Water - On an Empty Stomach

Water - On an Empty Stomach

 One of the great challenges each of us face in life is doing the things we already know we should be doing.  Go to bed early, arise early, sleep 8 hours per night. Exercising, drinking 8 cups of water per day, say your prayers, read your scriptures, listen to good music, etc.  Sometimes we need a reminder.  Here is one today with a bit more information that may provide some motivation.

Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, author of  

Your Body's Many Cries for Water states, 

"You're not sick; you're thirsty. Don't treat thirst with medication."

Dr. Batmanghelidj (sometimes referred to Dr. Batman) discovered that becoming dehydrated is often the precursor to pain and disease. He describes the role of histamine in the body when we experience pain. It is found that when an area of the body becomes dehydrated, histamine in that area increases resulting in pain. Most strong pain medications are antihistamines. When the body becomes fully hydrated, histamine levels subside and pain is greatly reduced or eliminated. It would appear that there is a strong connection between the production of pain-causing histamine in the body and being dehydrated.

Too often, medications, drugs, herbs, essential oils, etc. are prescribed or recommended when perhaps drinking enough water may be what the body really needs. So much of my practice focuses on toxicity within the body. If the body is unable to rid itself of toxins from the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water (or heaven forbid - soda) that we drink and even the normal processes of digestion and metabolism, then these toxins often referred to as "free-radicals" can disrupt health physiologic functions in the body. It turns out that water is the vital and common element that assists the body in ridding itself of toxic residue. Toxicity is expelled from the body through the moisture from the lungs as we exhale, from the kidneys and bowels as we eliminate and through the skin as we sweat.
If we do not drink enough water, then our bodies prefer to hang on to as much of this vital liquid as it can to sustain life as best it can. It is said, the only problem with pain is that it hurts. However, pain MUST be viewed for what it is. The body trying to communicate to you that something is wrong. Pain is a pretty good attention getter. What we are suggesting here - over simply put - is that if pain is associated with a histamine response which is associated with dehydration, then perhaps a glass of water may make better sense than a pain-reliever.

Water treatment has been noted to help a wide variety of health conditions according to both Ayurvedic (from India) and Japanese traditions. Reports of improvement from conditions as heartburn, ulcers, gastritis, asthma, angina, hypertension, migraine headaches, body ache, arthritis pain, back pain, colitis pain, chronic constipation, hiatal hernia, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, high cholesterol, morning sickness, overweight problems and obesity, bronchitis, asthma, meningitis, kidney and urine diseases, vomiting, diarrhea, piles/hemorrhoids, diabetes, all eye diseases, cancer and menstrual disorders, ear nose and throat diseases.

Okay, okay, this list is clearly over the top and should invoke a "yeah right" response. However, according to Dr. Batmanghelidj dehydration can be a significant factor in these conditions and can be helped, often dramatically with water.

 

Here is a typical protocol that is recommended:

1. Drink about 3-4 glasses (24 to 32 oz) of water once you wake up in the morning on an empty stomach. The water should be warm or at least room temperature - not cold. Cold water slows down digestion.

2. Brush your teeth after you drink your water. If you have constipation or digestion issues, drinking water before brushing will help. The micro-organisms in the mouth when you wake up, will get washed into the stomach and help regularize bowel movements.

3. Don't drink/eat anything else for at least 45 minutes after drinking the water. 

4. If you cannot drink 3-4 glasses of water at a stretch, you can start with a smaller quantity. You can then drink the remaining amount of water after a gap.

If you have kidney problems or severe health issues, ask your doctor before starting on any new health procedure. Getting used to this kind of therapy may take sometime, but don't give up.

The following list gives the number of days of treatment required to cure/control/reduce main diseases (according to a Japanese report):

• High Blood Pressure (30 days)
• Gastric - Digestion Issues (10 days)
• Diabetes (30 days)
• Constipation (10 days)
• Cancer (180 days)
• Arthritis patients should follow the above treatment only for 3 days in the 1st week, and from 2nd week onwards - daily.

This treatment method has no negative side effects, however at the commencement of treatment if you are not accustom to drinking so much, you may have to urinate more than normal. It is better if we continue this and make this procedure as a routine work in our life.

Another thing you may want to consider is increasing the amount of sea salt you consume. Ideally about ½ teaspoon each day. Many sources have suggested about 1/8 teaspoon directly on the tongue (so that you taste it) and then wash it down with water. Sea salt has so many healthy benefits - but that is a discussion for another time.

Water is the basis of all life and that includes your body. Your muscles that move your body are 75% water; your blood that transport nutrients is 82% water; your lungs that provide your oxygen are 90% water; your brain that is the control center of your body is 76% water; even your bones are 25% water.

Our health is truly dependent on the quality and quantity of the water we drink. I always recommend water that has been filtered, at least to remove the chlorine. Also avoid plastic containers, as these bottles are made from chemicals that disrupt proper hormone function. Invest in some glass water bottles or drink from canning jars.

 

Dr. B's pioneering work shows that Unintentional Chronic Dehydration (UCD) contributes to and even produces pain and many degenerative diseases that can be prevented and treated by increasing water intake on a regular basis.

If you are committed to a healthy lifestyle, make drinking enough natural water a habit in your life. It won't take long for you to feel the benefit.

Blessings,

Dr. Kyle Christensen

December 4, 2014