Simple Spring Cleaning: The Importance of Hydration on Health

by Dr. Carol Ann Fischer

We are exposed to toxins from the foods we eat, the air we breathe, and the water we drink. In the U.S. alone there are 1700 new chemicals released every year by the EPA. Only 25% of these chemicals have been tested for toxicity according to the World Book Encyclopedia. Recent research by the Environmental Working Group evaluated the blood of newborn babies, and found industrial chemicals in their blood. These babies had not yet been exposed to the toxins in the air or water outside the womb. Testing showed their blood already contained over 200 industrial toxins that they had absorbed from their mother. We do indeed live in a toxic world.

Without food most humans will die within a month, as long as they have water. Without water, the human body will survive only ten days. Water makes up 75% of the body, 90% of the blood, and 85% of the brain. The rule for water consumption is to drink one-half your body weight in ounces. Failure to drink sufficient water causes signs of dehydration that most people have learned to ignore.

Americans do not worry about dehydration. They think that dehydration is something that happens to travelers in the desert when they run out of water. Chronic dehydration is widespread today and does not have immediate symptoms. It affects everyone who is not drinking enough water.

Chronic dehydration has been masked by food or with drugs. Some symptoms and their common remedies are: Peptic Ulcer - Antacids; Craving Sweets – Sugar; Depression - Anti-depressant drugs; Allergies – Antihistamines. Although many individuals may perceive the thirst sensation or a dry mouth as an initial symptom of dehydration, dry mouth is a late sign of thirst for water on a cellular level. Saliva is produced even in chronic dehydration with a dry mouth, because it is a digestive enzyme.

More water may need to be consumed if you have any of these symptoms:

• Fatigue

• Constipation

• Digestive disorders

• High or low blood pressure

• Gastritis or stomach trouble

• Respiratory trouble

• Acid-alkaline imbalance

• Excess weight and obesity

• Eczema

• Cholesterol issues

• Urinary infections

• Rheumatism

• Premature aging

Drinking clean water is essential to good health. But which drinking water is the cleanest? You might guess bottled water, but it’s not that simple. Bottled water is not necessarily cleaner than tap water. In fact, FDA purity requirements for city water systems are far more stringent than for bottled water companies. The plastic from the bottles can leach into the drinking water. Bottled water creates more pollution by filling our landfills with gazillions of wasted plastic bottles. Bottled water is often tap water that has been filtered once and then sold to the consumer. (Please refer to our February 2009 article in CoSozo Living on bottled water for additional information.)

Tap water is the least expensive source of water. However, you do not want to drink unfiltered tap water due to the drugs, chemicals and toxins in the water. A good water filter will cost $100-150 and last up to 5 years. A gallon of filtered water from your tap costs about 10 to 18 cents per gallon. At $1 to $4 per gallon, bottled water is at least 10 times more expensive than home filtered water. Most home filtration systems remove the good minerals from the water. Add liquid minerals back to your home filtered water if you use a reverse osmosis filter or a distilled water system. Both of these systems cleanse the water of all impurities and minerals, including the minerals that are essential to your health.

Drinking more water is the first action that can be taken to cleanse the body of toxins. Detoxification is a natural process occurring on a continual basis in the body. Drinking more water is the easiest way to help aid the detoxification process. Studies show that detoxification improves all the organs of elimination and results in increased health benefits. A recent study in the September 2008 issue of The Journal of Chiropractic Medicine showed the importance of increased water intake combined with a whole food detoxification diet program.

The best health insurance you can have is to do everything possible to cleanse your body to prevent sickness and disease. Besides increasing water consumption, there are detoxification diets and programs to help cleanse the body of accumulated toxins. (Refer to the article in this month’s issue of CoSozo Living on Detoxification for additional information.)

Besides detoxification diets, there are detoxification programs that focus on specific organ systems: the skin, liver, kidneys, intestines, lungs, blood and lymphatic system. Even dietary changes (eating organic) and nutritional modification (decreasing intake of processed sugars) can be a mild form of detoxification.

If you are trying a detoxification program for the first time, it is best to start with a gentle cleanse. In general, it is usually recommended that you begin with the intestines. If your bowels are not moving adequately enough to expel the toxins, there will be little benefit from a detoxification program. By focusing on the bowels first to increase elimination, you will enhance your body’s detoxification.

Spring is the best time to cleanse your body. All native cultures around the world have spring rituals involving body cleansing to eliminate toxins that have been stored during the winter. As you perform a spring cleaning of your house, so too can you renew your body with a spring cleaning program.

The rich winter diet puts a burden on your digestive and eliminative systems. With the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables that become available in the springtime, it is the perfect time to detoxify. Cleansing can help you experience more energy, increased mental clarity and greater alertness, a better mood, improved digestion and elimination, decreased pain and weight loss. The easiest cleanse to begin with is to increase your consumption of water. Happy Spring Cleaning!

Disclaimer: The recommendations in this article are not to be taken as medical advice. If your digestive/eliminative function is not what it should be, consult a qualified wellness consultant or provider to determine the cause of your distress, and for specific recommendations on your personal health issues.