, because, of course, there is the elimination process to deal with. I find, if I “flush” with one large glass at a time, the trips to the bathroom are minimal. I’ll tell you more about my “flushing” program in a moment.
But, Laura, I Don’t Like Water.
My dear father, of whom I love to the moon and beyond, would never heed my recommendation to drink more water. He liked coffee, some soda, mostly milkshakes, and any other beverage that wasn’t water. He’s not alone; I do have a lot of people give me a similar stance. “But, Laura, I don’t like water,” they say to me frequently. If you are a soda drinker or like “pop” as they say here in Upstate, New York, you may want to ask yourself—if I am what I consume, what am I doing to my body? Water will flush your toxins, plump your cells into that elusive plumb condition, hydrate your blood, and, arguably, prevent illnesses. Don’t you owe it to yourself to give it a try?
True story, I have been slack in the recent past about my water consumption. I started slipping, consuming less and less, and eating more sugary, “comfort foods,” as it were. After a trip to the doctor, my insulin was creeping up into the “resistant” range—it was quite a wake up call. Therefore, between visits, I made some changes. This time on my trip to the M.D. my insulin was back to within normal limits. Quite simply, I cut out much of the extra “cheat day” cookies and sweets and started back on my water flushing cure.
Why Fluoride is not Your Friend.
If you’ve decided for your health, for your longevity, or for other reasons, you may want to heed my advice and up your water intake to make your body that precious plum I speak of, there’s another issue at hand. What kind of water should you drink? This is where the rubber hits the road and where things get a bit more complicated. The reason? Fluoride is not your friend.
With all the best intentions to please the dentistry profession, adding fluoride to water does not make it safer. I’m not the only one saying this. In his book Never Be Sick Again, author Raymond Francis, M.Sc. says, “Fluoride is more toxic than lead and only slightly less toxic than arsenic.”2 This idea, along with all of the other inorganic compounds that come along with municipal water [some may include medications, lead, arsenic, and a host of other toxic chemicals] proves, you will need to make your best efforts to remove them.
How to Find Healthy Water?
If your answer is to drink bottled water, you might be misguided, at least according to the research that I’ve read. In most cases, bottled water is simply glorified tap water and there are hosts of studies out there on the interwebs that will back this information up. What’s a body to do?
You will want to filter your water.
The best process, according to research, is through reverse osmosis; a filter that attaches to your water system and removes the gook before the water exits your tap. Yet, I’m realistic. Most people do not want to go to the trouble of attaching a filter under their sink. If this is the case with you, and you’re ready to become a precious plum, do your research with regard to water pitchers. Some of the new ones, Zero Water and the pH Restore, are making some claim that they can filter fluoride from water. It’s worth checking out. Where I live we have a beautiful water source from our nearby Canandaigua Lake. Upon further research, however, I’ve realized that they do add fluoride to our water. Thus, I’m rethinking my faithful Brita.
Why I Started Thinking About Drinking More Water as an Anti-Aging Regimen.
One of my favorite authors on aging, Barbara Morris, in her The New Put Old On Hold, touts water as one of the main ways she uses to keep herself vibrant and youthful. Currently, Barbara is in her late 80s and I’ve been following her through her writings since she was in her early 70s. She’s promised me that with some sound do-able ideas, we could all Put Old On Hold and not meet with our maturity by playing shuffleboard at the local Senior Center. Her mission has been to help others live life [in mind and body] at a rate 20 years their junior. She is living proof, and I am pleased to consider her my mentor. She’s a living example of vibrant maturity! I hope you will check her work out for yourself. My favorite books include The New Put Old On Hold and No More Little Old Ladies.
Drink More Water and Lose Weight.
One of the most exciting things I’ve read in Dr. B’s book You’re Not Sick, You're Thirsty is his prescription for losing weight using water. During the chemical metabolism of food in the body, lipase is an enzyme that helps to break down fat stores. During this emulsification of fat you lose weight, this even if you don’t do much to change your eating program.
Although I definitely do promote a calorie reduction diet program in effort to lose weight and increase longevity, his premise rings true. If you up your water intake, the water will bind to the fat molecules. This action will assist lipase in doing its work in the body to excrete fat stores and help you lose weight3. The added water also makes you feel full and therefore the tendency for you to eat less is advanced. If you are not at your ideal weight, I would even go as far to suggest upping your water intake first before tackling your diet program. Why not see if you can’t shed some initial pounds with his method before going full-force?
Drink More Water and Help Prevent or Reverse Osteoarthritis.
If you think about the way your joints are created, there is a cartilage cushion between them that gets worn away or depressed in size over time and with active use. Dr. B makes the case that by increasing your water intake the cells between your joints are “plumped up” and increase the cushioning effect4. I, too, have found this to be true. My main acid testing of all joint theories lies in my use of the stairs. If I hear creaking, grinding, or any other such noises when I’m walking upward, I know it’s time to implement a new joint management strategy. Since I’ve been drinking more water, I notice there is an ease to my ability to climb. I’m in no pain and the noises that I once heard are gone. I continue to exercise with the McKenzie method, of course, and walk frequently outside and on the treadmill, but these activities have become much smoother and my joints have an increased glide to them. Power to the plumb!
Drink More Water: Try My Water “Flush.”
I do hope I’ve convinced you and you’d now like to increase your water intake and see what benefits it may offer. If that is true, may I also suggest you get your eight to 10, eight-ounce glasses through my “flushing” method? It is quite uncomplicated and will take little of your time. It will also decrease your trips to the bathroom as a result of the increase in water intake.
To flush, I generally fill a 25-ounce bottle with cold, filtered water and down the entire contents in mere minutes. I generally practice this method four times daily, and spread my flushes throughout the day, or when it’s most convenient. It’s really that simple. I do one solid flush in the morning when I’m taking the bulk of my vitamins, then follow up with a second. I then repeat the process in the evening, “flushing” twice more at that time. This alone has helped me to feel hydrated—and then, if I desire, I can sip some “bonus” water in the gaps of the day.
As a sidebar: Please do not wait until you feel thirsty to drink your water. Your body will be dehydrated well before this time and you’ll need to keep it hydrated all day long. As we get older, the desire to drink water decreases, so you will do well to take it upon yourself to get your “flushes” in. That’s just my two cents [smiling].
Drink More Water, in Conclusion.
If longevity and quality of life are your game as it is mine, you will want to get used to drinking more water to hydrate your body to keep it healthy for the long haul. If you are on any medications this especially rings true. Medications are a separate subject all together, and I do hope you are making the effort to keep them to a bare minimum as you age. Like fluoride, they are not your friend. But, if you must take them, be sure to drink your share of water and flush as many of the medicinal toxins from your organs as you are able.
Will drinking water prevent or reverse all of the issues as touted by Dr. B in his book? I do hope so. Yet, I cannot make the claims to say for sure. I do know that we could all do well to drink more water, however. There are so many reasons to add this strategy into your longevity arsenal, as I’ve stated here. I do hope this information helps you to think about the free and easy ways your can help build a body that is meant to last. That is my mission, to keep you well informed.
Disclaimer: This article was written for informational purposes only. It is not meant to diagnose, treat, or give council on any healthcare issues. Please consult your doctor first before beginning any major changes to your healthcare program.
References:
1Batmanghelidj, F., M.D., You're Not Sick, You’re Thirsty. New York: Warner Books, Inc.
2Raymond, F., M.Sc. Never Be Sick Again. Florida: Health Communications, Inc.
3Batmanghelidj, F., M.D., You're Not Sick, You’re Thirsty. New York: Warner Books, Inc.
4Batmanghelidj, F., M.D., You're Not Sick, You’re Thirsty. New York: Warner Books, Inc.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Laura M. Turner, journalist, author and Certified Natural Health Practitioner is the creator of the Body Talk eZine: Nature's Anti-Aging Treasures Website. She invites you to join her "10 Years Younger" Campaign and to learn more about living younger, healing yourself and those you love with quality retail or wholesale Young Living essential oils and essential oil-based products. Visit today and begin a healthier tomorrow.
. Save her ability to grab me by the funny-bone with personal satire, her book is a self-contained anti-aging capsule in itself. As a practicing pharmacist, she gives us many (laugh-out-loud) accounts of the degeneration of human consumption - sorry 
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