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Headaches, Migraines - Drink More Water

Written by: Janet Parker, zazen Water - Wednesday, October 26, 2011

I played basketball for many years at a top level and was constantly suffering from headaches and sometimes severe migraines (which were debilitating). I am going back 25 years now – and back then drinking water was not a part of a daily regime for many people including many athletes! Today of course with better access to information online etc. this is changing but not fast enough!

Imagine how dehydrated we must have been and the additional stress this placed on our bodies! Other than a constant headache other symptoms included constipation and stiff muscles, slow recovery and soreness – much of the lactic acid build up from the strenuous exercise did not get flushed though our systems as quickly as it could have due in part to dehydration!

Recently the New York Times reported a study, also published in Neurology, where scientist’s recruited migraine suffers and divided them into two groups. Group one were given placebo medication to take regularly and group two were told to drink 1.5 litres a day in addition to their normal intake (this is about 6 cups).

At the end of two weeks the researchers found that those in group two (increased their water intake on average by 4 cups a day) – but they experienced on average 21 fewer hours of pain and also experienced a decrease in intensity - than those in the placebo group, during the study period.

I recommend, as do many health officials, that we drink approx. 4 cups of water for every 25kg of body weight; and more if you are ill or exercising. I have found this to work for me and those I love.

Sounds like a lot doesn’t it! So I did some more extensive research on water and health. Two key things I thought would happen and be a potential problem when I started this routine, was I was going to feel really bloated (because this was a feeling I had experienced in the past trying to drink a lot of tap water and bottled water) – and I would be going to the toilet all day long .

I started drinking a high quality alkaline mineral water and what I experienced was that I didn’t have that bloated feeling ever! And as I built up my water intake over 6 weeks, I immediately started to feel better and better – my stiff, achy and creaky joints stopped, I stopped crawling out of bed slowly needing to warm into the day and I no longer experienced any headaches. In fact I no longer suffer from headaches or migraines at all! If I feel a little light headed I simply reach for a glass of quality water.

I also found out that health professionals will tell us we should actually urinate at least 6 times a day - it is good for us and this is the body flushing toxins etc and helps to flush the kidneys! And our urine (other than first thing in the morning) should be a light colour without strong smell.

In a great book – Your Body’s Many Cries for Water by Dr Batmanghelidj - the key thing I learned and have applied every day now - was that the body actually loses its “thirst mechanism” and we over time mistake the thirst craving for a craving for food! So we end up thinking we are hungry when in fact we are thirsty! And what do we do is we eat more and drink less water! My body now tells me it is thirsty and I now recognise that and act on it by giving my body what it is asking for – because our bodies instinctively know what is good for them (we just need to learn to listen to it again).


Magnesium in Water… what are the health benefits?

Written by: Janet Parker, zazen Water - Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Recent current affairs television segments have explored spring waters with magnesium added and the reported health benefits. Some of these bottled waters are marketed as “unique water” simply because of the addition of magnesium (used to enhance the alkalinity and overall wellbeing benefits).


So let us explore what may be happening when people drink water that has magnesium added to it. Magnesium is a critical mineral salt or electrolyte in the body. Magnesium is used in every cellular function. Benefits include helping with osteoporosis, prevention of cardiovascular disease, helps with hypertension, treats migraine, depression, insomnia, menopause, cramps … the list goes on.

Magnesium and hydration - To better understand how the body operates when hydrated, we can explore the movement of key electrolytes (minerals salts) sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium (plus chloride).

These electrolytes actually charge the body by charging the water and depending upon the charge they are holding (negative or positive) they can move water in and out of cells and around the body.

Sodium and calcium always partner and as they move into the cell they displace potassium and magnesium.

So What is an Electrolyte?


An electrolyte is a mineral that dissolves in water and carries an electrical charge.

Since the body is mostly made up of water, electrolytes are found everywhere in the body – inside the cells, in the spaces between cells, in the blood, in lymph glands and everywhere else.

Because electrolytes have electrical charges, they can move easily back and forth through cell membranes. This is important because as they move into a cell, they carry other nutrients in with them and as they move out of it, they carry out waste products and excess water.

To keep body fluid levels in balance, your cells need to have a lot of potassium inside them and a lot of sodium in the fluids outside them. To keep the balance, sodium and potassium constantly move back and forth through the cell membranes as do magnesium and calcium.

Sodium easily combines with other elements and is necessary to make hydrochloric acid – the powerful digestive juice inside your stomach that breaks foods down to enable it to be digested and absorbed.

All these electrolytes – sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium – keep the amount of water in the body in balance, carry impulses along the nerves, help make muscles contract and relax and keep the body from becoming too acidic or alkaline.

Electrolytes are also required to carry glucose (blood sugar) and other nutrients into the cells and to carry waste products and extra water out again. Electrolytes also regulate blood pressure and heartbeat.

zazen Alkaline Water has a balanced range of alkaline minerals including magnesium, sodium, chloride, potassium and calcium, which aid in hydrating you at a cellular level for maximum wellbeing benefit.

Many minerals such as magnesium are also more easily absorbed in water than in food.

The zazen Alkalinity & Antioxidant Enhancer product (AAE 100gm) – releases additional magnesium into your zazen Water system enhancing both the Alkalinity and Antioxidant value of the water. Click here to download the AAE fact sheet

Additional reading:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/02/10/magnesium-can-reduce-your-risk-of-sudden-death.aspx

http://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/Magnesium-health-benefits-supplements/2011/01/20/id/369647


Benefits of drinking Quality Filtered Water

Written by: Janet Parker, zazen Water - Thursday, September 29, 2011

10 Reasons to Drink Water

  1. Water is absolutely essential to the human body’s survival. A person can live for about a month without food, but only about a week without water.
  2. Water helps to maintain healthy body weight by increasing metabolism and regulating appetite.
  3. Water leads to increased energy levels. The most common cause of daytime fatigue is actually mild dehydration.
  4. Drinking adequate amounts of water can decrease the risk of certain types of cancers, including colon cancer, bladder cancer, and breast cancer.
  5. For a majority of sufferers, drinking water can significantly reduce joint and/or back pain.
  6. Water leads to overall greater health by flushing out wastes and bacteria that can cause disease.
  7. Water can prevent and alleviate headaches.
  8. Water naturally moisturises skin and ensures proper cellular formation underneath layers of skin to give it a healthy, glowing appearance.
  9. Water aids in the digestion process and prevents constipation.
  10. Water is the primary mode of transportation for all nutrients in the body and is essential for proper circulation.

10 Reasons to Use a Water Filter

  1. In order to capitalise on the health benefits of water, it is essential to draw from a clean source of water.
  2. Drinking impure, contaminated water is the leading cause of epidemic disease in developing countries.
  3. There are more than 2100 known drinking water contaminants that may be present in tap water, including several known poisons.
  4. Bottled water does not offer a viable alternative to tap water.
  5. Municipal water treatment facilities cannot always control for the outbreak of dangerous bacterial contaminants in tap water.
  6. The only way to ensure pure, contaminant-free drinking water is through the use of a point-of-use filtration system in your home or office.
  7. Several types of cancer can be attributed to the presence of toxic materials in drinking water.
  8. Clean, healthy drinking water is essential to a child’s proper mental and physical development.
  9. According to the EPA, lead in drinking water contributes to 480,000 cases of learning disorders in children each year in the United States alone.
  10. It is especially important for pregnant women to drink pure water as lead in drinking water can cause severe birth defects.

10 Benefits of Using a Water Filter

  1. Water filters provide better tasting and better smelling drinking water by reducing chlorine and bacterial contaminants.
  2. Point-of-use water filters reduce lead from drinking water immediately prior to consumption, thus preventing this harmful substance from entering the body.
  3. The purchase of a countertop filter results in a source of clean, healthy water that costs much less than bottled water.
  4. Water filters greatly reduce the risk of rectal cancer, colon cancer, and bladder cancer by reducing chlorine and chlorine byproducts such as Trihalomethanes and Disinfectant By-Products from drinking water.
  5. A solid block carbon water filter can selectively reduce dangerous contaminants from drinking water while retaining healthy mineral deposits that balance the pH of drinking water.
  6. Drinking clean, filtered water protects the body from disease and leads to overall greater health.
  7. A water filter provides clean, healthy water for cooking, as well as drinking, at the convenience of tap water.
  8. Water filters reduce the risk of gastrointestinal disease by more than 33 percent by reducing cryptosporidium and giardia from drinking water.
  9. Drinking pure water is especially important for children. Water filters provide the healthiest water for children’s developing immune systems.
  10. Water filters offer the last line of defense between the body and the over 2100 known toxins that may be present in drinking water.

Electrolytes for Hydration in Drinking Water

Written by: Janet Parker, zazen Water - Monday, August 01, 2011

We are sure you would have heard the term electrolytes – and the need to replenish these when we have over exerted ourselves when exercising or if you have suffered from a diarrhea or vomiting episode.

What happens is that we have lost so much body fluid (water containing mineral salts) - that we become dehydrated. We MUST replenish both the fluid (water) and these valuable mineral salts in order for the body to rebalance itself.  Otherwise we get worse and suffer headaches, low energy etc.

 

What are Electrolytes and why are they so important?
An electrolyte is simply an alkaline mineral – or mineral salt. These “electrolyte” mineral salts dissolve in water and carry an electrical charge. Since the body is made up of over 70% water – electrolytes are found everywhere in the body.

 
Alkaline Water containing a balanced range of electrolyte minerals is essential for re-hydration – which is why sports drinks (Gatorade and PowerAde) are based on rehydration with electrolytes minerals contained in them – along with carbohydrates, flavoring and sugars!


Because electrolytes have electrical charges, they can move easily back and forth through cell membranes. This is important because as they move into a cell, they carry other nutrients in with them and as they move out of it, they carry out metabolic waste products and excess water. The key electrolyte minerals are
Sodium, Potassium and Chloride (not chlorine!) mineral salts, which have a negative electrical charge.

To keep body fluid levels in balance, your cells need to have a lot of Potassium inside them and a lot of Sodium in the fluids outside them.


To keep the balance, sodium and potassium constantly move back and forth through the cell membranes. Sodium easily combines with other elements and is necessary to make hydrochloric acid – the powerful digestive juice inside your stomach that breaks foods down to enable it to be digested and absorbed.


So all 3 electrolytes – sodium, potassium and chloride – keep the amount of water in the body in balance, carry impulses along the nerves, help make muscles contract and relax and keep the body from becoming too acidic or alkaline.

 

Electrolytes are also required to carry glucose (blood sugar) and other nutrients into the cells and to carry waste products and extra water out again. Electrolytes also regulate blood pressure and heartbeat.

 
zazen Alkaline Water
contains all 3 key electrolytes plus many other ionized alkaline minerals creating an alkaline water full of alkaline minerals ideal for the body’s modern day water needs.
 

Disease & Dehydration

Written by: Janet Parker, zazen Water - Saturday, June 18, 2011

The body manifests dehydration in the form of pain. 
 
Depending on where dehydration is settled, you feel pain there.  Pain is a sign of water shortage in the body, and water shortage is actually the background to most of the health problems in our society.

This is linked to the fact that many drugs readily available and consumed by the western world are various types of antihistamine in the form of different medications. Antidepressant drugs are antihistamines, pain medication are antihistamines, other medications are directly and indirectly antihistamines. 
 
Why is this significant?  Because histamine is a water regulator in the body.  So the very substance in the body that is responsible for regulating the flow and usage of water in the body, is being suppressed every time a person takes pain medication, antidepressants or antihistamines.

Headaches
The brain is more than 75% water and when it detects a shortage of available fluids it implements a water-rationing process by producing histamines, causing pain and fatigue.  This natural process is meant to slow us down and conserve water for defense uses (just as an animal lies in the shade when ill). Histamines are released as a warning signal that something is wrong. When we take antihistamines or analgesic medicines like ibuprofen we mainly turn off the signal and do little or nothing for the problem.  A big glass of pure water and a 20 minute decompression break will overcome most common stress-related headaches. (It takes medications longer to work than that!)

Back pain
It is often the result of a deficiency in body fluid levels.  The discs in the back are really little hydraulic shock absorbers.  These discs are made up of an outer shell of flexible joint tissue filled with fluid pockets, primarily water.  A properly hydrated disk creates a cushion that absorbs the normal shock of physical activity and supports the weight of the upper body.  These discs are self-hydrating as long as there are adequate fluid levels and regular movement.  Movement that compresses and releases pressure on the disc creates a suction that allows body fluids (99% water) to be pulled inside the disc, keeping it properly hydrated.  When a disc is fully hydrated, the shell of the disc supports 25% of the weight load and the fluid supports 75%.  When these discs become dehydrated, the shell has to support a larger portion of the load, causing pain, swelling and soreness which can lead to more serious problems, also more permanent ones.

Passive activities like standing in one place or sitting at a desk without regular movement for prolonged periods, allow constant pressure on the discs which slowly forces the fluid out. Without sufficient body fluid levels and spine movement, the pressure on the discs increases, resulting in pain and stiffness.  Simply by maintaining a constant and adequate intake of water, as well as regular movement such as bending forward, backwards and side to side, with your head and upper body allowing the discs to hydrate, you can prevent most minor back and neck pain.  Try it; you’ll be amazed how easy and effective these natural solutions can be.
Drought management means that the body clogs the holes where water is lost from the body. Water is the most precious commodity in the interior of your body, and when not enough is coming in and more is being lost, this is a no-no situation for your body.  The intelligence behind the design of the body is such that a drought management program will kick in.  Allergies are a sign of dehydration because the system that regulates water balance of the body suppresses the immune system, because it’s an energy-consuming situation. Then you get asthma.

The link between dehydration and asthma
You see, we lose about a quart of water through breathing every day. It is actually the surface tension in the alveoli of the lungs that produces contraction of these tiny membranes, and air is pushed out.  And in the process, that water will leave with the air that is leaving.  So you lose about a quart of water in breathing.  We need to replenish that.  When we don’t replenish it, the body tightens up the bronchials and plugs up the holes and we call this reduced air flow in the lungs because of dehydration, we’ve labeled it as asthma.

Now there are 17 million children in America and over a million children in Australia, probably more because the numbers rise every year, who have asthma.  The reason is, at the same time, children have been consuming more and more sodas. Three year olds to five year olds have been consuming three times as much soda in the last ten years than in the ten years before that. 
 
So these children are getting dehydrated, they are consuming more sodas, which doesn’t function in the same way as water, and that is why they get asthma.  Dr Batman has treated many many children with water, and their asthma disappeared very quickly, in a matter of a few hours, with breathing becoming normal.  The need for inhalers will also disappear.
 
Softdrinks cause dehydration
A lot of children who drink soft drinks actually become “stupid”, but once you take the soft drink away from them, their grades improve tremendously — C’s and F’s become A’s and B’s.  So, there is something in caffeine that suppresses the enzymes from memory-making.  And this is exactly how the plant survives, because caffeine is a toxic chemical – it’s a warfare chemical for the plant.  Anything that would eat it will lose its art of camouflage, its alertness, good reaction, good response, and becomes easy prey to its own food chain predator.

Caffeine is technically an insecticide. So is morphine and so is cocaine. They are the same family of drugs — neurotoxic substances.
 
Cholesterol

Cholesterol is one of the most essential elements in the survival of the human body.  When the body begins to make more cholesterol, it has a reason to do that.  It is certainly not to block the arteries of the heart, because we measure the level of cholesterol in the body in the blood we take out of the veins of the body, and nowhere in the history of medicine is there recorded one single case of cholesterol ever having blocked the veins of the body.

So, it is not the stickiness of the cholesterol that is the problem, which has been drummed into the minds of people — cholesterol is sticky, reduce it otherwise you will have blockage of your arteries, which is all nonsense.  Cholesterol is actually saving the lives of people, because cholesterol is a bandage, a waterproof bandage that the body has designed.  When the blood becomes concentrated and acidic (which happens when a person is dehydrated), and is being rushed through constricted arteries or capillaries, in dehydration, then abrasions and tears are produced in the arterial system, naturally, in the capillaries of the heart first.

Now if cholesterol wasn’t there to cover up the tear and abrasions, blood would get under the membrane and peel it off and that person would be dead instantly.  Cholesterol is actually an interim lifesaver, giving the body time to recover from its problems.  Often the thought process is if something’s up, bring it down, if something’s down, bring it up.  Often questions like “why is it down” or “why is it up” are not asked.

There is a report that shows the statins, cholesterol-lowering drugs, produce amnesia.  In other words, the brain totally loses track of what it’s doing, and it is published by a doctor who is an eminent doctor.  He was a flight surgeon, he is a researcher at NASA.  And he knows what he’s talking about. He had the problem himself.

There are also a huge number of side effects that have been recorded from using statin drugs. Some people have extreme muscular pain, amnesia is very common, and yet a study just came out talking about how blueberries have phytonutrients that are shown to lower so-called fatty cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, more powerfully than statin drugs.

You see the body manufactures cholesterol as an emergency situation, when it raises the level of its production.  Its normal rate of production is of course is to create membranes for the cell membranes and brain cells and nerve insulation and of course the hormones of the body, vitamin D for the body.  So these are the essential components that cholesterol makes in the body.  We should never interfere with cholesterol without knowing why the body has starting raising its level.
 
Chronic Disease Caused by Lack of Water
There is a clear correlation between water consumption and chronic disease.  In his book called “Water Cures and Drugs Kill” Dr Batmangelidj explains why dehydration is the cause of pain and disease, and how the pharmaceutical industry has camouflaged this information or covered it up and instead of letting people drink water, it advertises the use of their products, which actually do kill.  
 
Recent figures (US statistics but the trends are similar for Australia) have shown that prescription medications, when used according to the instruction of doctors, kill over 106,000 people, and make 2 million people sicker than before taking the medication.  And then there is another group who die from faulty and incorrect prescriptions.

So between them, about 250,000 people die from drug-related or medication-related problems. This makes the use of drugs the number three killer processes in the USA — protected and licensed killer process.  After heart disease, which kills about seven or eight hundred thousand, cancer which kills about 500,000, drugs kill 250,000 people.

The human body manifests dehydration by a series of symptoms and signs, perceptive symptoms of dehydration — in other words, brain senses dehydration, or tiredness when you haven’t done a good day’s work, or first thing in the morning when you want to get up out of bed and you’re tired, you can’t get up — that is a sign of dehydration. 
 
Then anger, quick reaction, depression, these are all signs of dehydration, when the brain has very little energy from hydroelectricity to cope with the information or take action.  These are some of the perceptive signs of dehydration.  Then the body has its drought management program, which are allergies, hypertension, diabetes, and also immune diseases.