A Spiritually Enlightening Online Magazine ISSN# 1708-3265

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Illuminations Aleesha Stephenson About the Cover Ida Larsen Spirits of Light, Wings of Fire Dj Brown Strong Minds and Powerful Hearts of Undying Spirit Marlene Buffa The Obstinate Heart Alegria Imperial Overcoming Resistance to Change Rev. Cheryl Jewett Being Upbeat in a Down Market: 12 Conscious Actions to Restore Abundance Jackie Lapin Stop Bottling Your Water! David Suzuki PhD Fasting: The Key to Optimal Health David Wolfe My Journey Back A Story of Diabetes Sam Hoover Foods which Create Health Elyse Nuff The Envelope Please… An Interview with David and Katrina Rainoshek Melissa Gilbert Breathe Wisdom Jacqueline Kramer Lifetalks Dawn Baumann Brunke Walk Your Talk Aleesha Stephenson Life in the Raw Melissa Gilbert Being Mindful Janet Alston Jackson Pet-sense Jean Hofve DVM Meditate a Moment Featuring: Aleesha Stephenson The Fasting Handbook Dining from an Empty Bowl Jeremy Safron Frugal Raw Mattye Lee Thompson Practicing Conscious Living and Dying Stories of the Eternal Continuum of Consciousness Annamaria Hemmingway Goji Cherry Truffles, Raw Chocolate Covered Brazil Nuts and Mulberries and Rosemary, Garlic and Green Onion Pistachio-Almond Medley from Raw Food World

Water, we all love the sound it makes as we sit near a stream, waterfall or enjoy an afternoon playing in it at the beach. The sound of water running is therapeutic for the mind, body and soul. It's beautiful music makes us feel at ease and relaxed. Meditation with the sound of water is soothing and restful. But are you aware of what water really does for the inside of our bodies when we drink it in its pure form? Let us venture into the world of water. Go ahead, go get a tall glass.

People all over the globe are chronically dehydrated and they are not even aware of it. Each day we expel around two and a half litres of water. This comes in the form of urination, liquid contained within the stools, water vapour from within your lungs and naturally, you expel water when your body sweats. Sweat is 99% water. There are many health related conditions that will occur when your body is not receiving enough water; such as fatigue and energy loss, constipation, poor digestion, gas, bloating, high and low blood pressure, acid reflux, gastritis, respiratory problems, enzymatic slowdown which may cause excess weight gain and obesity… even stomach ulcers. In many cases regular consumption of water limits the production of cholesterol forming within your body.

With today's standard diets people often mistake hunger for thirst. Often times if you drink a glass of water the hunger pangs you thought you were having dissipate. Most people believe they are drinking enough liquids throughout their day, but most of these liquids are in the form of soda, tea, coffee, sports drinks or other beverages. How much pure water did you drink today? Did you even remember to have some?

How much water should we drink each day?

This will depend on each individual. Take a look at what you eat every day. Does your diet consist of processed foods or fruits and vegetables? The more processed foods you eat the more water you will need, these foods are dry and often contain a lot of salt. The more natural foods you eat the less water you need, as these are naturally filled with water. Upon doing much research on how much water we should drink, the following resonates the strongest with me and I apply this to my family. If you feed your body a diet consisting of mostly raw live foods you should be drinking at least 2 litres of water. If you eat a mixture of processed, cooked and live foods a day, you should be drinking around 4 litres of water. In my home, for a family of three we average 4 litres each of Iodized water every day. (Alex drinks less than Mom and Dad do.) That may sound like a lot… and it is, but it is our main source of liquid. Of course we also consume a lot of fresh fruit juices, vegetable juices and green smoothies. Personally I crave water like I do greens in my diet. Some days I feel as if I cannot drink enough of it. (136 ounces are in 4 litres - that's 7 x 20-ounce glasses.)

How do I remember to drink my water?

This seems to be of great difficulty in the busy lifestyles we all live in this day and age. At first, I had a difficult time "making" the time to drink enough water during my busy day. This is what I did when I began drinking water in earnest 4 years ago. I prepared a 4 litre (gallon) pitcher of water in the cooler each evening before I went to bed to be drunk the following day. This helped me a lot, and I also made sure that when I urinated I drank a glass of water afterwards equal to the amount that I had just eliminated. This too was quite helpful for me. If you do not like the taste of water, try adding lemon, lime or orange wedges to the glass when you drink it.

When is the best time to drink water?

Upon waking each morning, I immediately begin drinking 1 litre of water (34 ounces or 2 x 20-ounce glasses), this will sometimes take me 20 minutes. I drink a litre because I find I feel much better when I am able to rehydrate my organs first thing in the morning. If it happens that I am unable to do this right away in my morning, I tend to feel sluggish for a few hours, almost like a person who, every morning drinks coffee and does not have enough time to drink a few cups before they go about their day. Water first thing in the morning wakes my body up. Drink water while you are eating a meal, this helps to get the dry foods down, and will dilute the blood, which becomes thicker when it receives nutritive substances. Be careful to drink your water at meal times at room temperature. Ice cold water with your meal will cause your blood vessels which line your stomach to constrict (become smaller) making digesting your food a longer process, therefore tasking the digestive system.

What kind of water should we drink?

This is a loaded question with much controversy. There are as many waters out there on the market today as there are colours we see with our eyes. How does a person know what to drink? Most marketed waters are just plain tap water. Bottled water is big business (and plastic bottles are not good for your health!). Do your research and find what is best for you and your family.

In some parts of the world your well water is fine, have it tested to see what lives within it.

City water, don't get me started ~ this is not good water for anyone to drink. Water treatment plants Chlorinate and Fluorinate the water. Prescription drugs are also found in city water. It is often filled with environmental pollutants and various other substances; this is not good water to drink.

Many health gurus suggest drinking Distilled water; this water is dead, with no minerals or nutrients at all within it. They're thinking behind drinking Distilled water is that when you consume it, it will collect vital nutrients which are within your body and carry them down into your kidneys where they will then be reabsorbed into your body.

Reverse Osmosis and Purified waters are often void of many minerals as well… not my first choice in water.

There are a lot of Mineral waters on the market today too. Which one do I drink? Rarely am I without water when we go out, but if I have to buy water on the road I will buy Saratoga Springs from NY, it holds 320 mg of minerals per litre. In Canada, Kootenay Spring from British Columbia holds the most minerals at 426 mg per litre.

We choose to drink Iodized water. Iodized water is an excellent way to add alkaline minerals to your diet. The water we are offered here is not drinkable, our cat will not even drink the tap water, it even smells funny. We have water stations all over the place where we go and buy our water, bringing our refillable jugs with us. The cost is 25 cents per gallon (4 litres). Some water stations only offer Reverse Osmosis but you can now find ones with Iodized water.

Did you know that:

1. Without water, nothing lives.
2. Water is the bonding adhesive in the architectural design of the cell structure.
3. Water is the main solvent in most foods, vitamins, and minerals. It is used in the breakdown of food into smaller particles and their eventual metabolism and assimilation.
4. Water increases the body's rate of absorption of essential substances in food.
5. Water is directly needed for the production of all hormones made by the brain, including melatonin.
6. Water heals, reduces stress, anxiety and depression.
7. Water makes the skin smoother and helps reverse the effects of aging.
8. Water is a better pick-me-up than any other beverage on the planet, and it has no side effects.
9. Water helps reduce the risk of heart attacks and stroke.
10. Water can help prevent ADD in children and adults.
11. Water is the main lubricant in the joint spaces and helps prevent arthritis and back pain.
12. Water restores normal sleep rhythms.
13. When water reaches a cell, it brings the cell oxygen and takes the waste gases to the lungs for disposal.
14. Water is the best lubricating laxative and prevents constipation.
15. Water gives lustre and shine to the eyes.

So when you wake in the morning go ahead and drink a litre or two of water before you do anything else. Your body will thank you.

Raw Love
Melissa  

You can read Melissa's interview in March 2008's issue of Timeless Spirit Magazine.

Melissa Gilbert is a Raw food Chef, a Certified Raw Food Nutritional Consultant, and a Raw Food Coach. She is also a Certified Personal Trainer and works with her client's nutritional goals as well as getting them established in an exercise regime.

A writer for Pear Magazine, a raw lifestyle publication, Melissa is also a regular columnist and Associate Editor here at Timeless Spirit Magazine.

Currently getting her Bachelor of Science in Holistic Nutrition and taking classes to become a Hygienic Doctor, she is mother to toddler Alex, and wife to David as well as mother to 2 grown children and 3 grandchildren.

In her spare time Melissa enjoys the great outdoors, mountain hiking, biking, snow shoeing, camping in the backwoods and sailing. A Shaman in training and Tarot card enthusiast, Melissa (and her family) practices Buddhism with Pagan influences. If you would like to learn more about Raw Foods you can reach Melissa via email or visit one of her websites: www.LoveRawLife.com, www.rawtoddleralex.blogspot.com, and www.rawmom.blogspot.com.

Copyright (c) 2008 by Timeless Spirit Magazine. All articles are the copyright of the particular writers and cannot be reprinted without their expressed permission. All rights reserved. International copyright laws prohibit reproduction of or distribution of this page by any means whatsoever, electronic or otherwise, without first obtaining the written permission of the copyright holder. We retain legal counsel to protect our copyrights.

Any advice given is for informational purposes only.