Are You Sick or Just Thirsty? Blog Series - Part 1

Ronit Mor, ND

​Most people do not look at water as a nutrient but it actually is. Water is undoubtedly the most important macro-nutrient and the only one whose absence will be lethal within days.
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In my practice, the vast majority of my clients had been clearly chronically dehydrated when I first met them. No one, I mean absolutely no one, had bothered to inquire as to the nature of their daily water intake. None of the physicians and other health practitioners they visited over the years had bothered to ask them the most simple and basic question. Namely, how much water they drink on a daily basis. It never ceases to perplex me how the vast majority of the world population has never learned the critical role water holds in their health and the basics of hydrating properly and consistently. From my experience, this factor alone has a major potential for decluttering much of your “Health Story”.
In this blog series, I will be exploring the role proper hydration plays in our wellbeing and what proper hydration entails…

Without Water Life Is Impossible.
All life as we know it is entirely dependent upon water to survive. The surface of Earth is 70 percent water. The human body is anywhere from 55 to 78 percent water (depending on body size, age and sex). Water is everywhere within us - from our cells, to our blood, to every single one of our organs and tissues, including the brain, the lungs and all our muscles. In fact, 99 percent of the molecules in your body are… yes, you guessed right… water!

Most people do not look at water as a nutrient but it actually is, the most important one. We can survive for a month or so without food, but only a few short days without water.

Next to the air we breathe water is the most important element. Every life-giving and healing process that happens inside our body happens with water.

Every system in the body depends on water. Enzyme production, digestion, detoxification, even the beating of your heart are all processes that require water. Water unites your various organs and physiological systems into one coherent organism, allowing for many of your body's most critical communications.

Yet physicians routinely make matters worse by not only failing to recognize dehydration but also by prescribing medicines that further deplete water levels in the body. Let’s be honest about this, when was the last time your doctor asked you about your daily water intake?

Water shortages in different parts of the body will manifest different signs and symptoms, but we normally are not directed to treat the cause of our problems with water. In fact, it is almost sacrilege among contemporary physicians to think that water can cause or cure diseases.

​Are You Chronically Dehydrated?
Believe it or not, the answer to this question is most likely yes. In fact, I can safely bet that the majority of people reading this book function in a chronic state of dehydration. Whether you are “too busy” to drink or simply do not have access to fresh, clean water when you need it, chances are that, day in and day out, you simply do not drink enough water.

Your body loses a significant amount of water everyday through sweating, breathing, digesting, bowel movement and passing water. Research indicates that a normal healthy body loses up to 2.5 liters of water in average temperatures, during normal daily activities. Exercise triggers a more considerable fluid loss.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to replenish water in your body on a daily basis.

Dehydration is defined as the excessive loss of body fluid. Mild dehydration starts with a loss of only 1 to 2 percent of one’s normal water volume.  As your dehydration escalates, you are not even aware of it since in a state of advanced dehydration, you lose sensitivity to water deprivation and you stop feeling thirsty.
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Worst yet, you mistake thirst for hunger and we all know what happens next… you turn to a sugary snack… when your body is actually asking for fluids instead… Yes. You heard me right. Constant snacking, especially constant sugar cravings, can be a hidden sign of an imbalanced hydration.

For Part 2 of this blog series, click here.