European Natural medicine works with the Five Health Essentials. Here they are:
• Water - our wellspring, inside and out
• Movement – shapes our bodies and our minds
• Food - the building blocks of our body
• Herbs - the essence of Nature
• Order for our lives – balance in the world.
Today let’s talk a bit about water in general; I will tackle the other four Essentials in the next few days.
We are mostly water, and therefore we need water. Drinking water (or herbal teas) helps nearly all biochemical functions; we die pretty fast without drink (usually within three days). Without food we can survive about 30 days. – These are rough numbers – and don’t try this at home.
Every body nowadays knows that we should take enough fluid in. But few people are aware that one can overdo drinking. I usually recommend seven cups of water - from a beautiful cup – not from plastic. And preferably filtered. Seven cups, of course, is an inane recommendation because your size, the temperature, exercise, your clothing, wind conditions, what you have been eating, and so on will influence how much you really have to drink. Seven is a sacred number and should just keep you mindful of your water intake. But it is not written in stone. Better observe your urine: If it is getting dark, you need more water. If it is water-clear, you had too much.
Soup and fruit contain fluids; coffee and alcoholic drinks like beer and wine count less because they dehydrate. But they don’t count for nothing. Hard liquor and milk don’t count at all (and should be avoided altogether).
Whatever you drink, it should never be ice cold! Iced liquids hamper digestion by clamping down on blood circulation in the stomach, and decrease energy in the body. However, it is not enough to lose weight!
Water from the outside is as important as water from the inside. This is the perfect time for starting cold showers because the cold water is much warmer than it will be in a few months (unless you live in the southern hemisphere). August is the time to go swimming – in a lake, in the ocean, or even just dunking in a rubber pool in the backyard. Beyond cold showers you have heard here already about cold sitzbaths, saltwater nose rinses, sauna – all of which are tricks to keep you healthy. Read More
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Bad Weather
June 12, 2010
It’s raining outside, and not for the first time lately.
But don’t call this “bad weather”! Because we need the water. Perhaps not acutely here in the North-East, but worldwide, water shortage is growing – and will only get worse.
Here some water facts:
• About one billion people in the world are short of water, and suffer from consequences of poor sanitation and not enough drinking water.
• Mexico City is sinking because water for 20 Million people is pumped out under the city and cannot be refilled.
• Beijing’s aquifers are drying out because, with heavy industrialization, more wells have been drilled: Water levels are falling about a meter per year. Wells need to be deeper now: Up to a thousand feet. Rivers and lakes, especially in the North, are drying out.
• The same happens in Africa where, for instance, Lake Chad is getting to look like a puddle.
• Similar things happen here: California faces drought and water shortage. Texas wants to privatize water. For Colorado, future shortages are on the wall – due to population growth, global warming and extensive use of Colorado water by other states.
• Groundwater gets more polluted from agricultural and industrial run-off. Lee water is soaked up in forests and meadows because more and more land is covered with asphalt – the asphalt industry worldwide still grows by two percent every year.
• Bottled water is becoming a commodity – and you make firms rich (and yourself poor) if you buy bottled water. Water is your life right – it should not be peddled away.
For now only this: There is no bad weather – just healthy water. Unless we are talking hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis, flash floods … Read More