8 Laws of Health Series | Water
AUGUST 16, 2012 by RANDY BIVENS, MD
Today, I am going to tell you about a product that will reduce your risk of heart attack. It is at least as effective as maintaining an ideal body weight, reducing high blood pressure, reducing cholesterol or stopping smoking. It is virtually free and there are no side effects in healthy people.
This product, if taken in recommended amounts, will cure or significantly reduce the incidence of many diseases. This includes kidney stones, gall bladder disease, constipation, urinary tract infections, high blood pressure, glaucoma, and venous blood clots. Although not yet proven scientifically, this product is thought to be important in reducing or improving most diseases known to man. On top of that, there are no adverse effects in healthy people. In fact, overall health and well-being are improved.
Have you figured out what we are talking about? Two hydrogen atoms bound to one oxygen atom forming H2O. (Or water).
A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that those who drank more than 5 glasses of water per day had significantly less death from coronary heart disease compared to those who drank less than 2 glasses per day. Dr. Chan, the principle investigator, wrote, “Basically, not drinking enough water can be as harmful to your heart as smoking.” Drinking over 5 glasses of water per day will cut the risk of coronary heart death in half. This has an equal or greater effect than any other well-known preventive measure.
The researchers also noted that if people drank anything other than pure water their risk for coronary heart deaths actually increased. This includes tea, coffee, soda, and even fruit juices. Dr. Chan noted, “People need to be made aware that there is a difference, at least for heart health, whether they get their fluids from plain water or from sodas”.
Perhaps you are wondering, ‘how is it that something as simple as drinking water has such a substantial effect on our coronary health?’ Well, it has been shown that dehydration elevates blood stickiness and increases blood elements that promote clotting. When elevated, these are risk factors for coronary heart disease.
So, how much water should you drink? Here is a good rule of thumb: take your body weight (in pounds) and divide it in half. That number is the recommended number of ounces you should drink every day. Naturally, your need for water increases with exercise, warmer temperatures, and fever. When dealing with these situations, use your common sense and make sure you drink enough.
It is helpful to drink at least one glass of water as soon as you wake up in the morning as well as a glass of water at bedtime. This has been shown to significantly reduce your heart attack risk for that night. Your body is 75% water and your brain is 85% water. Water is more than a simple solvent— it is important in many body functions.
With all of these benefits, why don’t we hear more about water? Could it be, because you cannot patent water, there is no profit in its research or its promotion?
As you can see, in our goal to live longer, better, healthier lives, we need to develop the habit of drinking generous amounts of water, in conjunction with reducing (or eliminating) the consumption of tea, coffee, soda, and fruit drinks. We just need plain, pure water.
Because of the risk of BPA in plastics, it’s best to avoid most bottled water. It is a good idea to filter tap water—this can be effective in most situations with a good charcoal filter. This will also save you money in the long run. For those of us with well water, it is a good idea to have your water tested, to make sure that it does not contain toxins such as heavy metals.
So, in our goal to live to 120 years of age, drinking plenty of water is definitely one of the most important habits we can develop.
Water drinking conversion in metric:
Drink .5 ounces per pound.
Drink 33 mL per kilogram
