- 75% of people are chronically dehydrated (likely applies to half the world population).
- In 37% of people, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.
- Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%.
- One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of dieters studies.
- Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
- Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
- A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math's, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen.
- Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.
With thanks St Luke's CARE (2002).
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Here’s why older people must drink more water
June 18, 2021 HUMAN INTEREST HEALTH & CARE
The elderly and middle-aged should drink more water to reap the full cognitive benefits of exercise.
The cognitive benefits of exercise are weakened by dehydration, according to research from the US. Scientists from Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, say the elderly can have a “blunted” perception of their thirst, meaning they are less likely to recognise the signs of thirst until it’s too late, and are therefore at greater risk of becoming dehydrated.
Top tips to prevent dehydration:
- Include a drink of water with every meal.
- Have drinks, such as water, apple or orange juice readily available, especially for people that struggle to drink water.
- Be alert to the early signs of dehydration, such as dry lips and nose, dark urine, fatigue, dizziness, cold hands and feet, and a sense of thirstiness.
- Avoid too much coffee and alcohol, which can have a diuretic effect, i.e. increase the flow of urine.
- Remember that foods can also be hydrating, including broths, fruits (including apples, oranges and grapes) and vegetables (such as cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers).
Basic Viral Treatments – Water is the Most Basic Treatment
https://drsircus.com/general/they-dont-want-you-to-know-basic-viral-treatments-water-is-the-most-basic-treatment/
Many underestimate seasonal flu’s severity and neglect treating dehydration, a survey of U.S. physicians and consumers found. Fifty-seven percent of doctors surveyed said they considered dehydration the single most dangerous flu side effect. “Severe flu symptoms like fever and body aches often keep patients from taking in adequate fluids,” said Dr. Leanne M. Chrisman-Khawam of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. “By managing symptoms, one will be more likely to manage their dehydration as well.”
06 February 2020
Dehydration is an under appreciated etiology in many diseases. Most doctors fail to understand – or refuse to consider – that water plays such a huge part in disease states probably because it is too common of a substance. Water is the first thing we should take as a medicine but physicians rarely prescribe water, and you’ll never hear of a pharmaceutical company recommending it, yet water can prevent and cure many common conditions because intake of sufficient amounts of it is a basic or underlying cause of disease.
Dr. Sang Whang, author of the Reverse Ageing, says the ageing process is basically the accumulation of acidic wastes built up within the body.
He says, “The nutrients that we deliver to our cells burn with oxygen and become acidic wastes after giving energy to our body. The body tries its best to get rid of these acidic wastes through urine and perspiration. Unfortunately, our lifestyle, diet and environment prevent our body to get rid of all the wastes that it generates. Gradually, these leftover acidic wastes accumulate somewhere within our body. Since acid coagulates blood, the blood circulation near the waste areas becomes poor, causing all kinds of degenerative diseases to develop…”
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Water Cures Dehydration And Facilitates All Medical Treatments
"Water is the perfect cure for dehydration, which is important because most people in the modern era tend to be slightly dehydrated. Whether we drink too little water or too much soda or coffee or suffer from our medicines dehydrating effects, our bodies lose vital energy quickly from being deficient in water. Being low on water is like being very low in oil as you attempt to climb a mountain in your car.
In stressful times like these, when anxiety and fear increase, we should increase our water intake to mitigate the damaging effects of our emotions on our bodies. Water is our most basic medicine, but doctors do not pay enough attention to hydration levels in their patients, which gets them into troublesome lawsuits, especially in pediatrics. Thus for ourselves and our children, it pays to self-diagnose, and that is easy by paying attention to your urine color. The darker it is, the more dehydrated one is. Dehydration alters the conformation of proteins and removes water layers around proteins essential for maintaining the original protein structure.
In health and medicine, it pays to pay attention to the basics. Want to stay young and healthy? Pay attention to your water, and importantly what is in your water. In most places in the world today, tap water is not acceptable. It is polluted with many contaminants, including chlorine and fluoride, which was the worst idea imaginable. Only sick politicians and health officials are in favor of putting fluoride in water."
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Dehydration is one of the most overlooked and basic causes of disease.
The minute hydration levels decline:
- oxygen transport and utilization decline,
- cell voltage declines,
- the body becomes more acidic, and
- the more toxins build up because they cannot be eliminated from the body with efficiency
- All functions within the body require the presence of water.
Symptoms of moderate to severe dehydration include:
- Low blood pressure
- Fainting
- Severe muscle contractions in the arms, legs, stomach, and back
- Convulsions
- A bloated stomach
- Heart failure
- Sunken fontanelle– soft spot on an infant’s head
- Sunken dry eyes, with few or no tears
- Skin losing its firmness and becoming wrinkled
- Lack of elasticity of the skin (when a bit of skin lifted up stays folded and takes a long time to go back to its normal position)
- Rapid and deep breathing, faster than normal
- Fast, weak pulse
Be aware too, that shortness of your breath is a common symptom of dehydration, as is low energy. Do have a drink of several glasses of water and feel your body's almost instantaneous response.
We need to hydrate for healthier skin and to aid digestion. However, our brains get thirsty too! The brain actually shrinks when we are dehydrated, making it harder to concentrate and fend off irritability.
Fluid is drawn out of brain cells during dehydration, with some shrinkage of the brain. "While not all studies have shown significant cognitive effect, there is some evidence to show the brain has to work harder in that state of dehydration." Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, UNSW Australia. 23 February 2014.
The good news is that rehydration reverses any ill-effects, such as fatigue or irritability. "When you hydrate the body, that shrinkage reverses - it's not going to be a permanent effect." says Sachdev, Scientia Professor University of NSW Education.
Water constitutes by weight, 3/5 ths of the human body, and enters largely into all organic matter.
Maintaining optimal hydration is requisite for overall health and longevity. In fact, the 2003 heat wave in Europe led to an excess of 50,000 deaths. The majority of these deaths have been attributed primarily to dehydration. Indeed, dehydration is a primary cause for the hospitalization of the elderly and in many patients it often results in fatalities. Dehydration is also linked to infection and if overlooked, mortality may be greater than 50%. Did you know that losing only 1%-2% of your bodyweight in water significantly impairs both athletic and cognitive performance?
Just shows that, particularly in this Hot Weather, the importance of Water for your loved one - and Yourself, is VITAL. "Water is the universal solvent; it can exist as a solid, liquid or gas. It is necessary for the functions of life and for life to function."
With many thanks for this reminder :-) It just shows the Importance of Water.
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Diet and Nutrition: Foods That Are Good Sources of Water
- Reviewed By: Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, LD
Drinking liquids isn't the only way to stay hydrated. You typically get about 20% of your water each day from food. You can get even more if you eat certain things. And there are benefits to taking in water through food: You absorb it more slowly and get nutrients along the way.
6 Unusual Signs of Dehydration:
Dry or flushed skin could be a sign that you’re dehydrated. Dehydration occurs when the body has insufficient water to function properly. While mild dehydration may be just uncomfortable, more severe dehydration can lead to blood clots, seizures, and other potentially fatal complications.
Clearly, severe dehydration must be treated promptly, but even mild dehydration can have adverse effects on mood and energy. It’s important to catch any degree of dehydration early, but the signs of dehydration aren’t always obvious ones like thirst and fatigue.
Here are six surprising signs and symptoms of dehydration.
1. Bad Breath – Saliva has antibacterial properties, but dehydration can prevent your body from making enough saliva. “If you’re not producing enough saliva, you can get bacteria overgrowth in the mouth, and one of the side effects of that is bad breath,” says John Higgins, MD, an associate professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Texas in Houston and the chief of cardiology at Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital in Houston.
2. Dry Skin – “A lot of people think that people who get dehydrated are really sweaty, but in fact, as you go through various stages of dehydration, you get very dry skin,” Dr. Higgins says, adding that skin may appear flushed as well.
When pinched, the skin of a dehydrated person may remain “tented” and take some time to return to its normal, flat appearance.
3. Muscle Cramps – Dehydration is only one potential cause of muscle cramps, but it’s one worth considering if you get cramps while exercising, particularly in hot weather.
“The hotter you get, the more likely you are to get muscle cramps, and that’s from a pure heat effect on the muscles. As the muscles work harder and harder, they can seize up from the heat itself. Changes in the electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium, can lead to muscle cramping as well,” says Higgins.
Even in cooler weather, dehydration is possible if you don’t drink enough fluids while working out. According to Higgins, symptoms may be milder or come on slower, but dehydration carries the same risks, regardless of the outside temperature.
4. Fever and Chills – If your body is severely dehydrated you may experience fever and chills. Fever, in turn, can worsen dehydration, and the higher the fever, the more dehydrated you may become.
In infants, so-called dehydration fever may develop if there is inadequate fluid intake, diarrhea, or vomiting. Any fever in an infant or toddler is cause for concern. Ask your pediatrician for guidelines on when to call for help.
Adults with fever should seek medical help if their temperature reaches 103°F.
5. Food Cravings, Especially for Sweets – “When you’re dehydrated, it can be difficult for organs like the liver, which uses water, to release glycogen [stored glucose] and other components of your energy stores, so you can actually get cravings for food,” Higgins says.
While you can crave anything from chocolate to a salty snack, cravings for sweets are more common because your body may be experiencing difficulty breaking down glycogen to release glucose into the bloodstream to use as fuel, he says.
It’s also not uncommon for the body to confuse the feeling of thirst with hunger, meaning that you may feel hungry when all you really need is water.
6. Headaches – Even mild dehydration can cause a dehydration headache and even trigger a migraine headache. Since it’s often not clear what is causing a headache, drinking a full glass of water and continuing to sip more fluids during the day is an easy way to ease your pain if, in fact, dehydration is contributing to it.
30 July 2018
How to Tell if You’re Dehydrated
If you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. But lack of thirst doesn’t necessarily mean you’re well hydrated. Here are two other ways to check whether your body is dehydrated:
Try this skin test. Use two fingers to pinch up some skin on the back of your hand, then let the skin go. The skin should spring back to its normal position in less than a couple of seconds. Higgins says that if the skin returns to normal more slowly, you might be dehydrated.
Check your urine. If you’re well-hydrated, your urine will be mostly clear with a tinge of yellow (the color of light lemonade before it hits the bowl). Darker yellow or orange are the “warning” colors to watch for. If you see those colors, start drinking fluids.
Do have a look here. It is helpful to all of us...
http://parkinsonsresource.org/news/articles/what-your-urine-says-about-your-health/
Dehydration in the elderly – Elderly people may be at higher risk for dehydration for a number of reasons.
Some elderly people become chronically dehydrated if they take certain medications such as diuretics, have a diminished sense of thirst, are not able to get themselves a glass of water easily, or forget to drink because of dementia. Chronic dehydration in an elderly person may lead to confusion, low blood pressure, dizziness, and constipation.
If you have an elderly relative with mobility limitations or cognitive problems, be sure to monitor them for signs of dehydration or ask their caregivers to do so.
read more at:
http://parkinsonsresource.org/news/articles/6-unusual-signs-of-dehydration-you-should-know-about/
scroll down a bit for "Tips to Staying Hydrated".
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And don't dismiss the power of Salt. It is more than just a flavoring. It can also help treat everything from stains on teeth to constipation. Find out more about all the uses you can find for this kitchen staple... https://www.medicinenet.com/13_healthy_uses_for_salt/article.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-T7tCMUDXU
The Fourth Phase of Water:
Dr. Gerald Pollack at TEDxGuelphU 07 September 2013