Health conscious people, like you and I, know that drinking enough water is important. According to Wikipedia who uses Guyton's and Jackson's Anatomy and Physiology books for nursing as references, the adult body is made up of an average of 57-60% water. These percentages decrease to as low as 45% as a person ages. There are many technical facts about the water that is within the body like intracellular (within the cell)is 2/3 of the body's water and extracellular (outside the cell) makes up the other 1/3rd.
Electrolyte balance is connected to the amount of water, potassium and sodium that is in our body. Out of balance electrolytes can cause all kinds of horrible side effects. As an ER nurse, I have seen many out of whack heart rhythms from too much or too little potassium as well as muscle cramps from too little K+. Low sodium can cause mental confusion.
Considering all the health benefits of hydrating with water, it is easy to agree that "yeah, I should really drink more water". Then comes the confusing question. How much water is enough? Can you drink too much water? Does it mater when you drink your water? What kind of water should I drink?
The answer to these questions vary wildly depending upon which 'expert' you talk to. What is important to know is that there is generally at least a little truth in every experts opinion. This is why I say it is very important for everyone to find their own answer. Does that mean you should not listen to the 'experts'? No, listen, but know that your answer is somewhere between what each expert says and where you personally are with your body. Does that make sense? In other words, the answer is an individual one. There is a generally true answer but anytime we do not address individuality, we can really miss the mark as far as what is the right answer for you personally.
My opinions on these questions is as follows:
*How much is enough water? A general rule of thumb is half of your body weight in ounces. So, if you weigh 100 pounds, aim for 50 ounces, if you weigh 180 pounds, aim for 90 ounces and so on and so forth. That said, use your "how do I feel when I drink this much water?" answer to guide you. Every body is different.
**Yes, you can drink too much water. This usually only happens to people who have a Psychological disorder (which is the only incidences of water intoxication I have seen in my 20+ years of clinical experience) or in people who are way over zealous in drinking water. Too much intake of water causes an electrolyte imbalance (low sodium levels) which can cause severe neurological symptoms like confusion, convulsions, coma and in severe cases, death.
***Does when you drink water make a difference. I believe drinking 8 to 16 ounces of water upon arising in the morning helps to get things moving. Many people believe that you should drink a cup of water at least 15 minutes before you eat so that your body will have enough fluids for digestive enzymes. I reality, you will have to find a pattern that works for you. My thoughts are, it is more important to drink enough than exactly when you drink it.
****The kind of water is important, but, and this is really more of an opinion, I believe it is most important that you do drink sufficient water. The body does filter out toxins, especially if you are healthy. However, once you get in the habit of drinking sufficient water, and if you have the money, you may want to switch to filtered water. There too there is a huge differing of opinion, and you will have to make up your own mind between spring water, RO water, distilled water or just charcoal filtered tap water. It seems there is an expert who recommends any one of these so you just have to make up your own mind and trust that that is the answer for you.
Taking personal responsibility for my own health is a commitment and.... well, a responsibility. If I take that responsibility seriously, I will not begrudge the time it takes to read what the experts have to say and then examine my own lifestyle and my body's response to the added intake of more water, etc.
One of the more radical books on water is "Your Body's many cries for Water" by F. Batmanghelidj,MD. I am not sure you can cure all things with water but I think his is a good read to see just how important hydration is in all health issues.
As health conscious individuals, most of you have already determined how much and what kind of water you choose to drink. Nothing I am saying here is new to you. I applaud you and encourage you to keep on doing that which you know to do to keep healthy! My main goal with this blog is to encourage and empower anyone who wants to take charge of their own health.
Till next time,
Healthbug
Sites I used as reference.
1. http://www.europeanhydrationinstitute.org/pdin-en/ehi3/dehydration?gclid=COL-m_eKq7sCFbBAMgodyVAAlQ
2. http://web.pdx.edu/~sujata/FruitEze/education/laxative/water_chart.html
Showing posts with label taking charge of your own health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label taking charge of your own health. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Thursday, June 16, 2011
What's this all about?
Hi,
This is the first post to my first blog! I imagine you may have reached this blog through a search about health or by accident. However you arrived here, you may still have the question "OK, so just what do you mean by 'You in charge of your health'?".
I have been passionate about health for as long as I remember. I began reading almost everything I could get my hands on about how to be healthy and have healthy kids way back in 1971 (Oops! there I go dating myself ;-) ). I continued reading, thinking, analyzing what I read and heard about health. Skip many years later, 20 years in the healthcare profession as an RN and I have arrived at some very strongly held opinions.
Please note! I said opinions! If you read this blog you are agreeing that you, ultimately are responsible for what healthcare decisions you make. I do not diagnose nor prescribe! Sorry, had to get that out of the way for legal purposes.
As I see it, I am in charge of my own health and you are in charge of your own health. After all, who knows more about me than me? I have lived with me for 60 years. You have lived with yourself for however many years old you are. No Healthcare Professional has that many years of experience with you.
"Hold it!" you say, "But I don't have the professional education that my HCP has. How can I even think that I am in charge?" Good question. One we all have to answer for ourselves.
Let me illustrate with the plumber. Your drain gets stopped up (you know that the tree out in the yard has roots that have grown into your sewer) When the plumber arrives you tell him your drain is stopped up and you think it needs to be roto rootered as you are almost positive the roots from that ole tree out back has grown into the sewer line. Note here: you don't say you know because you are afraid of offending the all knowing plumber, after all he has so much more education and experience with these things, but you really are sure the roots of the tree are the problem.
Well the plumber really doesn't like it that you of all people, a lay person, is even suggesting to him what the problem MIGHT be so he sets out to "discover" the problem without taking you seriously. 6 hours later he comes to you confidently, with professional voice and breezily states "Well, I finally found your problem. The roots to that old tree out back have grown into your sewer line. I'm going to need to roto rooter the line. No time today so I will be back tomorrow and I think I can get the line cleared in 4 hours." Or an even worse case seneario is that he comes to you and says, "the problem is your kitchen sink, the drain trap needs replaced......etc, etc, etc". See the problems one can get into by 'just listening' to the "Professional".
What? You got it, If this professional had listened to you, he would have gotten your line cleared right away. OK, so maybe that is a cheesy example but it's all I could think of at the moment.
What I am trying to say is, whether or not you are consulting with a MD, ND, DO, DC, NP, PA, Massage therapist, Reiki Master, CST therapist, or any other kind of healthcare provider. We each, in fact, are the Head of our own Healthcare Team because it is us who has the greatest knowledge about ourselves.
Any way we go from here, we are the ones who decide what to do with the information we are given by the HCP. We can decide to kick back, and do just exactly what "they" tell us to do or we can say "thank you very much for your advice, I want to think about this, a second opinion, to research more, see what cousin Elmo says etc. ".
This "taking charge of your own health" concept is what this blog is all about. If you have questions, please post them and I will attempt to answer them. Otherwise, I imagine I will be blithering on about just how a person can best be their own Healthcare Team Leader. :-}
Until next time.
The Healthbug
This is the first post to my first blog! I imagine you may have reached this blog through a search about health or by accident. However you arrived here, you may still have the question "OK, so just what do you mean by 'You in charge of your health'?".
I have been passionate about health for as long as I remember. I began reading almost everything I could get my hands on about how to be healthy and have healthy kids way back in 1971 (Oops! there I go dating myself ;-) ). I continued reading, thinking, analyzing what I read and heard about health. Skip many years later, 20 years in the healthcare profession as an RN and I have arrived at some very strongly held opinions.
Please note! I said opinions! If you read this blog you are agreeing that you, ultimately are responsible for what healthcare decisions you make. I do not diagnose nor prescribe! Sorry, had to get that out of the way for legal purposes.
As I see it, I am in charge of my own health and you are in charge of your own health. After all, who knows more about me than me? I have lived with me for 60 years. You have lived with yourself for however many years old you are. No Healthcare Professional has that many years of experience with you.
"Hold it!" you say, "But I don't have the professional education that my HCP has. How can I even think that I am in charge?" Good question. One we all have to answer for ourselves.
Let me illustrate with the plumber. Your drain gets stopped up (you know that the tree out in the yard has roots that have grown into your sewer) When the plumber arrives you tell him your drain is stopped up and you think it needs to be roto rootered as you are almost positive the roots from that ole tree out back has grown into the sewer line. Note here: you don't say you know because you are afraid of offending the all knowing plumber, after all he has so much more education and experience with these things, but you really are sure the roots of the tree are the problem.
Well the plumber really doesn't like it that you of all people, a lay person, is even suggesting to him what the problem MIGHT be so he sets out to "discover" the problem without taking you seriously. 6 hours later he comes to you confidently, with professional voice and breezily states "Well, I finally found your problem. The roots to that old tree out back have grown into your sewer line. I'm going to need to roto rooter the line. No time today so I will be back tomorrow and I think I can get the line cleared in 4 hours." Or an even worse case seneario is that he comes to you and says, "the problem is your kitchen sink, the drain trap needs replaced......etc, etc, etc". See the problems one can get into by 'just listening' to the "Professional".
What? You got it, If this professional had listened to you, he would have gotten your line cleared right away. OK, so maybe that is a cheesy example but it's all I could think of at the moment.
What I am trying to say is, whether or not you are consulting with a MD, ND, DO, DC, NP, PA, Massage therapist, Reiki Master, CST therapist, or any other kind of healthcare provider. We each, in fact, are the Head of our own Healthcare Team because it is us who has the greatest knowledge about ourselves.
Any way we go from here, we are the ones who decide what to do with the information we are given by the HCP. We can decide to kick back, and do just exactly what "they" tell us to do or we can say "thank you very much for your advice, I want to think about this, a second opinion, to research more, see what cousin Elmo says etc. ".
This "taking charge of your own health" concept is what this blog is all about. If you have questions, please post them and I will attempt to answer them. Otherwise, I imagine I will be blithering on about just how a person can best be their own Healthcare Team Leader. :-}
Until next time.
The Healthbug
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