Today I’m going to tell you nine strategies for profoundly improving both your short and long-term health that you may be overlooking and under appreciating. 

The good news is that these simple actions, when done consistently, can dramatically improve your health as you will discover in this post.  The other good news is that you will be able to avoid the perilous consequences of dehydration or medication side effects.  Yes.  That’s correct.  You can choose to improve your health, without a doctor and without medication or other health care interventions.

 These strategies are something everyone can do.

So, if you’re ready to improve your health, you’ll love the simple steps in this guide.

Let’s dive right in.

STRATEGY #1: Drink ample amounts of water daily

A study published on Pubmed.gov in 2010 entitled “How Much Water do we Really Need to Drink?” recommends men drink 3 liters of water and just over 2 liters for women.  That equates to roughly dividing your weight by two and drinking that number of ounces of filtered or spring water each day.  A good rule of thumb is to drink enough water, so you urinate at least every three to four hours.  Ideally your urine should be pale yellow; not dark yellow or clear.

In the book by Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, Your Body’s Many Cries for Water, he makes a compelling case that chronic low grade and usually unrecognized dehydration affects most of us in the United States and the Western World in general due to us avoiding water as a beverage and too often choosing dehydrating coffee, energy drinks and even herbal teas, that only contribute to the problem.  Caffeine is a well-known diuretic, as is sugar. (10 oz of one of these drinks = 12 oz of water loss). 

In an article titled, “Water, Energy, and the Perils of Dehydration” by Nicholas Gonzalez MD, posted on GreenMedInfo LLC, June 13, 2015, Dr. Gonzalez noticed that many of his patients with life threatening malignancies and other serious degenerative diseases appeared to be chronically dehydrated.  One of Dr. Gonzalez’s patients suffering from near-300 level cholesterol significantly improved when he substituted 8 glasses of plain filtered water for the eight cups of herbal tea he had been drinking daily.  His total cholesterol dropped 63 pints and his HDL, the alleged “good” cholesterol, went up considerably.  “Water intake had done effectively in six weeks what many heart-friendly supplements and an ideal nutritionally replete diet had failed to do in a year.   

Dr. Gonzalez’s article goes on to state that he has also seen patients “with chronic high blood pressure on multiple medications including diuretics, whose blood pressure went down, and the medications were discarded when they increased their water gradually, even their salt intake.” His patients did not acknowledge that they were thirsty.  So please, don’t rely on your sense of thirst to determine water needs – in chronic dehydration, from which most of us suffer, our thirst thermostat in the brain down regulates so we learn not to be thirsty, even when we need water.  “To complicate matters,” Dr. Gonzalez explains in his article, “deficiency in salt (sodium chloride), an essential nutrient, often accompanies dehydration”. 

Water loss is a natural function of the body, therefore, continually replenishing this liquid fluid is critical to our well being.  According to Dr. Kelly Brogan, “This vital life fluid is a critical element in our most important bodily functions and serves the following purposes:”  

• “Cushions our brain and spinal cord
• Regulates body temperature through sweat
• Carries brain peptides and chemical messengers to other parts of the body
• Enables healthy digestion through saliva and stomach acids
• Lubricates joints
• Circulates oxygen throughout the body
• Is an energy-generating substance”

STRATEGY #2: Swap all caffeine containing beverages and other non-water fluids for pure filtered or spring water

Drink pure filtered water or spring water throughout the day.  Even the healthy favorites of non-caffeinated herbal teas dehydrate, due to their diuretic effects and need to be avoided. 

STRATEGY #3: Swap a water break in place of a snack break

Drink one to two 8 –10 ounce glasses of water instead of eating a snack.  Chronic dehydration dysregulates our bodily signals so we may feel hunger when we really are thirsty and need more water.  Pour yourself a glass of water if you feel hungry.

STRATEGY #4: Get rid of all processed/denatured/white salt

It is important to be aware that there are two forms of salt available to us: refined (very damaging to health) and unrefined (health promoting).

Dr. David Brownstein, author of “Salt Your Way to Health,” explains that refined salt has had its minerals removed and has been bleached white with many toxic chemicals.  Refined table salt contributes to the onset of many terrible diseases including thyroid and metabolic dysfunction. 

Dr. Sircus points out in his article, “Real Salt, Celtic Salt and Himalayan Salt” posted on GreenMedInfo LLC, February 15, 2013  that “many Americans over consume refined salt by eating processed foods, fast foods and canned foods with salt added.  Refined salt (table salt and used in processed and fast foods) is the villain we so often hear about and why we are advised to avoid salt or remove it from diets completely.

You don’t have to throw out the bad refined table salt.  You can use it in natural cleaning and stain treatments.

STRATEGY #5: Add mineral rich sea salt or Himalayan salt to your diet

“Unrefined salt, on the other hand,” Brownstein notes in his book, “Salt Your Way to Health” “has not been put through a harsh chemical process”.  It contains natural minerals that gives it a distinct color.  These minerals are what provide all the benefits to maintain and sustain health.  “Physicians generally ignore the importance of adequate water intake at the same time demonizing salt, ignoring the mineral’s many essential biochemical functions.”

Sodium is necessary to help the body regulate fluids and blood pressure, and keeps muscles and nerves functioning effectively.  Dr. Sircus’ article, “Real Salt, Celtic Salt and Himalayan Salt” also explains that without appropriate amounts of sodium, your body may have a hard time cooling down (not able to sweat) after intense exercise or activity, leading to a stroke or exhaustion as well as dehydration.  Dr. Sircus goes on to state, in his article, that sodium is also an energy carrier.  “It is also responsible for sending messages from the brain to muscles through the nervous system so that muscles move on command.  Without sodium, you would never be able to move any part of your body.”

David Avocado Wolfe (Nutrition and Superfood Specialist) asserts in the docuseries (“Remedy – Ancient Medicine for Modern Illness“) that pure filtered water in combination with a good quality mineral containing sea salt, is effective with stopping the cycling of autoimmune conditions, specifically allergy and asthma.  Mineral rich sea salt, together with pure filtered water, is basic medicine that is mandatory for healthy functioning of our bodies.  

STRATEGY #6: Add Sole to your morning routine

Drink a glass of sole water first thing in the morning.  We are usually dehydrated upon waking and drinking a glass of this mineral rich water will help replenish water lost during sleep and help boost our energy reserves.

Dr. Sircus, explains that sole, (pronounced soLAY) is essentially “a water saturated with Himalayan Crystal Salt.”  He prepares sole by doing the following:

• “Place several Himalayan Crystal Salt stones or granules about an inch deep in a glass container. You may also purchase sole “kits” online with salt rocks and jars.
  • Cover the salt with two to three inches of pure filtered or spring water.  Let the salt dissolve for 24 hours.  If all the salt dissolves in 24 hours, add more salt to the container.  The sole is finished when the water can no longer dissolve the salt and the salt crystals drop to the bottom of the container.  There will always be salt crystals in the jar.  It doesn’t matter if you have only a few crystals or many.  The water is saturated and is now sole. 
  • Cover the container to prevent the water from evaporating.  Since salt is a natural preservative, the sole will keep forever.  It can’t spoil or go bad.
  • The vibrational energy of the Himalayan Crystal Salt remains in your body for 24 hours.”

STRATEGY #7: Filter your water

Buy a household water filter for all your drinking and cooking.  Make sure that you only drink pure filtered or spring water.  Water from the tap contains, industrial pollutants, pharmaceutical products, microbes and other toxic substances.  It is also processed with endocrine-disrupting and neurotoxic fluoride and chlorine.  The Environmental Working Group has identified over 300 water contaminants, over 200 of which are not regulated.  Please make sure the filter removes fluoride, chlorine and other potential contaminants.

STRATEGY #8: Eat more organic whole foods

Stop eating processed and fast food.   They are usually loaded with the “bad” refined salt.  Eat organic whole foods instead.  Fruits and vegetables are loaded with magnesium, calcium, potassium and sodium (all electrolytes) and these have been shown to aid hydration.

A 2013 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition titled “Contribution of Fruit and Vegetable Intake to Hydration status in Schoolchildren” looked at the contribution fruits and vegetables had on children.  Researchers found that regular intake of fruits and vegetables relatively improved the hydration status in participants.  Some of the more hydrating foods:

• Cucumbers
• Berries
• Celery
• Kiwi
• Tomatoes
• Bell Peppers
• Cauliflower
• Watermelon
• Spinach
• Iceberg Lettuce
• Broccoli
• Citrus fruit
• Pineapple
• Carrots

STRATEGY #9: Increase the amount you move throughout the day

Exercise increases circulation which improves overall electrolyte levels and helps circulate and get more nutrients into your cells.  Any form of exercise will work; cardiovascular training, burst training, weight training, walking/jogging, hiking, kayaking, swimming, etc.  Get moving.  Regular movement throughout the day is important. 

Knowledge is Power

I previously thought that by bringing a bottle of water with me and drinking it after a workout was enough to keep my body properly hydrated.  After learning more about what proper hydration means and the perilous health effects of dehydration, I now know better.  Remember how much water you need to drink, the food and drinks to avoid, and the importance of unrefined salt as an important nutrient for optimal functioning.  

Which strategies from today’s post are you going to use today to ensure you are not among the chronically dehydrated?   

Have you ever made sole?  

Let me know by leaving a comment below right now.

References

AJ Meinders and AE Meinders, “How Much Water do we Really Need to Drink?” published on pubmed.gov 2010.

F. Batmanghelidj, Your Body’s Many Cries for Water,  Copyright 2008 published by Global Health Solutions.

Nicholas Gonzalez, MD, “Water, Energy, and the Perils of Dehydration” GreenMedInfo LLC,  June 13, 2015

Kelly Brogan, MD,  Vital Life Project is an online membership site dedicated to all things that promote your bodies innate ability to heal.  Information sourced from the “Water Challenge” module.

Dr. Mark Sircus, “Real Salt, Celtic Salt and Himalayan Salt” GreenMedInfo LLC, February 15, 2013

David Brownstein, MD, “Salt Your Way to Health” Medical Alternative Press; 2006

Kelly Brogan, MD,  “A Mind of Your Own,” Copyright 2016, HarperCollins Publishers 195 Broadway, New York, NY  10007

“Remedy – Ancient Medicine for Modern Illness” docuseries by Nick Polizzi

G Montenegro-Bethancourt, SA Johner, T. Remer, Am J Clin Nutr. , 2013 Oct, “Contribution of fruit and vegetable intake to hydration status in schoolchildren”

VA Convertino, Can J Sport Sci 1987, “Fluid shifts and hydration state: effects of long-term exercise”

If you’re interested in going paleo, I wrote a tutorial that will explain everything and help you get started right now.  In college? I’ve got a super detailed guide on how to maintain your diet and find the resources you need to stay healthy !  Have any questions about anything? I’m happy to help!