Imagine a juicy plum picked from the tree and left exposed to the sun or wind - it becomes a prune. The dehydration of the plum produces the shriveled interior and wrinkled skin that are typical of a drying fruit. Loss of water causes the internal and external structures of living things to change, be that dehydration in a fruit or in a person.
There are up to one hundred trillion cells in the body of a human being. Depending on the area where the dehydration has settled most, the cells in that region begin to wrinkle, and their inner functions are affected. A shortage of water in any region is reflected by different signals that denote dehydration and are the body's indicators of its local general thirst. At present, these indicators of dehydration of the body are not understood and are treated as indicators of disease conditions of unknown origin.
We now need to find the answer to these three important questions. A must-do before we begin: You need to turn on your brain's logic powers and put aside any preconceived ideas you might have. Whatever you have read about health matters in the past probably did not reflect the true importance of water to health and well-being.
From my perspective, there are three different sets of sensations that signal local or general thirst. At most of these stages, the presenting symptoms are reversible without much damage.
This include feeling tired, feeling flushed, feeling irritable, feeling anxious, feel dejected, feeling depressed, not sleeping well, feeling heavy headed, having irresistible cravings, and having a fear of crowds and leaving the house. Some of these will be discussed in the next chapter.
The second group of conditions that represent indicators of dehydration are the body's drought and resource management programs. There are five distinct conditions that denote states of dehydration and operative rationing processes that can be corrected easily. The sixth in this group consists of a number of conditions that have been classified as autoimmune diseases, but should be looked at as a sort of cannibalistic process of resource management at the expense of the body's own tissues brought about by persistent dehydration. The conditions are:
After much clinical and scientific research, my understanding is this: Depending on the location of acid buildup inside the cells, the following forms of pain are early indicators of potential genetic damage produced by chronic dehydration in the human body:
There is a further set of conditions that represent complications, tissue transformation and organ damage caused by persistent dehydration in the fourth dimension, time. Each of these conditions will be explained thoroughly.
The following are perceptive feelings (some of which are labeled "psychological disorders") that I believe signal dehydration:
An article on depression in the Washington Post of Tuesday May 7, 2002, revealed a deep-rooted deception by the pharmaceutical industry. Headlined AGAINST DEPRESSION, A SUGAR PILL IS HARD TO BEAT, the article exposes how the drug industry has bent the truth in clinical trials to show an edge in favor of Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft, whereas a simple sugar pill - placebo - produced more positive results in relieving depression. This article sumise4s that the splendid results of the sugar pill against much-touted drugs could be because, in the clinical trials, the subjects received much more attention and care than a depressed person who visits the doctor for a few minutes a month. It seems there is an infinitely greater healing power within a person who is cared for. In medicine there used to be a dictum, now forgotten - "the duty of a doctor is to amuse the patient while nature heals". Doctors have to show empathy to their patients.
Now that I am addressing the role of water in emotional problems, let me quote from a reader review of my book Your Body's Many Cries for Water, posted on the Barnes & Noble Web site, http://www.bn.com/, M.S. writes: " ‘Water' has made a difference in my life". It seems that M.S. had been diagnosed with mild manic depression and had been given lithium for four to five years. He says he started on water and salt and some vitamins, according to the instructions in the book, and within two months he was able to stop taking his lithium. He has been visiting his doctors for nine years without significant improvement, and no writes, "My LIFE has been truly ENHANCED from reading this book"
From the vantage point of the new medical science, the following conditions should be considered labels placed on the physiological processes in the body that denote a form of rationing and resource management where there is a limited supply of free water and other primary elements:
If you don't drink water regularly every day of your life, and don't understand the significance of pain, shortness of breath, and allergies as signs of dehydration, you will force your body into a disease state. Any of the above conditions will herald the beginnings of body decay produced by local or general water shortage and the associated chemical environmental changes.
Reversal of autoimmune conditions is not easy and not always possible. To reverse them requires an in depth understanding of the importance of the acid-alkaline balance and the metabolic aspects associated with dehydration, such as the loss of a range of amino acids, insufficient absorption or loss of vital minerals like zinc and magnesium, and the absolute need for essential vitamins and fatty acids.
What is asthma? It is said people have asthma when they become short of breadth, without any warning to the point of nearly suffocating. Several thousand people die from suffocation due to asthma every year. Sometimes the onset of asthma is associated with repeated dry coughs with each breadth. There is always an associated wheezing when exhaling, without an apparent infection in the lungs. Asthma affects more than seventeen million Americans, mostly children. I believe that asthma and allergies are the body's crisis calls for water. They denote a state of dehydration in the human body. They herald continuing degeneration of the body until other complications of dehydration get established and can cause early death.
My experience and research tell me that the body possesses a number of highly sophisticated emergency thirst signals. We need to be aware of these newly identified indicators of water shortage in our body. All you may need to do to cure some of your health problems is to drink water instead of other fluids.
Question: What has all this got to do with asthma?
Answer: Asthma and allergy - conditions mainly treated with different kinds of antihistamine medications - are important indicators of dehydration in the body. Histamine is an important neurotransmitter that primarily regulates the thirst mechanism, for increased water intake. It also establishes a system of rationing for the available water in the drought-stricken body. Histamine is a most noble element employed in drought management of the body. It is not the villain that we have been led to believe due to our limitation of knowledge about the human body.
In dehydration, histamine production and its activity increase greatly, and this generates the emergency thirst signals and indicators of the water rationing program that is taking place. Increased histamine release in the lungs cause spasms of the bronchioles, making them constrict. This natural spasmodic action of histamine on the bronchial tubes is part of the design of the body to conserve water that normally evaporates during breathing - the winter ‘steam'.
In dehydration, lung tissue becomes very vulnerable. The air sacs in the lungs have very thin walls and need water to keep them moist at all times. The constant flow of air through these sacs also evaporates the available water in the lining. Dehydration automatically reduces the amount of available water in these tissues and causes damage, unless the rate of the airflow is reduced. In essence, this is the rationale behind the blockage of airflow through the lungs in asthmatics. Histamine is responsible for cutting down the rate of airflow through the lungs. It causes constriction of the bronchioles that are attached to the air sacs. Histamine also stimulates the production of added amounts of thick and viscous mucus that partially plug the bronchioles and protect the lining of the bronchioles themselves. All these actions of histamine in dehydration are carried out to protect the delicate passageways of the body that are in direct contact with the outside air and could easily become dried up and parched if not protected.
Supplying the body with water causes a disappearance of histamine from areas where it should not be present. With adequate water supply, histamine production, and its excess release, is inhibited proportionately. This relationship of water to histamine has been demonstrated in several animal experiments. It is now physiologically apparent that water by itself has very strong natural antihistamine properties.
There are certain white cells that are sensitive to histamine and that strongly inhibit the activity of the immune system in the bone marrow. There are twice as many of these white cells as there are cells that stimulate the immune system. Thus, dehydration that can cause the production and release of more than a certain amount of histamine may, in the long run, suppress the immune systems of the body at its central command station, the bone marrow.
Since there is a greater-than-normal rate of histamine production and storage in prolonged dehydration, a stimulus for the release of histamine from its immune system side of activity will produce a greater quantity of its release into the tissues. At the same time, antibody production and efficiency, which have already been suppressed because of dehydration, will be inadequate to deal with foreign agents such as pollen and other antigens. The enormity of this problem becomes apparent during the pollen season when the eyes get invaded with these foreign agents.
The tear producing glands need to wash the offending pollen away from the delicate membrane of the eye - the conjunctiva - since antibodies are not adequately available to neutralize the pollen. This is the reason why histamine activity for secretion of water onto the delicate membranes covering the eyes and the nasal passage becomes exaggerated. It is a naturally installed need-driven response. "Water wash" is the only way of getting rid of the offending pollen typed that are not neutralized by antibodies. This is how allergy to pollen occurs.
If you were to ask me: "Do you mean to say I can prevent asthma and allergies by drinking more water?" my answer would be yes, yes and yes again. You can do it naturally, with no medication and at no cost. Water will do it because of the primary role of histamine in water regulation and drought management of the body.
It is now clear that the chronic dehydration is the primary cause of allergies and asthma in the human body. Increase water intake - on a habit forming, regular basis - should become the treatment of choice. In those who have attacks of asthma or allergic reactions to different pollens or foods, strict attention to adequate daily water intake, with the addition of some salt, should become a preventative measure. People who suffer from allergies and asthma will also have other indicators of dehydration. They will definitely develop other very serious health problems if they do not take their bodies' need for regular intake of water seriously.
If you suffer from allergies and asthma, you must begin drinking water on a regular basis., You should stop taking caffeine and alcohol until your condition becomes normal. Those with normal heart and kidney functions should begin drinking two glasses of water a half hour before each meal and one glass of water two and a half hours after the meal. When you increase your water intake, you also need to increase your salt intake to make up for the salt lost during increased urine production.
Michael P. is in his fifties. He suffered from allergies and eventually asthma since childhood. Later in life he became overweight and developed high blood pressure. His allergies were so bad that he had to pay attention to the daily pollen count before he could step out of the house. Several years ago he became aware of the curative properties of water in asthma and allergy. He started regulating his daily water intake and stopped drinking tea and coffee. When everyone in the office took coffee, he would drink hot water. Since then, Michael has not had any asthma attacks. His allergy has become much less troublesome, almost to the point of being nonexistent. He no longer bothers with the pollen count. He has been free of allergy and asthma attacks since he started regulating his daily water intake. He considers himself cured of his health problems, including hypertension.
Question: Why is my doctor not aware of the information on water and asthma?
Answer: What I have shared with you so far is new knowledge. It has taken me more than twenty years of research and study to highlight this information. It is not yet common knowledge and is not yet taught at medical schools. Doctors recommend "fluid" intake and assume that any fluid you take will act like water. This is what doctors have been taught at intricate functions of water in the human body and do not yet understand chronic dehydration. They do not realize that not all fluids are suited to the normal physiological functions of the human body.
Furthermore, fluids that contain caffeine and alcohol dehydrate us and cannot replace the water needs of the human body. Caffeine and alcohol force the kidneys to flush some of the water reserves of the body.
Question: What is wrong with waiting until you feel thirsty to drink water?
Answer: The body is already thirsty before we feel the thirst sensation. Dry mouth is not an accurate sign of water shortage in our body. There is a mechanism by which, even when we are comparatively dehydrated, saliva production is not affected. The reason is that we must be able to lubricate food during the process of chewing and swallowing. The misconception about dry mouth as an accurate indicator of body water shortage has steered the trends in medical research off course, so that, even today, it is not generally known at what stage the body is thirsty and becoming pathologically dehydrated. It is not fully appreciated what devastating damage is caused by slowly establishing dehydration in the body.
If children are not able to regulate their water intake properly, histamine activity in the lungs may become a dominant trend. One of the consequences of over-activity of histamine in the lungs may be the occurrence of an inflammatory process at a time when the development of lung tissue has to keep up with the physical growth of the body. Excessive fibrous tissue formation and the creation of cysts where alveoli have to be formed may be the consequence of dehydration in children who are growing. It seems that cystic fibrosis of the lungs may not be an entirely genetic disorder, but may have dehydration as a common basic problem to both the DNA assembly system and lung tissue formation. Dehydration is also responsible for the production of excess thick mucus in the bronchioles - a problem in cystic fibrosis of the lungs. Water and salt should help loosen the mucus.
Children need water for cell growth. During the growth 75 percent of the cell volume has to be filled with water. This is the reason why children develop asthma and allergies during the growing phase of their physical development.
As we grow older, we lose our thirst sensation and do not recognize that our body is thirsty. Chronic dehydration in the elderly can cause heart and kidney damage, coupled with shortness of breath. At this stage, the shortness of breath is called cardiac asthma. Those with heart problems and kidney disease should increase their water intake slowly and, if possible, under the supervision of their physicians. They need to make sure their urine production increases with the additional water. If within two full days there is no indication of more urine being produced, a physician should be consulted. The color of urine in a dehydrated person (not taking vitamins that could color urine) will be dark yellow to orange. In a better hydrated person, the urine is lighter in color.
Children and adults, who get asthma attacks with exercise and strenuous effort should always remember to drink water before they begin exercising and to stop drinking caffeine-containing sodas. They should reduce their orange juice intake (if more than two glasses). Because of its high potassium content, too much orange juice can predispose a person to asthma attacks. The water needs of the body cannot be fully replaced by juices or even milk.
On no account should you abruptly cut off the use of your medications. You should begin by taking more water with your medications, until your need for medication decreases. Keep the doctor in charge of your treatment informed. You will then be able to work with your doctor to gradually reduce the use of the normally prescribed inhalant or antihistamine medications until you no longer need them. In obstinate and truly drug-dependent cases of asthma and allergies, increased water intake will improve the patient's response to the medications being prescribed until the body gets back to its normal rhythm.
The choice of water should not become a limiting factor to drink it. So long as tap water contains no lead, mercury, pesticides, insecticides, or other dangerous chemicals or bacteria, it should become your fluid of choice. It is available to you everywhere you go. You should not worry about its hardness. Any calcium that is dissolved in water may even serve a useful purpose, as it might help your body's need for calcium.
If the smell of chlorine is too much, fill an open-top jug and leave it exposed to air. The chlorine will evaporate in less than half an hour, and the water will be sweet and ready to drink.
It is becoming fashionable to advocate drinking distilled water. This claim may prove to be based on the commercial aims of its manufacturers. I have found no reason to drink distilled water over regular tap water that does not contain toxic substances. If you are unsure of your local water, it would be a good idea to install a solid carbon filter on your kitchen faucet.
With increased water intake, which will cause increased urine production, there may be an associated loss of salt, as well as other minerals and water soluble vitamins. Supplementing your daily vitamin intake is necessary. If you develop cramps, you should assume that the salt in your diet is not sufficient for your body's need. You should add salt to your diet - as long as you stick to taking more water. In asthma and allergy sufferers, salt intake becomes a vital part of the treatment. Salt unplugs the thick mucus secretions in the lungs and stops the overflow of nasal secretion, when water is plentiful. Salt breaks up mucus, rendering it watery and stringy, and suitable for expulsion with the flow of septum, when water is also available.
I recommend to asthmatics who are about to get an attack, or are in the middle of an asthma attack, to drink two or three glasses of water, and then put a pinch of salt on their tongue. Water and salt will tell the brain tat the missing components in a dehydrated body - in asthmatics in particular - have entered the system. The brain will immediately instruct the bronchioles to relax, and breathing will become much easier. When the salt reaches the lungs, salt pumps secret it in the bronchioles to loosen the musuc plugs and prepar them to be carried away - only when water is available. Too much salt and not enough water may do the opposite. It might cause constriction of the bronchioles. This is why phlegm always taste salty. Salt is essential to keep the airways of the body clear - including the nasal passageways when you have a cold. Salt also unplugs mucus in the nose and the sinuses and stops runny nose in allergic reactions.
The measurable force that rushes blood through the arterial system of the body is called blood pressure. This force has two components. The diastolic component is the constant basic force in the arteries that keeps the blood vessels full and under a constant basic pressure. It is the lowest reading on the measuring instruments. The normally accepted figure for this reading is between 60 and 90. The systolic component of blood pressure is the sharp rise in force inside the arteries, produced by the contraction of the left side of the heart when it forces the volume of blood in its ventricle into an already filled and under-pressure arterial system. The normal range is between 90 and 130. In other words, the accepted normal blood pressure - systolic over diastolic - is from 90 over 60 to 130 over 90.
The difference in the two readings is significant. It means that the blood is being stirred by the rush of new blood in the arteries, which prevents blood's heavier constituents from sedimenting in the stagnant areas; it means as added pressure that will squirt someclear serum through the tiny holes in the capillaries and into the filtration areas in the kidneys for cleansing the blood. The significance of the diastolic pressure is in its effect of filling all the blood vessels of the body so none remains empty.
The problem of blood circulation becomes apparent if the diastolic pressure rises well above or falls well below the normal range. If it rises above the range, it means the heart has much more pressure to work against when forcing blood into circulation. For a short period of time, it is not a big deal. But given sixty to eighty beats a minute, day in and day out, you will have one very tired heart, as well as over-shocked blood vessels that have to become thick and inelastic to withstand the repeated onslaught. Diastolic pressure well below normal affects circulation, especially to the brain. Not enough pressure in the arteries that go to the brain means less oxygen reaching the vital brain centers. The result: feeling faint and not fully focused. With low blood pressure, you can actually faint if you stand up suddenly. How do these complications arise? Dehydration!
Roughly six million Americans suffer from hypertension or high blood pressure. There may be more than one reason when blood pressure readings register an increase from what is considered normal. In my scientific opinion, the most common and frequent reason is a gradually establishing dehydration in the body. This type of hypertension is labeled "essential hypertension". A large number of people in this group receive some form of medication to deal with this dehydration signal of the body. Until they learn about the relationship of this condition to their insufficient water intake, or a wrong choice of fluid intake, they will have to continue taking pharmaceutical products for the rest of their shortened lives.
The paradigm shift offers us a new perspective on high blood pressure - the form we call essential hypertension. It tells us that a gradual rise in blood pressure is an indicator of a gradually establishing shortage of water in the body. The blood vessels of the body have been designed to cope with repeated fluctuations in their blood volume and the circulation requirements of the tissues they supply. They have tiny holes or lumen that open and close to adapt to the amount of blood inside them. In water loss from the body - rather, lack of insufficient water intake - 66 percent of the deficit is reflected in the colume of water held in some cells of the body (plum-like cells begin to become prune-like); 26 percent is reflected in the fluid environment outside the cells; and only 8 percent of the deficit is imposed on the volume held in blood circulation. The circulatory system adapts to its 8 percent loss by shrinking in capacity. Initially, peripheral capillaries close down, and eventually the large vessels tighten their walls to keep the blood vessels full.
This tightening leads to a measurable rise in tension in the arteries. This is called hypertension. If the blood vessels did not tighten on the void, gases would separate from the blood and fill the space, causing gas locks. This vascular adaptation to the amount of water the vascular system carries is a most advanced design within the principle of hydraulics that the blood circulation of the body is modeled on.
The mechanism is simple. When confronting stressful circumstances, and in dehydration that is becoming gradually established, histamine is released. Histamine activates the production of vasopressin (an antidiuretic hormone). Certain cells of the body have receiving points that are sensitive to vasopressin. As soon as the hormone sits on the sensitive point, a hallow showerhead type of opening with minute holes in its base is created in the cell membrane. Serum fills the space, and its water content filters through the holes, which are large enough for the passage of only one water molecule at a time. Vasopressin, as its name implies, also produces the tightening of the vessels around it. This tightening of vessels translates into a squeeze that pushed the serum and its water through the holes in the blood vessel - a necessary act if some of this water is to be pushed back into the cells.
The intestinal tract uses much water to break down solid foods. It has to liquefy the dissolvable components of solid foods to extract their essential elements. Whatever can be dissolved is then absorbed into the blood circulation and transferred to the liver for processing. The refuse that cannot be further broken down is then passed on through the various segments of the gut and gradually compacted for elimination.
Depending on the adequate availability of free water in the body, the refuse will carry with it some of the water that was used to liquefy the food. What water it can carry with it will act as a lubricant to help the refuse move through the large intestine. The last segments of the small intestine and most of the large intestine are under the direction of the water regulators to reabsorb as much of the water in the refuse as might be needed by the other parts of the body. The more the body is in need of water, the more there is a determined effort to reabsorb the water that is available in the intestine. This process puts a drastic squeeze on the refuse to separate its water content and make it available for reabsorption by the mucosa or lining membranes of the large intestine.
The more the body is dehydrated, the slower the motility of the lower intestines in order to allow time for reabsorption of the water content of the refuse. This process of preventing water loss is another of the body's water-preservation mechanisms. One part of the body where water loss is prevented in times of drought management is in the large intestine, through adjustment of the consistency and the rate of flow of the excrements. When the passage of refuse from the large intestine is slowed down, the mucosa absorb the water, and the feces become hard and not fluid enough to flow. The act of expulsion of solid feces becomes difficult. To prevent this process from taking place, added intake of water and some fibers that hold the water better seems to be the only natural solution to constipation. Remember that hemorrhoids, diverticulitis, and polyp formation are common occurrences with constipation. Chronic dehydration and its consequential constipation are primers for cancer formation in the large intestine and the rectum.
Reabsorption of water in the digestive tract also involves the regulating valve between the last part of the small intestine and the first part of the large intestine, known as the ileocecal valve. The valve shuts down and allows the small intestine time to get as much water possible out of the as-yet-unformed refuse. At certain levels of dehydration, the closing of the valve may become too forceful and may cause spasm. This spasm will translate into pain in the lower right side of the abdomen.