New Start–Water
From plant to insects, birds, reptiles, and mammals all life depends on water. I’ll never forget the warm day as I sat on the deck next to a container in which water had settled around the rim, and observed a wasp land on that container, and walk purposefully to the edge of the rim, and sipped water like a horse drinking from a lakeside, and then flew away. Something about that moment greatly increased my appreciation for the blessing of water.
The composition of our bodies is majority water. For this reason fruits and vegetables, the composition of which is majority water, are the most health promoting foods we can consume because they aid in keeping the body hydrated. When the body becomes dehydrated, one of the first places to feel the effects of it is the brain. The body will draw water from the brain to maintain other vital functions, and when this happens brain fog and headaches can occur. On many occasions a glass of water will prove more beneficial than an aspirin for headache relief.
Water helps to purify the blood, and maintain proper viscosity so the blood can transport waste products to their disposal points efficiently. Water is also essential for the filtering organs to accomplish their function effectively. Water is the base liquid of the saliva in our mouths, and the acid in our stomachs used to digest our food and convert it into the nutrients that feed our cells.
Water is of course the base liquid of the sweat that aids in the release of toxins from the body, and the cooling of the body during exercise. Water also helps lubricate the moving parts of the body so that exercise is less stressful on the joints, and less painful in general.
These are only a few of the amazing internal benefits of water, but the external benefits are no less impressive. The general term for these external applications is “hydro-therapy,” (or “water-treatment”).
Hydrotherapy is where the magnificence of water as a healing agent is showcased in its versatility of usage as a liquid, gas, and a solid. If you have ever soaked your feet in hot water, taken a steam bath, or iced sore muscles you have experienced hydrotherapy on an elementary level, but there are even more advanced applications that require a little more skill and training.
The alternating of hot and cold to specific areas of the body can aid in pain relief, regulating the circulation of the blood, and in some cases accelerate healing. The same type of alternating treatment done in the shower can jolt the immune system into action.
The numerous features of this subject cannot be exhausted in one discourse, but these have been mentioned to encourage you to become more familiar with the internal and external benefits of water. In our past three articles we have already featured Nutrition, Exercise, and Water, which combined together is enough to make you “N.E.W.”
It is our hope that the next five articles will inspire you with the motivation to make the S.T.A.R.T.
