Archive for the ‘How to eat & drink correctly’ Category

Highlights

1. The role of water in our body

2. Benefits of drinking water

3. When to drink water

4. How to drink water

5. Experiment on drinking cold water

6. Quality of the water – Plastic water bottles

7. Extreme water therapy

8. Water calculator – How much for YOU

The role of water in our body

Remember that 75% of our bodies are made up of water, and 85% of our brains are made up of water.

There are many reasons why water is good for you. Water plays an important role in our lives, accounting for between 60-70% of our total body mass. Water is essential for maintaining many of the body’s functions and activities, including food assimilation and digestion, excretion, cellular reaction and body temperature regulation.

Water is so critical to the function of EVERYTHING. After all, it is the fluids of the body that transport pretty much everything via the blood, lymph, cerebrospinal fluid, saliva, urine, synovial fluid, extracellular fluid, tears, and milk in lactating females, and it is obvious that nothing would happen if everything were dry.

Our organs can be considered water balloons sloshing around in the sea of water that is our abdominal cavity. Water is the major ingredient in ALL the fluids necessary for our survival. Water also conducts electricity, which is important in many functions of the body, most famously, that of the heart.

We get rid of water daily through urine, sweat and breathing, our bodies have very elaborate methods of preserving and prioritizing water when not enough is consumed. One top priority is the blood, and the body does what it can to maintain a proper viscosity and composition of blood elements.

So, if the person is dehydrated, water will be selectively taken from areas that are less important for survival, such as the joints (ouch!) and the lumbar disks, particularly L5, the bottom-most disk (double ouch!) The disks use their water volume as hydraulic support for weight of the upper body. Less hydrated disks are more prone to flatten or degenerate, causing the ligaments that interconnect the vertebrae to slacken, possibly resulting in instability and low-back pain. But at least the blood is in good shape.

High blood presure: If there isn’t enough water for adequate blood volume, some capillary beds (tiniest blood vessels) may close so that the blood doesn’t have to go as far. Closed capillaries cause resistance in the arterial system, so more pressure is needed to pump the blood throughout the body. Exercise helps reduce blood pressure because it keeps capillary beds open.

According to Dr. Batmanghelidj in his book Your Body’s Many Cries For Water, if there are heart failure issues, water intake should be increased gradually over time to allow the body to slowly reduce its drive for sodium retention, and increase its ability to produce urine.

Benefits of drinking water

1. Water helps us to keep a clear mind, lack of it weaken the functioning of the brain and easily lead to tiredness, fatigue, slow reaction and some time, a headache or migraine.
2. Water helps digestion, excretion
3. Water regulates body temperature
4. Water enhances the body’s metabolism (smooth and softer skin)
5. Water helps dilute the level of calcium in urinary functions, prevent the formation of calculus
6. Water  lubricates our body joints and helps us move around with greater ease.

When to drink water

Water and meals

1. Do NOT drink water with your meals or right after
2. Drink 1 glass of room-temperature water (even HOT) 1-2 hours after consuming any meal
3. Drink a big glass of room-temperature water (even HOT) about half-an-hour before meals

Water and day time

1. In the morning. Before doing anything else, drinking one to two glasses of water just after you wake up can help stimulate peristalsis, lower blood concentration and boost blood circulation. (if you have digestive difficulties or heartburn, try adding a capful of raw apple cidre vinegar or the juice of some lemon to that water)
2. Before a meal. Drink a glass of water 30 minutes before meal can help preparing the digestive system to better absorb nutrients.
3. After a meal. It is NOT advisable to drink lots of water during or within half an hour after a meal because it can affect digestion.
4. In the afternoon. About 2:00 -3:00 o’clock in the afternoon, drink 2 cups of water to refresh the body and the mind
5. One hour before sleep. The body consumes water while we are asleep, making us feel thirsty and dehydrated in the morning. Drink some water an hour before you sleep can help replenish any water loss during the night.

Explanation

There are many who advocate drinking with meals although animals and savages abstain from water at this time. Drinking with meals or soon thereafter is not compatible with good digestion.

While eating, large quantities of digestive juices are being poured into the stomach. If drink–water or beverages–is taken, these are diluted. The water passes out of the stomach in ten to fifteen minutes and carries the digestive juices along with it. The food is deprived of these juices and digestion is greatly retarded. Fermentation and putrefaction follow.

Drinking water and beverages leads to bolting of food. The food is washed down instead of being properly masticated and insalivated. Many foods are dry and require much in-salivation before they can be swallowed. Washing them down with drink prevents the completion of this first and necessary step in digestion. Forego the drink and the glands of the mouth will meet the demand for fluid by a copious supply of digestive fluids.

Drinking water with meals and directly after meals, leads to dilatation of the stomach. Chronic indigestion, gastritis, ulcers, and even cancer follow in their logical order.

A fictitious thirst often follows a meal. This is especially so if the food has been salty, greasy or full of spices and condiments.

This “thirst” should be ignored.

If thirst following a meal is not satisfied with water, it will be satisfied with digestive secretions and these will bring along enough enzymes to prevent fermentation and accomplish digestion in good order. The intake of fluids with meals and immediately after meals interferes with all the digestive secretions and results in indigestion. One may safely drink fifteen to twenty minutes before meals.

How to drink water

1. Drink room temperature water, warm even hot, small sips to let the water mix with the saliva.
2. Don NOT count juices, milk, alcohol, coffee to hydrate you (is the opposite), count just the water.
   

French and Japanese women follow this. The Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals.

Why cold water is not good for you

Drinking cold water will solidify the oil part of the food we have eaten. This will slow down the digestion process. And when this sludge reacts with the digestive enzymes and acids, it will break down and will start getting absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. This lines the intestine. The consequence is that this will turn into fats.

Therefore it is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

Cold water can also in extreme circumstances lead to heart attacks. As we have our meals enzymes and acid secretions start and this process sort of warms up the body. Drinking cold water is like attacking the body with an exactly opposite temperature. Not only does the whole procedure of digestion gets interrupted or slows down, the body can also react in the form of a heart attack. It does not always come after a pain in the right arm or pain in the chest.

In the beginning hot water doesn’t taste good but that’s simply because we have never had hot water as a routine. Once we get used to it feels fine.

Just Water

Remember that caffeinated beverages and alcohol do not count as water as they are dehydrating. Quality milk, bone broths and fresh-squeezed juice may be healthy, but they won’t rehydrate you either, so only count water in your hydration efforts!

I personally find that I get a headache when I overdo caffeinated beverages and am dehydrated, so when I get that feeling at the base of my skull where my headaches frequently start, I drink lots of water, and usually the headache does not come on.

Experiment on drinking cold water

Water is best at room temperature rather than ice cold, as our bodies have to warm up cold water before it can be used. As Paul Chek suggests in his book  How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy!, you can do an experiment to see the truth of this:

If you drink a large amount of cold water, and then jiggle your belly around, you will hear and feel the water sloshing around, whereas if you drink a large amount of room temperature water it is immediately assimilated into the body and you won’t get that sloshing sound. Hot water in the form of herbal (non-caffeinated) teas are fine.

Quality of the water ~ Plastic ~ Filters

Quality of the water

Water filters:

A “healthy water” option is using an effective filter. There are excellent, mediocre, and poor filters on the market. For example, a filter removing chlorine that is only tested for taste and odor and not for chemical compounds, (such as THMs and heavy metals) is useless and gives consumers a false sense of safety. One of the best tests to look for is how well the filter removes chloroform while retaining minerals.

Check here the best filters for you: http://www.bestfilters.com/

Hard vs soft water

For water to be optimally healthy for us, it should have a hardness factor of 170mg/L and a total dissolved solids (TDS) of 300 or greater, according to Dr. Martin Fox, on his website www.healthywater.com. According to Fox’s review of the research, softer waters are correlated to greater incidences of heart disease and cancer.

Most bottled waters have far less than 300 TDS, and some even advertise that their water is demineralized. Brands that have adequate total dissolved solids include Evian, Vittel, Volvic, Fiji and Trinity.

Plastic bottles

It is worth paying attention to the type of plastic your water bottle is made of, to ensure that the chemicals in the plastic do not leach into the water.

To be certain that you are choosing a bottle that does not leach, check the recycling symbol on your bottle.

Your bottle is fine if you find:

• #2 HDPE (high density polyethylene)
• #4 LDPE (low density polyethylene)
• #5 PP (polypropylene).

The type of plastic bottle in which water is usually sold is usually a #1, and is only recommended

• for one time use.
• Do not refill it.

Better to use a reusable water bottle, and fill it with your own filtered water from home, and keep these single-use bottles out of the landfill.

Unfortunately, those fabulous colourful hard plastic lexan bottles made with polycarbonate plastics and identified by the #7 recycling symbol, may leach BPA.

Nalgene, the company that manufactures the lexan bottles also makes #2 HDPE bottles in the same sizes and shapes, so we do have a viable alternative.

Check the recycling numbers on all your plastic food containers as well, and gradually move to storing all food in glass or ceramic. Store water in glass or brass if possible, and out of direct sunlight.

Extreme water therapy

Water Therapy has magical effects in curing diseases. Everybody has experienced a positive change in their health after implementing water therapy in their daily routine.

Water Therapy – Method of Treatment

1. As you wake up in the morning before brushing teeth, drink 4-6 glasses of water each of 160 ml.
2. Brush and clean the mouth but do not eat or drink anything for 45 minutes.
3. After 45 minutes you may eat and drink as normal.
4. After 15 minutes of breakfast, lunch and dinner do not eat or drink anything for two hours.
5. Those who are old or sick and are unable to drink four glasses of water at the beginning may commence by taking little water and gradually increase it to four glasses per day.

The following list gives the number of days of treatment required to cure main diseases:

1. High Blood Pressure – 30 days
2. Gastric – 10 days
3. Diabetes – 30 days
4. Constipation – 10 days
5. TB – 90 days

Related Information on Water Therapy

• The Miracles of Water to Cure Diseases
• Drinking Water to cure internal /external infections
• Could Drinking Water Cure Your Ailments?
• Treating Cancer and Disease by Drinking Water
• The Water Cure Recipe

Water calculator – How much for YOU

• Weight in kilograms X 0.033 = litres per day.
• bodyweight in pounds / 2 = ounces per day
• more personalize, see here.

ccording to Dr. F. Batmanghelidj in his book Your Body’s Many Cries For Water, we can calculate the amount of pure filtered water we need daily by taking our bodyweight in pounds and dividing it by two. That will tell us how many ounces of water we need a day to keep our cells functioning optimally. (Weight in kilograms X 0.033 = litres per day.) You may find it helpful to measure your water, or find some way of keeping track of how much you are drinking when you are trying to create this new habit. Juice, soda, and caffeinated beverages do not count, as they are dehydrating to our systems. If your urine is clear to very pale yellow, you are well hydrated. Congratulations!

Highlights

1. Benefits of eating fruits.

2. When to eat fruits

3. How to eat fruits and juice

4. Are fruits acid or alkaline in the body?

5. Are fruits high in sugar?

6. Fruit based diet

7. Fruits calculator

Benefits of eating fruits.

• Fruit is the best source of the natural sugar needed for energy.
• Fruit is packed with vitamins, and still represents the best source of vitamins in any food.
• Fruit is packed with anti-oxidants.
• Fruit is easier to digest than grains. Fruit is basically pre-digested. Digesting ripe fruit hardly requires any digestive enzymes, and is thus less taxing to the body.
• Fruit is alkaline forming (whereas meat, fish, grains and legumes are acid-forming).
• Fruit contains an abundance of pure water.
• Fruit is easy to eat. It doesn’t require much preparation.
• People who eat lots of fruit live longer. A study published in the British Medical Journal (September 2001), showed that fresh fruit offers the best bet for a long life. The results of a study showed that frequent fruit eaters had a 32 percent lower risk of dying from cerebrovascular disease such as stroke, and a 24 percent lower risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, than those who ate fruit less than once a day.
• Fruit contains lots of fiber, which is necessary for optimum digestion.

When to eat fruits

Fruits should be eaten on an empty stomach…not as dessert after your meal as it is often done. If you eat fruit like this, it will also help to detoxify your system, supplying you with a great deal of energy for weight loss and other life activities.

There are many myths out there pertaining when to eat fruits, but the most important rule of thumb when consuming fruit is to avoid eating fruit with meals or directly after.

Explanation? Why?

Let’s say you eat two slices of bread and then a slice of fruit.
As fruit digests faster than bread, the slice of fruit digests quickly and is ready to go straight through your stomach into your intestines, but its passage is blocked by the bread which takes longer to digest…In the meantime the whole meal ferments and turns to acid.

Consequently, when the fruit comes into contact with the food in your stomach and digestive juices, the entire mass of food begins to spoil.

The fruit mixes with the putrefying other food and produces gas and hence you will bloat!

Typically most fruits (aside from bananas which take about 45 minutes) contain simple sugars and so fully digest within a half an hour or even less. Other foods that contain starch, proteins, fats, etc. take much longer and sit in the stomach for long periods of time.

Eating fruit during or after meals will cause the foods to mix, ultimately leaving the fruit to ferment and even rot as it waits to be digested together with the other foods. In a situation like this all the nutrients will have been a waste, which completely diminishes the purpose of consuming the fruit to begin with.

It has also been suggested that mixing berries with dairy reduces the nutritional intake by up to 70%. This should maintain a rule of thumb for all fruits.

Remember 2 rules:

• After you eat fruits wait 30 to 45 minutes before you eat any other meals -most fruits (aside from bananas which take about 45 minutes) contain simple sugars and so fully digest within a half an hour or even less
• Once you have eaten something other than fruit, you should wait at least three hours before eating fruit or drinking juice again

How to eat fruits and juice

We all think eating fruits means simply buying fruit, cutting it and just popping it into our mouths. You will benefit much more if you know how and when to eat.

When you need to drink fruit juice – drink only fresh fruit juice, NOT from the cans. Don’t drink juice that has been heated up. Don’t eat cooked fruits because you don’t get the nutrients at all.  You only get to taste.
Cooking fruit destroys all the vitamins.

Eating the pulp or whole fruit is far better than drinking the juices. Fiber is good for you.

If you drink the juice, drink it mouthful by mouthful slowly, because you must let it mix with your saliva before swallowing it.

Are fruits acid or alkaline in the body?

It is incorrectly presumed that some fruits like oranges and lemons are acidic and will enhance acidity in your stomach.

Research however shows that all fruits become alkaline in your body.

It has been known for a long time that fruit is one of the most alkaline forming foods there is. Even if it is acid to the taste, like oranges, after digestion the end result is alkaline-forming.

However, some authors have recently claimed the contrary. According to Dr. Robert Young, author of “The pH Miracle,” fruit is acid-forming due to its high sugar content. He then goes on to explain his unproven theory that the sugar in fruit ferments and produces acidity in the body.

Dr. Robert Young is completely mistaken on this point. Fruit is alkaline-forming, even if it contains sugar. The natural sugar that fruit contains is perfectly utilized by the body and doesn’t necessarily ferment to produce acidity. The fact is that fruit diets have been used for hundreds of years to combat acidosis. People go on grape cures, oranges cures, etc., and it helps to eliminate excess acidity in their bodies. It has been known for hundreds of years by naturopaths and Natural Hygienists and other health practitioners, both traditional and alternative, that fruit is alkaline forming – and that fact is not at all challenged by the nonsensical theories of Dr. Young about fruit being acid-forming.

Are fruits high in sugar

The body needs natural sugar as a source of energy. When starchy foods such as potatoes and bread are eaten, the digestive enzymes break down complex sugar (starch) into simpler sugars. When fruit is eaten, the body uses the simple sugars (fructose or others) directly, without needing to break them down any further. However, this is not like eating refined sugar. In the case of refined sugar, the food is devoid of nutrients and fiber. Thus, the sugar enters the blood quickly and is not slowed down by the process of digesting fiber. Plus, the calories found in sugar are “empty” because they do not provide any vitamins or minerals. Fruit, on the other hand, is a nutrient-dense food. Which means that for every calorie it provides, it also gives many micro-nutrients – vitamins and minerals.

Fruit based diet

A 3-day “fruit fast” is a very simple and effective way to cleanse and de-toxify your body. Just eat fruits and drink fruit juice throughout the 3 days and you will be surprised when your friends tell you how radiant you look!

During the “fruit fast” you can eat different fruits at different times, although occasionally mixed fruit salad would also be   permissible and more interesting.

Also many people suggest that is good to eat only fruits and juice till noon. See as reference this article.

A fruit-based diet would be where you would get most of your calories from sweet fruit. That means at least 50% of your calories from fresh fruit. Examples of how much fruit it takes to account for 1000 calories:

1000 calories of fruit is about:

A big bowl of cherries (about 50 cherries): 250 calories
1 pint of strawberries (100 calories)
15 apricots (250 calories)
3 mangoes (400 calories)

(That fruit, by the way, will provide 750% of your vitamin C, 385% of your vitamin A, 125% of your vitamin E, 110% of your vitamin B-6, as well as good amounts of magnesium (42%), phosphorus (42%), iron (65%), calcium (23%), thiamin (63%), riboflavin (77%), niacin (55%), and folate (55%))

1000 calories of fruit is about:

4 bananas (435 calories)
3 large oranges (250 calories)
2 pomegranates (200 calories)
1 large apple (125 calories)

(That fruit will provide 612.48% of your vitamin C, 268.04% of your vitamin B-6, as well as a good amount of vitamin E (49.72%), folate (70%), niacin (30%), iron (33%), and calcium (27%), phosphorus (30%), and magnesium (52%))

1000 calories of fruit is about:

4 apples (350 calories)
4 large persimmons (475 calories)
2 pears (200 calories)

(That fruit will provide 149.25% of your vitamin A, 158.57% of your vitamin C, as well as good amounts of vitamin E (73%), thiamin (30%), riboflavin (26%), vitamin B-6 (76%), iron (28%), phosphorus (27%), and magnesium (27%))

1000 calories of fruit is about:

1 large cantaloupe (285 calories)
1 pound of fresh figs (350 calories)
2 cups of grapes (225 calories)
2 apples (165 calories)

(That fruit will provide 265.73% of your vitamin A, 7977.1% of your vitamin E(!), 670.51% of your vitamin C, 289.11% of your thiamin, and 152.89% of your vitamin B-6, as well as good amounts of riboflavin (30%), niacin (36%), folate (39%), iron (30%), calcium (28%), and magnesium (30%))

Fruits calculator – how many fruits you should eat

Calculate your daily fruits here.