Some time ago I read a book which was called “Your Body’s Many Cries For Water”. What was very interesting for me to learn, were the many benefits of drinking water on our general health.
In order to support his arguments about the importance of drinking water, the author goes on to prove, by using medical facts, that just by getting into the habit of regularly drinking water can relieve us from a number of ailments that we all experience now and then. Below, I mention some of these ailments.
Headaches and migraines
We all suffer from headaches, or even worse migraines now and then. Some of us more and some others less severely. What you might find surprising to find out, is that more often than not, we should blame ourselves for not drinking enough water.
The medical explanation goes like this: When our brain, which is mainly composed of water (75% to be exact), senses that its water level is dangerously low, it generates histamines which cause the familiar symptoms of a headache, i.e. pain and the feeling of being tired. These symptoms intend to force us into reducing our activity level. This will in turn help preserve the minimum water level in our brain that will allow it to function without a problem.
So, when your head hurts, the simplest and most effective remedy might be this: Drink a full glass of pure, fresh water, relax for half an hour and let the magic work. Your splitting headache will vanish!
When our back hurts
Another one of the benefits of drinking water is that it helps us better cope with the distress and pain of a sore back.
Let me explain.
As you might probably know, our backbone consists of a number of discs. While externally these discs are made up of a hard shell, internally they are filled with water. When the level of water inside is adequate, then they provide ample support to the disc, helping it cope with the pressure exerted on them when we move our upper body.
Now, when we move our body around, we put pressure on our discs. In response, the discs, being flexible enough, are able to expand and contract, depending on the movement. What happens next is that this action creates a suction which forces water from our body, surrounding the area of our backbone, to enter inside the discs. In this way, the hydration level inside is kept fairly constant.
The problem begins when we don’t replenish our body’s natural stock of water by drinking enough quantities. When the discs are shifting, then there is not enough water around them to be sucked inside, as explained above. The result is devastating: The internal fluids are gradually depleted and so the outer shell of the discs is no longer supported. Without this support, our poor discs are helpless, as the whole weight of the body is shifted on them! Pain and swelling ensues, putting us in distress and agony.
When our blood pressure goes up
Believe it or not, deprivation of water is also one of the probable causes of hypertension, better known as high blood pressure.
As experts on internal medicine claim, one of the leading causes of high blood pressure is low blood volume. As the basic constituent of the blood is water (83% of our blood to be precise is just plain water), then you can understand that when we deprive ourselves of this valuable fluid, then the blood volume goes down.
When the total volume of our blood goes down, then an alert is triggered in our body. What follows is that our blood circulatory system self-adjusts by guiding all blood flow to the most active organs, shutting everything else off. High blood pressure inevitably ensues, as a consequence of this blood redistribution.
In summary, the examples I gave you above are just a few of the many health benefits of drinking water, for you and your family as well.
However, I should stress the following: Not all water that we get at our houses is created equal. Its quality varies greatly, depending on a lot of factors such as where it originates (could be ground water or surface water), the kind of treatment it undergoes, etc. The subject of water quality is a very diverse one and is surely beyond the scope of this article. My personal opinion is that it is definitely worth it to spend some time investigating the issue and decide on taking action to ensure that the water at your house is the purest it can be.
