Water is becoming more and more a fine luxury rather than a necessity.
With Healing Hands and our chiropractic care, we continuously educate our patients holistically.
When asked the question “how much water do you drink”, people tend to answer always in the same way: “a little because I forget, I have so many things to do”. This is not a good excuse for our bodies to cope with constant dehydration.
Understand that water and oxygen are the two fundamental elements for life on earth, but I have never heard a person saying to me: “sorry doc, I forgot to breathe today, I was so busy”.
This does not happen because oxygen is constantly around us and is made easily accessible thanks to the beautiful mechanism of respiration. It is evident though that without oxygen Life would not be possible.
Water has the same value of oxygen.
Optimally we should drink one liter of water per 25 kilos of body weight. I personally think that women should have an intake of 2.2l of water daily and 2.7l for man. It may sound like a lot of water but if you think about it, it is not: drink one glass every hour starting when you wake up and you have already covered more than you need in a day.
Warm weather and aircon tend to dry us up quite a lot, leading the human body to evaporate one litre of water through your breath every day.
Physiologically, dehydrated tissues in our body do not function well and are consequently more prone to injuries and inflammation. According to some studies, the brain itself really suffers from lack of water: even slight dehydration (1% of your body weight) can create mood swings, short memory and a reduction of brain activity.
A plant with and without water
Here the comparison with nature is helpful: a plant that is lacking water is surely not going to thrive, blossom or produce fruits because its functionality is compromised by dehydration. For human beings like ourselves is no different; body tissues (neurons, tendons, muscles, bones, joints, cartilage, etc) when dehydrated cannot function 100%.
In addition to that, water can be related also to back and neck pain for different reasons. Psoas muscles are the only one that supports the lumbar spine and discs in any position: TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) teaches us that psoas muscles are related to the kidneys, which need water to be healthy.
When these muscles have been “switched off” for too long, chiropractic can help to reactivate their function through chiropractic adjustment and its profound effects on neurological function.
Furthermore, water is the main element forming vertebral discs and a dehydrated disc is more prone to disruption and rupture, which could lead to disc herniation and nerve pain.
Research tends to reinforce further and further the connection between a headache and a lack of water.
Further studies confirm also that proper hydration can help reduce constipation, help reduces the formation of kidney stones, maintain healthy eyes and good concentration.
