Hands On Mobile Therapies
Sharon O’Carroll
Complementary Therapist
087 9515 534
Water. Water. Water. Studies say that you need the 2 litres of water a day to maintain equilibrium in the body. Other studies say less, that n fact, that you can sometimes flush out the essential nutrients you are after getting from the fruit, vegetables and fibre in your diet if you drink too much. I think the fact that there are specialists in their field conflicting on this point highlights that we all are individuals and that each of us have our own levels of needs. This is reflected in body types, weights, metabolism and water is needed in each person’s life and I am now going to tell you why….
Our bodies are made up of approximately 70% water and is therefore very susceptible to a lack of it. Water is need for almost all bodily functions, whether circulation, digestion or excretion. (Thirsty yet?)
Okay, crying is an obvious one, but even when you aren’t after watching Sleepless in Seattle for the 99th time, your eyes still open and close. Aches in your joints? The synovial fluid around each of those joints – needs water. When you swallow, you need saliva – needs water. Then, at the other end of the body when you are passing waste; your body contracts to move things along; but all these need water.
Water:
• forms 90-92% of blood plasma and is therefore essential for blood function – the transport of oxygen and nutrients to cells and the removal of waste such as a carbon dioxide and lactic acid
• constitutes 96% of urine and is therefore essential for excretion and removing waste; if urine is dark, it means it has a high concentration of waste, which may lead to kidney stones, and this signals a need to drink more water; normal water balance in the body produces pale yellow urine
• enables us to sweat. Sweating is an excretory function which helps control body temperature. When we exercise, muscle heat is absorbed by water, which then dissipates this heat in sweat, thereby regulating body temperature
• is part of saliva and gastric juices and thus helps us digest food
• lubricates joints and protects organs and tissues.
Dehydration:
If you think of how much water the body contains and uses, it is easy to see why a lack of fluid can cause immediate problems. To go back to last week’s analogy of the car, things would overheat without it and yet, it is such a simple situation to rectify! Dehydration can cause chronic fatigue, lethargy and headaches. The cardiovascular system is overworked because the heart has to pump harder in order to transport blood around the body. The volume of blood drops, because there is less fluid available, which means less oxygen can be carried and exercise becomes harder. Finally, because there is less blood, the body must choose between sending the blood to the working muscles or sending the blood to the skin to dissipate heat. The transport of blood to the muscles predominates, so heat is kept in the body and body temperature increases. It is very important to maintain fluid consumption even without thirst.
Do you ever get cramps in the arch of your foot? Too late. That is a sign that you have gone so far without water that your body is rebelling against you.
So, next time you are tired, sluggish or feel the start of a headache, try a glass or two of water before you put the kettle on. Start to take note of how often it happens, when and perhaps how long it takes for you to recover. I understand that it may be difficult to go from never to always, but even just starting by one glass a day and gently increasing to 1.5 to 2 litres a day is certainly going to do your body good. If you do this already, I’m sure that you are only too aware of the difference it makes to you on the days that you don’t!
What if you don’t like water? Why not add a fruit juice? One of my most exemplary clients went form having a litre of 7-Up a day to having a litre of, initially carbonated to eventually, still water with lemon a day. Her skin is glowing. She feels she has so much more energy now. I still see her for other things, but I am so pleased for her as she thought she had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for quite some time.
So, next time they mention on t.v. that they are meeting up at the water cooler, it may not be just to catch up on the gossip, it could be that there getting one of their 8 glasses a day…..
Water