Drinking water can help us to stay healthy and fit, it is a habit that can be inculcated since childhood. Water plays an important role in insuring health and fitness of our body system. A number of bodies natural functions depend on water and cannot be completed with some other drink that we may think to be more nutritive or healthy. There is no alternative of water, its the one and only one which can do so much for our health and wellness today.
Water is a sign of life. Presence of water is a symbol of life on any planet. Today with new developments in medical science and technology, we’ve forget the use and benefits of our friend for centuries ‘water’. Most of the disease and health problem that are prevalent today can be prevented with thoughtful use of water. Natural water has got many benefits which are beyond our imagination today. We don’t care for water because its readily available. We don’t think about its benefits because its free. In the whim of modernization we have forgotten to respect our natural resources, which is also one of the reasons for our sufferings today.
Air and water are basic requirements for all forms of lives on this planet earth. If any of the living being doesn’t get enough air or water as per his requirement he is likely to face a number of problems, which may or may not seem to be a symptom related to air or water.
Today when we have a number of scientific discoveries for a better life on this planet, it is really very sad to see the quality of water and air that we drink and breath. Medical science has made a number of break through in these years but all these break through have not yet been able to improve quality of basic necessities of life and they are continuously degrading.
In Ayurveda there is a term ‘Jal Chikitsa’ which stands for ‘Water Therapy’. Water therapy has been known and used in India for centuries not only for treatment or therapy but water therapy as we call it today was a part of traditional Indian lifestyle. It is still practiced by many even today. Here is the traditional Indian way of water therapy:-
Steps to Drink Water for Physical and Mental Health
- Drink approximately 1.25 liter water in morning when you wake up, before brushing teeth.
- Don’t drink or eat anything for at least 45 minutes after you drink water.
- Drink plenty of water an hour before meals, it will also improve appetite.
- Don’t drink water during the meals or immediately after the meals. Drink water only after 2 hours have passed since you have had your meals.
- Take dinner 1-2 hours before you sleep.
This is all that has to be followed in order to make better utilization of water for your health and fitness. This procedure of water therapy is known to provide a wide range of health benefits without any adverse side effect and of course free of cost.
Traditionally people used to have copper or silver pots especially kept for this purpose of water therapy. If one isn’t comfortable in drinking water early in the morning or is not comfortable with this much quantity then he should not force himself but can slowly develop this habit in a comfortable manner by gradually increasing quantity of water every morning.
One should also note that every individual has a peculiar body and therefore it works accordingly, something suitable to one may or may not give same results for another. Initially water therapy may result in frequent urination for few days but after some time it will get regulated as body gets used to it.
Health Benefits of Drinking Water
Water therapy is known provide a number of health benefits in a number of health conditions which you can’t even think is possible with simple use of water in day to day life. Water therapy has been known to help in:-
- Constipation,
- Headache,
- High blood pressure,
- Tuberculosis (TB),
- Diabetes,
- Leukemia,
- Paralysis,
- Arthritis,
- Sinusitis,
- Giddiness,
- Cough,
- Kidney stone,
- Acidity,
- Ulcer,
- Gastro-enteritis,
- Eye problems,
- Skin problems,
- Opthalmia,
- Menstruation problems,
- Fatigue,
- Allergies,
- Depression,
- Urinary infections etc., to name a few.
Now please don’t search for a specific disease or health problem in the above list, it is just for information and water isn’t a cure, its only a basic requirement of our body and if we don’t provide it in sufficient quantity, it will effect its normal functioning which can lead to several disease like symptoms initially.
Association of Pure Water with Body’s Health and Fitness
Water is a vital component in all living organisms. Body functions are regulated by water including cell activities. Sufficient water intake plays an important role in health and fitness of our body. This is a well known fact and all health theories agree with it. Still water is a highly overlooked area of health which is available naturally and is cost free solution to a number of problems. Importance of water is self evident from the fact that all ancient cultures developed beside water sources.
Water used for the purpose of water therapy must be potable and natural goodness.
How much Water Should A Person Drink Each Day
Today there are a number of recommendations on quantity of water a person must drink everyday for maintaining health and fitness. There are people who ensure that they drink water within the prescribed limits.
They forget to note that such recommendation is an outcome of study on a group of persons and personality of that group can be different from your personality.
So, it’s better to inculcate this habit of drinking plenty of water and let your body decide the quantity suitable for it. We only need to insure that our lifestyle and eating habits provide enough opportunities to drink water rather then some other drink.
Quality of Water
When we talk of water we refer to H2O but actually the water which is suitable for drinking is a composition of other minerals and compounds. We should try to use potable water for water therapy, available from natural sources.
Today there are a number of water purifiers available in markets which employ physical or chemical process to purify water. Some of these chemical water purifiers purify water to such an extent that even useful elements are also removed from it. Water as we know is a good solvent and pure water (H20) is a high grade solvent and when consumed it dissolves a number of nutrients from within the body which isn’t good for health.
People often drink cold drinks or tea or coffee or other liquid preparations to quench thirst instead of drinking water. Although these preparations contain water and are able to quench thirst but they seldom provide the benefits that only water can provide to our body. They are not helping there body to maintain wellness, improve health and fitness but they are actually doing the opposite, water cannot be replaced by any other drink.
At last we urge you to adopt water therapy to see a number of health benefits yourself and make best use of this natural resource available freely for health and fitness of your body and mind, don’t think about how much water should a person drink each day, as trying to follow and use hard and fast rules will only work as an excuse to delay your plan to try drinking water to see its health benefits.
Tags: benefits of drinking water, drink more water, drink water, drink water each day, drink water for health, how much water to drink, jalchikitsa
