One of the most remarkable medical research findings is how consumption of water reduces the risk of heart disease. That's water, plain water.
Professor Jacqueline Chan of studied the water consumption habits and health histories of 20,000 people. She found that drinking three or four glasses of water a day reduced the risk of coronary heart disease, 40 percent for men and 43 percent for women. What about drinking even more water? Consumption of five or more glasses of water a day cut heart disease risk 62 percent for men, but oddly only 39 for women.
Here are even more really unexpected results. That risk reduction from drinking water was greater than that found for other more acclaimed heart-protecting steps, namely quitting smoking, reducing cholesterol, exercising, and maintaining a healthy weight. It was even better than taking a daily low-dose aspirin or having a glass of wine.
What is in drinking water matters. Other research found that drinking hard water results in less cardiovascular disease than drinking soft water. Hard water has more calcium carbonate and magnesium in it. Similarly, it has also been found that people who drank water higher in Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) had lower death rates from heart disease, cancer and chronic diseases than people who drank water with low amounts of TDS. TDS not only includes calcium and magnesium (the hardness factors), but also zinc, copper chromium, selenium and other elements.
Beware, drinking other fluids, notably coffee, soda, milk and other caffeinated drinks did not reduce heart risk. Caffeine and alcohol are diuretics, meaning they pull more water out of your body than they put in.
The average person loses about 2 percent of their body weight every day by producing urine and perspiration. Replacing this water is crucial in keeping your blood volume normal. Otherwise your blood gets heavy and harder for your heart to pump. Water protects against blood clot formation by decreasing blood viscosity.
Naturally, exercising in hot and humid weather means even high water loss. The American Heart Association recommends drinking 8 ounces of water before, during and again after exercising. Drinking too much water without replacing electrolytes can be dangerous. Many sports drinks provide electrolytes, but try and use the low calorie versions.
Also, recognize that some foods provide another way to get water in your diet. Soups, stews, vegetables like celery and peppers, and juicy fruits like watermelon, cantaloupe, oranges and grapefruit.
In addition to reducing heart risk, maintaining adequate water intake helps prevent getting kidney stones, constipation and fatigue. It also helps you lose weight.
Never take water for granted. And don't think that expensive bottled water is necessary or better for you than your tap water.
Well, it's not just water but that with a ph level of 8.5 or higher, as much as 11. A friend of mine has a $4000 machine that we'll soon purchase. It has not only healed me (cleaned arteries, increased blood flow, improved heart beat / rate, etc.) others who can't afford the machine have been going to his house to get water like it's the fountain of youth (he gave 80 gallons away one Sunday evening!) Water, as most Christians know, is another word for Christ, the water of life. Interesting analogy, yes?
I find the study appealing and believable. For my adult life I drank perhaps 8-10 cups of coffee a day and smoke on average, a pack and a half of cigarettes daily. Naturally, I ended up having heart surgery and a pacemaker. I took cholesterol drugs for years and stopped in June. I've had no problems since, but, I've developed a habit of drinking several glasses of ice water with lemon daily. I've wondered why I was doing well without the drugs. Maybe drinking water is the answer. I hope so.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
tweet this!
