The simple truth is dehydration can cause disease. Which disease? Well, according to Dr. Batmanghelidj almost all disease can be linked to dehydration. In his book he points out biological mechanisms connecting water to almost every condition.
Most doctors will recommend 8 -10 glasses of water per day. This can help out a significant amount of people. But drinking 8-10 glasses of water may not be enough for some people. You know by reading my other posts that I am constantly saying that each person has their own biochemical individuality. This holds true when it comes to water.
Since I practice in Arizona, we see many patients come in with dehydration. Just normal breathing here can lead to dehydration if you are not restoring your fluids.
Water may not fix every problem. But problems “caused” by dehydration cannot be solved without addressing that “cause”, no matter what therapy is employed.
Keeping this in mind, restoring and maintaining adequate hydration can increase the effectiveness of clinical therapies.
The human body is 25% solid or solute and 75% water which is the solvent. The solute refers to the enzymes, minerals, proteins, hormones, etc. Over the years medicine has attempted to manipulate the solute in the body to achieve health benefits.
However if the solvent is depleted, the electromagnetic fields of the solute will not work at their capacity. Proteins and enzymes function more efficiently in solutions of lower viscosity. In other words in solutions of higher viscosity, i.e. dehydration, proteins, enzymes and hormones become less efficient.
Therefore every function of the body is monitored and pegged to the flow of water!
Often, when people think thirst, coffee, tea, alcohol, soft drinks, etc. come to mind; however, these concentrated fluids can never substitute for the body’s need for water. In fact these substances can actually increase dehydration because the body must further dilute them due to their concentrated composition.
So the very things we drink for dehydration actually make the situation worse from a cellular perspective.
At the cell membrane, the osmotic flow of water through the membrane can generate “hydroelectric” energy or voltage that is converted and stored in the energy pools of ATP and GTP. ATP and GTP are like vital cell battery systems storing energy particularly important in neurotransmission. So dehydration can cause a type of cellular fatigue.
The brain has absolute priority in the water rationing system of the body. Products manufactured in the brain cells are transported on “waterways” to their destination in the nerve endings for use in the transmission of messages. There seems to exist small waterways or micro streams along the length of nerves that “float” the packaged materials along “guide lines” called microtubules.
Water also has a firmly established and essential hydrolytic role in all aspects of metabolism. Similar to the chemical powers of water that make a seed grow, these water dependent chemical processes we call hydrolysis are essential for life.
“Hydro” refers to water and “lysis” means separation. Water is essential for the splitting or separation of proteins, carbohydrates, enzymes, etc.
Let’s look at a possible dehydration pain link. Histamine is one of the ways the body regulates water intake and distribution in the body. As histamine and its subordinate water regulators prostaglandins, kinins, etc. become excessively active they cause pain when they come across pain sensing nerves in the body.
Another “thirst” signal of the body is joint pain. As we know, cartilage has a high concentration of water. This “held water” allows the cartilage to provide almost friction-less joint movement. The water being the lubricant that protects the contact surfaces of the joint. As joints move and the cartilage surfaces glide over one another, some exposed cells die and are removed. New cells take their place.
In well-hydrated cartilage the rate of friction damage is minimal.
In dehydrated cartilage the rate of abrasive damage is increased. The water to hydrate cartilage comes from the base through the bone marrow and the bone however, there is competition as growing blood cells in the marrow take priority over cartilage for the available water.
SKIN TEST Pull up the skin from the top of the hand and create a small tent of skin. Release the skin and watch to see how long it takes to return to normal. It should be immediate in a well hydrated person. This brief test takes seconds and can serve as a tool to evaluate periodic periods of dehydration.
So get at least 8 glasses of pure water per day. Another important tip is to sip your water. Chugging your water down can actually have a negative effect on your health. So slow it down, and just sip it throughout the day.
Dr Heimlich, DC DACNB