Hydration of the body

Hydration of the body

In fact, talking about water is like never ending story… : ) We will try, however, to tell you about the most important aspects of water in two short articles. This article is about proper hydration of the body, which is very important in recovery and preservation of health.

Why is it so important to take care of proper hydration?

In fact, proper hydration can eliminate every single inflammation in the body, all kinds of pain, including joints pain, migraine and headaches; it also helps to cleanse the body of toxins and to lose weight. In addition, water plays a very important role in metabolic processes – in the process of digestion, absorption and transport of nutrients; water is the main solvent for most nutrients, provides oxygen to the cells and discharges unnecessary gases. Water also prevents the deposition of contaminants and deposits in the body – not only in the blood vessels, but also in the tissues, joints, kidneys, liver, brain or skin. Water also thins the blood and prevents the formation of blood clots – this is especially important for thrombosis, hypertension, problems with the circulatory system, water reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Water is essential in the production of hormones during every period of our lives. Proper hydration relieves hot flushes. Water has a big impact on our intellectual performance, without it the thought processes are impossible : ) Water helps to relieve hyperactivity. Water allows the proper functioning of the immune system. Water moisturises the skin, slowing down the ageing process : ) it is also the main ingredient moisturising the joints. Proper hydration of the body is necessary so that we can maintain gastric acidification at the correct level, which, as you will soon find out, plays a key role in a series of processes that are very important to us.

Dehydration of the body can give the symptoms of almost every chronic disease. Appropriate hydration is often enough to recover from the diagnosed autoimmune disease.

Water is the main ingredient of our body. All biochemical processes in our body can only happen with the participation of water. Due to the fact that water is constantly consumed, our task is to provide adequate amounts of water on an ongoing basis. It is also important what kind of water we choose.

Structural water

According to various scientific sources, there are around 130 kinds of water in the world. Each type of water has the same chemical composition, H2O, but it differs in its structure and properties. There is so-called structural water in the cells of our body. Any foreign liquid that enters the body must be purified and processed to a structural form, so that it can be absorbed by us and properly hydrate our organism. During processing liquids into a structural form our body consumes a lot of energy, which could be used in other ways, for example to regenerate our cells, for production of appropriate hormones, detoxification or removal of cancer cells.

Where can we find the structural water?

Very good structure has water from molten ice, but persons with cold in the body (according to Traditional Chinese Medicine) should be careful with this kind of water. The water found in fruits and vegetables has a very good structure too. Please note! Good idea is to eat raw fruits and vegetables and to drink their juices best until noon, preferably in the summer when the weather is warm. If you have cold in the body, be careful with raw vegetables, fruits and their juices even in the summer. You can add a bit of fresh ginger to your juice – but definitely it has to be fresh ginger. For squeezing juices, it is a good idea to use a low speed screw extrusion kneading machine. If you have to drink cold water or juices, drink it slowly, with small sips, preferably stopping each sip for a few seconds in your mouth and mixing it well with saliva.

Supplement and alternative

Very good structure has water from molten ice, but persons with cold in the body (according to Traditional Chinese Medicine) should be careful with this kind of water. The water found in fruits and vegetables has a very good structure too. Please note! Good idea is to eat raw fruits and vegetables and to drink their juices best until noon, preferably in the summer when the weather is warm. If you have cold in the body, be careful with raw vegetables, fruits and their juices even in the summer. You can add a bit of fresh ginger to your juice – but definitely it has to be fresh ginger. For squeezing juices, it is a good idea to use a low speed screw extrusion kneading machine. If you have to drink cold water or juices, drink it slowly, with small sips, preferably stopping each sip for a few seconds in your mouth and mixing it well with saliva.

Even if our constitution and health condition allow us to eat raw vegetables and fruits, drink fruit and vegetable juices and freshly defrosted water, I do not recommend doing it all day, and in the quantities required for the daily hydration of our body, which is 30ml per kg of body weight (so for a person weighing, for example, 70 kilograms, daily water intake should be about two litres). Warm water with a pinch of salt or vegetable soups and compotes can be very good sources of proper hydration.

Water with salt

Water with salt also perfectly hydrates our body, because the salt retains water in the body. Probably some of you wonder, what about edema? Well, paradoxically, swells very often disappear just after proper hydration of the body. If not, the problem indicates a more serious dysfunction, for example in the form of impaired kidneys function. When you drink water with salt, just add a pinch of rock salt (for example Himalayan salt) to a glass of lukewarm or warm water.

What about blood pressure?

As for the effect of salt on the body’s blood pressure level, the opinions are divided – some people think that only pure sodium chloride raises pressure (for example so-called table salt), while others think, that each type of salt increases blood pressure. In my opinion, even if someone with increased blood pressure drinks two or even four glasses of water with a small pinch of salt daily, it will be better for this person than eating some processed food, or bread from the bakery, where the salt content is really big. Remember that the more hydrated body is, the more blood pressure returns to normal.

Compotes

When hydrating the body, let’s not forget about compotes. Especially in the summer it is worth preparing compotes from domestic seasonal fruits. Apart from the summer season, if we do not have our own preserves, we can prepare compote using good quality dried fruits (choose dried, not sulphurised fruits!). If you like sweet compotes, it is better to add to cooking some dates instead of sugar. During cold seasons, you can cook compote with the addition of anise, cinnamon or cloves. But be careful with hot and warming spices especially if you are a person with high blood pressure or with excess heat (according to Traditional Chinese Medicine). Using warming spices is a very individual thing, so it is worth getting advice from a good Chinese Medicine therapist.

Vegetable soups

Vegetable soups are irreplaceable – they not only hydrate the body, but also nourish and strengthen. They do not necessarily have to be cooked on meat… it’s best to add good quality oil right on the plate just before serving. Vegetable soups are good for everyone, provided that we do not add many hot spices to them. It is very important not to use frozen foods but fresh vegetables, preferably straight from a farmer. The same with fruits – the more natural the source of cultivation, the better.

Bottled water

In recent years, drinking bottled water, especially mineral water, has become very common. Unfortunately, such water practically does not hydrate us. In addition, I recently have read that water in plastic bottles contains nearly 25,000 substances undesirable for the human body (!!!) Especially water in plastic PET bottles (marked with number 1) has particularly bad influence on our body. Aside from the composition of water from the source (even before pouring water into the bottle), each plastic PET packaging, stored at a temperature above 19 degrees Celsius, gives off very harmful for us compounds. In general, we should avoid not only water in plastic bottles, but also food in plastic containers. It is said that the plastic packaging, which is marked with the number 2 or 5, is safer (the number is usually located on the bottom of the package or bottle).

The safest to store drinks or food are glass containers – glass does not interact with other substances and does not emit toxic compounds. If for some reason we can’t use glass containers, it is worth choosing a plastic that does not contain BPA (Bisphenol A) – this information is usually found on the bottom of the package.

What about coffee?

The answer is: it’s best not to drink at all : ) Why? First of all, because coffee dehydrates and acidifies our body. More importantly, coffee as a stimulant, does not provide us with energy from the outside, and causes depletion of our life energy resources, just like other stimulants. If you drink coffee for taste, it is worth looking for safe cereal alternatives. If, on the other hand, you drink coffee for an apparent increase of energy – believe me, there are many other ways to do it : ) For example, proper breathing exercises, Qi tonics (appropriate Chinese herbs), water with mint oil, and preparations that affect the expression of our genes.


If you have to drink coffee for some reason:

  • never drink coffee on an empty stomach,
  • after each cup of coffee, drink two cups of good water,
  • drink coffee around noon,
  • avoid drinking coffee after 1pm,
  • drink very good quality coffee,
  • avoid instant coffee.


These are a few tips that will help you alleviate the negative effects of drinking coffee.

Drink warm drinks

All your drinks should be warm – not hot or cold, but warm. Remember that room temperature counts as cold : ) I know how paradoxically it sounds, but especially in the summer we should drink warm drinks, because our body is more chilled inside during the summer than in the winter! In addition, drinking warm drinks you will definitely quench your thirst – if you do not believe, try to drink a warm mint infusion in the summer, maybe with the addition of lemon juice : ) Warm drinks and food have one more important benefit for us – our body don’t lose energy to warm up what goes into the stomach, so the saved energy can be used for example for cell regeneration, detoxification or fat burning.

Drink between meals

Another very important aspect is related with drinking water between meals. Drinking during meals significantly weakens the digestive process, as the digestive juices in the stomach are being diluted. Let’s drink at least half an hour before meals and about 1.5-2 hours after meals. If you really have to drink during or just after meal, drink warm water or herbal tea that improves digestion, such as thyme infusion, marjoram infusion, fennel or chamomile. You can get used to not drinking during meals – it took me about two weeks.

The most important thing is drinking in the morning

After all night of abstinence from drinks and hard work of the body (and remember that every biochemical process needs water!), drinking water in the morning is extremely important. It is good to drink 1-2 glasses of warm water before breakfast – one glass can be with a pinch of dissolved Himalayan salt and the second with lemon juice. People with high blood pressure should be cautious with salt, and people with severe stomach problems should be cautious with lemon juice. Remember to drink water slowly, take a sip by sip.

Other aspects of water

It is best to drink water properly purified from what is unnecessary (e.g. with help of reverse osmosis), enriched with the electrolytes we need, and then properly structured. The properly structured water is much better and faster to absorb by our organism. At the moment, there are many water structurators available on the market, and often they are already embedded in water purification and treatment filters, which I think is a very good solution. Interestingly, the water can be also structured by sound, vibration, intention or emotion – you will learn about it soon from Iza : )

Very useful are also devices that increase the pH of water for alkaline, as well as reducing its reduction potential REDOX, or so-called ORP. The lower the ORP of water, the more it sweeps free radicals from our body. Unfortunately, bottled water, except some exceptions, is highly oxidized water, i.e. this ORP reduction potential is strongly positive. Even if they have the acceptable safe potential of REDOX at the source, in the bottling and storage process they oxidize and, as a result, become harmful to health. As for the pH of water, the higher, the better, especially for people whose food consists mainly of foods acidifying the body. However, I wouldn’t drink water with high pH directly before, during or just after a meal due to the weakening of the digestive potential of our stomach. High pH water is best to drink about 2 hours after a meal and at least an hour before a meal.

Another important aspect – water differs from all compounds found in the nature because it has the ability to store information – has so-called memory. Yes, the water has memory : ) it has its weak, but also very strong sides. To get rid of a disease, especially a chronic one, you need to change the structure of water in the body – how to do it? We will show you a few practical ways soon.

Hydration of the body is a process

At the end, one more important note – hydration of the body is a process. Achieving the right hydration level sometimes can take several months – this is a process, so please be patient. If we are very dehydrated, we are not able to properly hydrate our body within a few days, and sudden drinking excessive amounts of liquids can hurt us. If today we drink 1-2 glasses of water per day, for the next week we increase the number to 3-4, but not immediately to 8-10, because it will be too big shock for the body and it can work against us. Hydration of the body is a process that is best carried out in small steps, so increase the amount of drinks consumed gradually.

That’s all in this article, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me : )

Ania Matuszewska

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