Over half of the body
is made up of water. Water is in every
cell and tissue of the body. Processes
like circulation, digestion, absorption
and excretion depend toally on water.
Water forms the basis of blood and lymph
(see lymph
system), it maintains
muscles and young-looking skin, lubricates
the joints and organs and regulates body
temperature. You can not function without
water! |
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But are you drinking enough? With today's
hectic, fast paced living, how many people consume
the minimal amount of 6 to 10 glasses of pure
water per day? This does not include cups of
tea, coffee and beverage drinks. In fact, these
types of drinks actually dehydrate
the body as they act as diuretics (remove water
out of the body).
As we grow older, it becomes
vital to pay attention to our water consumption.
Mature persons retain less cellular water, with
a loss of 10 to 15 percent of previous holding
capacity by the age of 65. A big contributing
factor is the loss of thirst sensitivity. Because
water is so important for digestion, a lack
of fluid in your body might make it more difficult
for you to digest food. You may suffer from
cramps, bloating, gas, constipation, diveritculosis
or even colon cancer. Drinking more water, combined
with a high-fiber diet, can prevent these problems.
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To combat this loss
of fluids, the answer is simple. Drink
more water. Six to ten glasses
of pure water each day are necessary
to enhance your body's functioning. Beyond
helping your digestive system, getting
enough fluids will give you fresh skin,
clear eyes and shining hair. Signs of
hunger may be a warning flag that your
body is in need of a good drink. Try consuming
several glasses of water before diving
into a snack to see if that takes care
of your craving. Because fruits are largely
made up of water, they are perfect choices
for a mid-afternoon treat. |
Ailments associated with lack
of water and chronic dehydration are:- Heartburn,
arthritis, backpain, angina, migraines, colitis,
asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, high
blood cholesterol, depression, chronic fatigue
syndrom, lupus, multiple sclerosis, musulare
dyrtrophy.
To understand more about the function
of Water in our body, read the book:-
"Your Body's Many Cries for Water" by
F. Batmanghelidj, M.D.
Whats
in our water?
Unfortunately, tap water is
not the safest water to drink due to various
added chemicals such as chlorine and fluoride
(see below) etc. Keep safe and purify your water
by either using a distiller, a water filter
or to guarantee the purest water, have a reverse
osmosis water filtration system installed, see
resources.
Truth about Fluoride
Fluoride is deliberately
added to drinking water supplies in the hope
that it will help reduce the incidence of tooth
decay. Many governments have announced their
determination to add fluoride to all drinking
water.
The link between fluoride and tooth decay was
first established at the end of the nineteenth
century and there is little doubt that fluoride
does help to protect the teeth by making tooth
enamel - the hard outside covering of teeth
- tougher and more decay resistant. When tests
done on large numbers of people showed that
tooth decay is slower in those parts of the
country where drinking water supplies naturally
contain fluoride some scientists and politicians
suggested that putting fluoride into the drinking
water supplies might improve the dental health
of the general population. The fluoridation
of water supplies began in America in 1945 and
today the move towards fluoridation is spreading
all over the world. Politicians are enthusiastic
about using fluoride in this way because they
have been convinced that the end result will
be a reduction in health costs. (There is nothing
politicians love more than to be able to cut
the cost of looking after the people while at
the same time claiming that what they are doing
is for the good).
However, those who oppose fluoridation are able
to put forward several arguments in their favour.
Firstly, you do not, of course, have to add
fluoride to drinking water in order to protect
teeth. You can get exactly the same effect by
persuading people to use fluoride toothpastes.
And since many toothpastes now do contain fluoride
most people already get all the fluoride they
need simply by brushing their teeth.
Second, there is no doubt that putting fluoride
into drinking water supplies is a potentially
dangerous business. The amount of fluoride that
you can put into drinking water has to be judged
very accurately. To get the best effect from
the fluoride you need to add around one part
per million. However, if you get the sums wrong
the consequences can be devastating. Just two
parts of fluoride per million can cause mottling
of the teeth and if the quantities are allowed
to rise a little higher bone disorders and cancer
may be the result. Naturally, the scientists
and politicians who are keen on putting fluoride
into our drinking water supplies claim that
the methods used are foolproof but I think that
one would have to be a fool to believe that!
Many people have already been poisoned by accidental
overdoses of chemicals and in 1986, the World
Health Organization published a report in which
concern was expressed about the incidence of
dental problems caused by there being too much
fluoride in public drinking water supplies.
Needless to say getting unwanted, excess fluoride
out of the drinking water supplies can be extremely
difficult.
To all this we must add the fact that since
drinking water supplies already contain a number
of chemicals (some of which occur naturally
in the supplies, nitrates which accumulate because
of the use of fertilizers, chlorine and aluminium
sulphate which are added deliberately and lead
or copper from the pipes which are used to supply
the water to our homes) adding fluoride to the
mixture may increase the risk of a dangerous
interaction between the various chemicals in
the water. Whenever chemicals exist in solution
together there are chemical reactions. I don't
think anyone really knows what the consequences
are of putting all these chemicals into our
drinking water.
The fourth anti-fluoridation argument is that
a growing number of people seem to be allergic
to the chemicals which are being put into our
drinking water. Many people are allergic to
fluoride and cannot drink fluoridated drinking
water.
Finally, I am particularly worried by the fact
that as the pro-fluoridation argument is won
in more and more parts of the world; scientists
and politicians are suggesting putting other
chemicals into the drinking water supplies.
One scientist has, for example, already suggested
that drinking water should have antibiotics
added to it (to reduce the incidence of infection
and so to reduce health costs). Another has
recommended that tranquillisers be added to
drinking water supplies; a third suggestion
has been that contraceptives be added to the
drinking water in order to reduce the birth
rate.
A surprising number of doctors and politicians
support the compulsory fluoridisation of water
(it is difficult to believe that people are
forced to take medicine, regardless of their
need, whether they want it or not) and in much
of the world it seems that this battle is now
lost. However, it isn't lost everywhere.
In Switzerland (perhaps the only true democracy
remaining in the world) the Swiss Canton of
Basel-Stadt recently repealed a resolution on
fluoridation which had been introduced in 1962.
The Swiss stopped adding fluoride to their water
after over 40 years on the following grounds:
1. Although fluoridation has been going on for
many decades there are no studies proving that
the fluoridation of drinking water prevents
tooth decay.
2. Dental caries in the area had increased in
children, despite the fluoridation of the drinking
water (rather suggesting that the added fluoride
hadn't done any good and might be doing harm).
3. The fluoridation of water might cause bone
damage - and could be a particular problem in
young children and babies.
4. More than 99% of water with added fluoride
is used for washing, bathing, cleaning etc and
so does nothing for teeth but does pollute the
environment.
Protect yourself from
Fluoride
Avoid drinking unfiltered
water. Try to use non-fluoride toothpaste products,
see resources.
