VITAMIN H2O (In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans)

In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans.     

Khalil Gibran

We should talk more about water, a simple substance that accounts for over two-thirds of our body weight. Life started in water and no living being can survive without it.

Yet we never think of it as a vitamin, even though, along with oxygen, it is, indeed, a vitally important component of nutrition (which is how “vitamins” are defined).

Your body craves for water

We have already mentioned "Your Body's Many Cries for Water" by Fereydoon Batmanhelidj, an Iranian doctor who received his education in Great Britain and later moved to the US. He maintains that many symptoms are just a disguised signal of thirst: your body demands water using whatever means available to get through to your mind.

"You are not sick; you are thirsty. Do not treat thirst with medication," Dr. Batmanhelidj says.

Years ago, after a bout of headaches, I understood this point on my own. Working hard in a hot office, I suddenly felt a strong compressing pain in my temples. Suspecting the outset of hereditary hypertension, I checked my blood pressure only to find that it was even lower than normal. So, I took a couple of glasses of water - and in 10 or 15 minutes all the pain was gone without a trace.

During the Iranian revolution in 1979, Dr. Batmanhelidj was imprisoned and sentenced to death on a false charge. The government realized he could be useful as a prison doctor and commuted his sentence. It was during his incarceration that Dr. Batmanhelindj discovered the healing properties of plain water.

If I had taken a pill instead of restoring the right water balance, my blood pressure would have kept falling and my kidneys, to retain their functions, would have responded by releasing an enzyme to reverse this process. Most hypotensive drugs block this enzyme. The body can launch an alternative self-preservation mechanism, but human "wisdom" still would find a way to outwit the body.

A problem that could be addressed by a glass of water often forces the patient to take an extra load of sophisticated chemicals.

This is how a problem that could be addressed with a glass of plain water taken at the right moment often forces the patient to consume an extra load of sophisticated chemicals.

Drugs vs. water

Please do not think that I am asking you to give up all hypertension drugs. This would be neither safe nor sensible. I just believe that those who have not yet turned into pill addicts should try helping their bodies rather than fighting them. And even those who cannot do without medication should carefully complement their treatment with "vitamin H2O" taken daily in gradually increasing quantities. The restoration of the natural water balance mechanisms in their bodies would most likely let them reduce the amount of medicines they are taking.

Indispensable H2O

Thirst is mediated by histamine and serotonin which are responsible for pain and depression, respectively.

Not only does water help the body manage blood pressure and headaches. It also reduces vertigo, especially when one rises from a lying position or straightens one’s back or neck. Water maintains blood liquidity and prevents venous occlusions and circulation disorders in the arteries of the heart and the brain. Water restores normal intestine functions, and eliminates chronic constipation, hemorrhoids, colitis, and heartburn. The people who take a small amount of water every 15 to 20 minutes make sure that the mucous lining of their stomachs is consistently moist. They also maintain a steady flow of liquid from the stomach into the intestines for a dramatic drop in the secretion of the acidic gastric juices and their release back into the esophagus.

Conversely, any attempt to muffle your thirst’s voice (that we call heartburn) with antacids causes inflammation of the mucous membrane, increases gastric secretion, and may eventually lead to stomach ulcer.

Even muscle and joint pain, even chronic fatigue may be caused by a lack of water. Thirst is mediated by histamine and serotonin which are responsible for pain and depression, respectively. So instead of self-medication with some pills that "wonderfully helped your neighbor" try simply satisfying your body's need for water.

The right water intake per day is half an ounce per pound of body weight. Thus, if you weigh in at two hundred pounds you need a hundred ounces or three quarts of water a day. That is six standard half-quart bottles, one every two or three hours. Do not drink more to avoid damaging your salt balance: even pure water should be taken in moderation. Try it to see the spectacular healing power of vitamin H20 for yourself.