Hydration
We are also what we drink...
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Understanding the importance of hydration can empower us to live longer, healthier lives.
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Alongside poor nutrition, dehydration plays a leading role in the cause of pain, disease and illness.
Most people suffer regularly from chronic dehydration because of poor eating and drinking habits. The problem is they don't know they are dehydrated and they certainly don't associate their symptoms or ailments with inadequate water intake. It's estimated that 75% of North Americans are chronically dehydrated.
Water is an essential component of all living matter and it's the largest single component of the human body.
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Approximately, 70 to 80% of the human body and brain comprise water. Without water, the body could not function.
Often, when we think we are sick or unwell, we are actually thirsty. The body manifests dehydration in the form of pain or sickness. When the body is dehydrated, it loses essential amino acids. This is because, in the absence of sufficient water to wash away toxic waste build up, the amino acids are depleted through the body's efforts to neutralise this toxic waste that would otherwise destroy its internal system.
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Dehydration also causes mineral deficiencies. When the body is dehydrated, the stomach does not produce enough acid to absorb essential minerals like zinc, selenium, magnesium etc. Prolonged mineral deficiency leads to neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's.
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Amino acid and mineral deficiencies provide the foundation for nearly all diseases in the human body. So, it could be said that all diseases are really deficiency disorders secondary to persistent dehydration.
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We have to keep our bodies hydrated every day to maintain health and vitality. It's important to clarify at this point that when we refer to hydration we are talking about water not fluid. It's common thought that all or any fluids can replace the body's water requirements. This is simply inaccurate. For example, coffee (caffeine) is a dehydrating substance and removes more water from the body than there is water in the coffee cup.
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Water is essential for maintaining blood volume. It's vital for the functioning of our electrical, energy, digestive and immune systems, for the storage of energy, the functioning of all organs, muscles, bones, nerves, and the transport of substances throughout the body and across cell membranes. Water is necessary for a well-hydrated and healthy looking skin. Every component of a healthy body requires water to function.
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