Water (H2O)

Water. Your body is made up of mostly of water. Approximately 85% of your brain, 80% of your blood and 70% of your muscle is water. Every cell in your body needs water to live. You can see how important water is to you.

Water helps remove the dangerous toxins that your body takes in from the air you breathe, the food you eat and the chemicals used in the various products you use on your skin and hair. Other things water does for your body is to cushion your joints. Water carries oxygen and nutrients into all your cells. Water also helps regulate your body temperature.

You need water to keep your metabolism working properly. In order for this to happen, there is a certain level of water in each of our bodies that we need to maintain. If we don’t keep that amount, our bodies will start to dehydrate. An easy way to think of it is to think of your car’s need for oil. If your oil level gets too low, your engine will start to run rough. If you totally deplete your oil supply in your car, your engine will stop running. Same with your body. Therefore it is easy to see why it is very important to drink six to eight glasses of water a day.

Some of the things that may happen to your body if you do not have enough water are that your blood pressure can fall to dangerously low levels. Blood clots may form. Your normal kidney function is impaired. You may get terrible constipation.

Some of the signals your body gives you of a low water level are constipation, terribly dry skin, and increased incidence of urinary tract infections and reoccurring headaches.

There are ways other than ingesting water that are beneficial to your body. A popular way to reduce fever is to take a bath in cool water. This helps bring down your entire body temperature, thus reducing fever. The use of water in this manner is called hydrotherapy. You will probably find you have used one or the other of these methods at some point.

Many people today swear by hydrotherapy as evidence by the many hydrotherapy spas around the world. Hydrotherapy is the therapeutic use of hot or cold water to alleviate or relieve problems. These therapies include steam inhalation, cold compresses, hot baths, showers, steam baths, and whirlpools. Hydrotherapy is often used for sports injuries.

The use of hot water helps to stimulate the immune system. It also increases your body’s circulation. Think of how many times you needed a bath to recuperate from a rough day. You soak for minutes or even hours. When you get out, your body feels less stressed and more relaxed. What do people do after they’ve had a hard workout? They take a steam bath or relax in a whirlpool.

Cold water is used to reduce inflammation. For example when you sprain your ankle, you use an ice pack to reduce the swelling. A cold water sitz bath (or regular bath if you can stand it) is used to treat constipation, irregular vaginal discharge, hemorrhoids.

Some treatments using alternating hot and cold water are to relieve upper respiratory problems, congestions, foot infections, and headaches.

There are other types of hydrotherapy to treat more serious problems but these should only be used by trained professionals as if not done properly could possibly cause more harm than it will do good.

If you are interested in further information about hydrotherapy, look in your local yellow pages or on the web under spas, health resorts or physical therapists. Always consult your health care provider before starting any new treatment including hydrotherapy.