Author: Nicos Stylianou
The other day I finished reading a captivating book named "Your Body's Many Cries For Water". What impressed me the most from reading this book, is that the author establishes a clear link between the benefits of drinking water and our overall wellness.
Besides the other very interesting facts which stress the importance of drinking water, the author makes special reference to some common ailments that almost all of us suffer from now and then and shows that their most probable cause is dehydration. Below, I give you some examples:
When our head hurts
We all suffer from headaches, or even worse migraines from time to time. Some of us more and some others less severely. What you might find surprising to learn, is that more often than not, we should blame ourselves for not drinking enough water.
You see, three quarters of our brain consists of water and when it senses that there is shortage of it, it releases histamines which cause pain and fatigue. The intention is to make us slow down our activities, so as to preserve the minimum water quantity that will allow our brain to function properly.
So, the next time you think that your head will explode from a splitting headache, resist the temptation of taking an aspirin and do this: Drink a full glass of fresh, pure water and then sit back and unwind for half an hour. More often than not, you will be amazed. Your headache will just go away!
Back Pain
According to statistics, one out of four adults experiences at least once in his lifetime the pain and anguish associated with a sore back. As the author claims in his book, another one of the benefits of drinking water is that it helps mitigate our suffering.
Permit me to be more clear on what I mean.
The discs which our back consists of, have a hard external surface while inside they are filled with water. Provided that the quantity of the water is maintained at an adequate level, then the discs are performing their function well. This meaning that they are robust enough to help our backbone support the weight of our body.
When we move our body, then pressure is exerted and released on the discs depending on the type of movement. This creates a suction which allows fluids in the body to enter the disc, thus keeping them properly hydrated.
You should begin to understand now what causes this process to break down. When our body is deprived of water, then there is not enough of it to enter the discs. In consequence, the outer shell of the discs is no longer supported from the inside. So, all weight of the body is shifted on them, leading to excessive pressure. The symptoms are all too familiar: Pain and distress!
Hypertension
Water also plays a vital role in the biological process associated with high blood pressure.
As experts on internal medicine claim, one of the leading causes of high blood pressure is low blood volume. As the basic constituent of the blood is water (83% of our blood to be precise is just plain water), then you can understand that when we deprive ourselves of this valuable fluid, then the blood volume goes down.
Our body's internal mechanisms have the ability to monitor the level of our blood volume. When there is an alert that this volume has fallen below acceptable limits, then our body switches into an emergency mode, directing supply of blood only to active organs switching everything else off. This redistribution of the circulatory system more often than not leads to hypertension.
In conclusion, these are only a few of the examples that clearly demonstrate that by drinking enough quantities of water can dramatically improve your health.
One word of caution: In order to benefit the most and avoid any adverse effects on you health, both yours and your family's, make sure that the water you consume at your house is top quality. Considering now that, based on reports and statistics issued not only by private but also by government bodies, it is widely acceptable that both tap and bottled water quality leaves much to be desired, I should advice that time investigating your options about what you can do, will be time well spent.
No comments:
Post a Comment