Let’s review some basic facts about our total body of water. As infants, we started life with 75-80% of water against body weight. As we age, it decreases to 60-65% for men and for women slightly less to about 50-60%. For obese people, the percentage is less due to higher fat content. Fat itself is 10-15% water.  The brain and blood has over 80% water.  

Water in your body cells is found either as intracellular fluids or extracellular fluids. The extracellular fluids are located within the blood vessels (intravascular), between the blood vessels and cells (interstitial) and cerebrospinal, pericardial and joint fluids (trans-cellular). Regulation takes place continuously within these compartments so that the fluids are in homeostasis including proper pH function.  Water in the blood carries the dissolved nutrients, salts, enzymes, co-enzymes, antibodies, hormones and oxygen throughout the body to meet its physiological needs. These dissolved substances are happening within your 70 trillion body cells sustaining your very life.

Starting with the brain organ, the billions of neurons are constantly transmitting messages through complex electrochemical processes and the brain depends on sufficient hydration to perform optimally.

Your kidneys require enough water to prevent stones from forming and to keep kidney damage from happening or worsening. The kidneys remove uric acid and urea which must be dissolved in water.

Undoubtedly, water is an essential nutrient for life. As in any essential nutrient, it has to come from our own intake, not made within. It is not surprising to overlook its importance probably due to a busy lifestyle; it is true that most people drink only when they feel thirsty.  Maybe we can live for many days even months without food, but we can’t live long without water.

What happens when we don’t drink enough?

When our body lacks water even for a day, our body produces symptoms that include thirst, dry mouth and throat, light-headedness, fatigue, decreased urine production, reduced skin elasticity and even heart palpitations. Dehydration happens when we lose 1% or more of body weight through fluid depletion. A dehydration of 2% losses can affect our physiological functions. For example a 70kg person who after exercise, drops to 69kg right is likely to be dehydrated.

It is not coincidental that sufferers of chronic diseases have reported poor healing if there is insufficient intake of water.  Probably the most vocal advocate of water as a cure for various pain or diseases was the late Dr F Batmanghelidj, a renowned author of a book entitled ‘Your Body Many Cries for water”. He believed that water is the missing element from the body that can prevent and help to cure painful degenerative diseases.  Here are some of the connections between health disorders and dehydration:

Arthritis - Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the first signs of dehydration. It causes pain in the joints. Adequate water is necessary to flush out the toxic waste in the body. When the acid waste gets accumulated for some time, the brain gets the message that is reflected as pain.

Diabetes mellitus - Dehydration is also linked to adult-set diabetes. If the brain is to function well it needs water and glucose and should there be an inadequate intake of water, sugar level may rise in comparison.

Asthma – Through normal breathing, our lungs lose fluids. When the body doesn’t get enough water, the body produces histamines as a response to compensate and that may cause bronchial constriction in the lungs.  

Angina - Angina pain may be the first signs of dehydration. If chronic dehydration sets in, body acidity builds up and can eat into the cell linings of your arteries, to cause angina spasms.

Heartburn - The feeling of discomfort in the upper gastrointestinal tract is probably a result of chronic dehydration. Antacid tablets, will not work as it can aggravate and cause further complications like ulceration and stomach inflammation.

Cholesterol - An elevated cholesterol level in the body is another effect of dehydration. Our blood cholesterol actually works to protect water loss by cells.

High Blood Pressure - When the body is lacking water, it attempts to hold on to the available water supplies by resorting to vascular constriction throughout the body to reduce the loss of water through the skin and through respiration.

Migraines - Migraines are also signs that your blood vessels are excessively dilated made worse by a lack of water. Drinking sufficient water cools down the inflammation of the vessels to prevent further enlargement thus alleviating pain.

Back Pain - Water in the spinal disks supports more than 75% of the upper body and lubricant for the back and neck motion. Low back pain and ankylosing arthritis are signs of water shortage.

Colitis - Pain in the large intestines happens when the large intestines squeezes the last drops of water from the waste which causes pain.

Are you having a weight issue at the moment? Water can be your aid to manage your weight because water suppresses your appetite. Get into the habit of drinking 2 glasses of water half an hour before meal. You will feel full and eat less too.

If you suffer from water retention, it does help to increase your water intake, especially if the oedema is caused by consuming too much table salt. Your body has the tendency to retain water to avoid losing more.

The truth of the matter is that water is one of the best remedies for our daily ailments. The cups of coffee and tea that you drink are not part of your water intake. Caffeine acts as a diuretic and thus works to eliminate more water. The same applies to alcoholic drinks. They are not counted as part of your eight glasses of water per day.

There are other ways to know if your water intake is sufficient. Dark brown urine often suggests you are not drinking enough water. Except for the morning urine that is darker, the urine production for the rest of the day should be slightly yellow if not clear. A normal adult need about 1 millilitre of water for each calorie consumed. This means that if the average caloric consumed per day is 1500 kcal then the person will require about 1.5 litres of fluid intake a day.  Physically active, children and overweight people will need to drink much more.

 Sometimes it is not alright to drink only when you feel the thirst.  Remember we are losing body fluids by the simple act of breathing and sweat thus it is indeed necessary to replenish it throughout the day.

Ms Jessie Mea is a natural health enthusiast with nutritional medicine background. She is the Honorary Treasurer of the Federation of Traditional & Complementary Medical Associations, Malaysia. She can be contacted at jessie@dsywellness.com.  Views expressed herein are those of the writer.

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Most of us have seen these food labels “all natural”, “organic” and “whole wheat.” It’s so important to be able to read and know what the labels really mean. Firstly the labels are provided to help you keep tap of the grams of fat, protein and carbohydrates, or calories it contained in a serving plus how many servings are in one pack of food.

Let’s start with the  “all natural” word. Means nothing much really except that you can skip them. Fruits juice are natural, so are cane sugar and sucrose. But are they nutritious or any nutrients left in these all natural food.

Organic is a good thing because at least it can mean that the ingredients are derived and grown away from the usage of pesticides and herbicides. But the problem is that it’s not hundred per cent pesticide-free, as some ingredients may become contaminated with pesticides or the toxic environments during handling or processing.

Whole Wheat are wholegrains that come with bran and the germ from which most nutrients are derived from. Many manufacturers put a pinch of whole-wheat flour into a mix of mostly white flour, to earn the “whole grain label” and a consumer may think she’s getting something healthy. Unless it reads as 100% whole grain, it isn’t so as a good percentage consists of white flour.

What ‘s this wheat flour just in case you thought it’s whole wheat.  Wheat flour is flour derived from wheat.  You can’t find white flour on a label. Instead, it says “wheat flour” or “enriched wheat flour.” This is a highly processed, empty nutrients food that leads to many health problems in this modern generation. Some wheat crackers have white flour as the main ingredient. Even the good organic cookies or organic cereals are made mostly from white flour and white sugar. Another is brown bread that looks like wholegrain or whole wheat but their glycemic index is just as high as white bread. Brown bread can’t be whole wheat bread.

The next time you go shopping when you reach out for the all-natural wholegrain organic processed food, pay attention to the labels and read between the lines.

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Mineral oil is a common ingredient in our skin care products and cosmetics. It’s also found in our household products though widely used in the automotive industries.  What is mineral oil? Is it natural and safe?

Mineral oil is actually a refined transparent colorless substance processed from petroleum. We know that petroleum is indeed natural since it comes from the earth.

However, being natural does not make it safe. There are many plants and herbs that are toxic to the human body. They are undoubtedly pure and natural. Mineral oil has seen some beneficial health claims. For example, mineral oil is considered good for constipation relief. When consumed by the body, mineral oil works as a laxative to improve bowel movements for stools to pass through the intestine. It is also a common ingredient found in some antacids, eye care products, baby care lotion and petroleum jelly.

Let’s get to the facts as to why you should think twice about having mineral oil as part of your skin care products. Look at one study from Material Safety Data Sheet in 2008. The paper describes Mineral oil as hazardous. The potential health effects include irritation to the respiratory tract if inhaled or prolonged contact. If ingested, the material can cause serious diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. Symptoms may include coughing, shortness of breath. Inhalation of mist or vapor may produce aspiration pneumonia.

Another MD report highlighted the risk factor if taken as laxative can cause serious lung disease in some people

On the extreme side, untreated and mildly treated mineral oil has been proven to cause cancer, as noted in another research report. There were suggestions that mineral oil interferes with the absorption of various nutrients especially fat-soluble vitamins.

If it is considered unsafe for our skin, why is mineral oil still being readily used in skin care products? First, being a byproduct, mineral oil is cheap and abundantly available. Secondly, mineral oil serves to keep the moisture within your skin to prevent dehydration. Think again, our body is already loaded with many toxins from the food, water and air. It makes sense to choose better alternatives for our skin and body, coconut oil for example.

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Green Tea has been promoted as the healthiest tea for thousands of years. Modern science has started to play catch up.

Researches showed that green tea contained compound of polyphenols, called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and catechins. The substance is both an antioxidant (that protect you against free radicals) as well as anti-cancer.

In one clinical study trial that was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (August 2008), researchers gave a standardized form of EGCG to patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, a type of blood cancer that has excess of lymphocytes (a kind of white blood cell) . Ralph W Moss, PhD did a study involving 33 patients who were treated with EGCG with dosages from 400 mg to 2,000 mg, twice a day. The trial proved positive as one third of the patients experienced more than a 20 percent decrease in the number of lymphocytes in their blood. 11 out of 12 patients that previously had visibly swollen lymph nodes experienced a reduction of at least 50 percent in the size of these nodes within one month of treatment.

Green Tea has also been proven to protect against prostrate cancer as in two recent studies in Italy had shown. Out of the 62 men with a pre-cancerous prostate condition, half were given an extract of green tea daily. The other half was given a placebo. In the placebo group, 9 out of 30 men developed cancer. In the green tea group, however, only one out of 32 developed the disease. Another study found that those who consumed the most green tea were two-thirds less likely to develop prostate cancer.  It has the effect of slowing the progression of prostate cancer according to US journal Cancer Prevention Research study.

Green tea has been linked to a positive effect on a wide range of conditions, including heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Taking your green tea or an EGCG supplement is a good idea whether you have a health issue or not.

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Long before the discovery of allopathic medicine, men and women are already into studying and practicing using plants for the therapeutic and medicinal values in the field of herbalism. Its efficacy and commercial recognition has known no bounds and these days we can find herbal preparations everywhere.

Herbs are plants that come from the soil: they are natural and pure. We love things that are green and natural – simple as that. But are all herbs safe for our human body? Definitely not! Herbs that are safe may be not safe if taken in too great a quantity. For example, one journal I came across mentioned that comfrey, ephedra and coltsfoot are dangerous to one’s health.

What about children – are herbs safe for children?

Yes and no. Children can definitely benefit from using herbs but their dosage must be monitored based on age and/or weight. Echinacea can be beneficial even for a child but not ginseng (for energy boosting) and St. John’s wort (for anti-depression and PMS). Before considering taking herbs, it is advisable to seek an herbalist or a health practitioner first. If you can’t find one, read a good book on herbs.

In general, herbs are still considered far less harmful than prescription drugs. Statistics have shown more reports of death or serious complications arising from use of prescription drugs and drug interactions than there are for herbal remedies. The botanical extracts works on the body in a gentle manner and if used together, some herbs work synergistically well to promote wholistic well being and health.

The benefits of herbs are used not only to support internal health, but to support the texture and integrity of the skin and hair too. Nowadays, we find them in cosmetic formulations for all types of bodycare products. The common household ones are Aloe Vera and Gingko Biloba which promotes good skin healing and firming. Plant compounds such as flavonoids exhibit antioxidant capabilities that are beneficial to arrest free radicals thus reducing wrinkles from forming.

Read up and make the best of the many herbal remedies that are available to us – the natural pure way.

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