Water

Original Watercolor

​It is September of 2024.  Mom has just come home from spending five days in the hospital. She is 94 years old, one month away from turning 95. She is healthy enough to live to the ripe old age of 100, but what are the things that are going to keep her from reaching that goal?  The number one thing is the fact that she doesn’t drink enough water and is chronically dehydrated.  That has been the main cause of all of her hospital stays, dehydration. It’s a fact that most people are walking around chronically dehydrated.  According to my favorite book, “You’re Not Sick, You’re Thirsty” by F. Batmanghelidj, M.D., who writes, “the new scientific understanding is that chronic unintentional dehydration in the human body can manifest itself in as in many ways as we in medicine have invented diseases. We have created an opportunity for the drug industry to thrive, and have given birth to the current ‘sick-care’ health system, at the expense of people’s precious lives and resources.  The sick-care system survives and thrives when people are continuously sick.”
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​So, as I sit here and watch my mother slowly decline after spending five days in the hospital, and begin the process of leaving life here on planet Earth, I have begun reflecting on all of the things that have kept her healthy and easily able to reach the age of 94.  Isn’t that what we are all seeking?  A long, healthy life, longevity? 

And so, number one on that list, of course, is water. The amount to drink each day varies by who you speak with, and while I am not a doctor, nor do I have a medical degree, I personally like to follow the rule that you drink, at minimum, one half of your body weight in ounces of water each day.  Remember, caffeinated drinks are diuretic and thus dehydrate you, so they don’t count, and most likely require you to drink even more than the recommended amount of water to make up for the loss. And yes, you can drink too much water, so don’t go overboard either.
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We drink filtered then boiled water.  We also often add a high-quality electrolyte powder to our water, at minimum, once per day, often twice, especially when it’s hot outside.  I give Mom herbal teas to help her reach her water goals, but coffee, even decaffeinated, isn’t allowed!  For a short time here in Hawaii, I worked for a local coffee distributor.  I love the smell of the beans, but find drinking it a bit like drinking battery acid.  I just don’t like it!
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So, if you’ve read this far, will you please go do yourself a huge favor and figure out if you are drinking enough water?  One half of your body weight in ounces, at minimum, and more if you are active. It actually gives me more long-lasting energy, even better than coffee.  Also, please pop over to my shop on Pixels.com by clicking on the links provided and get yourself a “Water” mug as a reminder to drink more water, your body will thank you!  And so do I, from the bottom of my heart, Mahalo nui!
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