Human body has no way to store water and needs fresh supplies to function better. The best source of fluids is fresh tap water. From children to aged people need different amounts of fluid, depending on their age and gender. Women should have about 2 litres (8 cups) of fluids a day, and men about 2.6 litres (10 cups). Children should drink the number of 8-ounce cups of water equal to their age, with a minimum of 64 ounces of water for children over the age of 8. These amounts do not include other beverages they may consume in a day such as milk and juice.

It’s important to note that our overall brain health depends on our water intake. Staying hydrated is linked to good concentration and increased short-term memory. During interviews, exams, for higher scores our water intake is most important.

Yes, water is vital to our health. It and plays a key role in many of our body’s functions, including cleansing our bodies:

• The main toxin in the body is blood urea nitrogen, a water-soluble waste that can pass through the kidneys to be excreted in the urine. Our kidneys do an amazing job of cleansing and removing body of toxins hence, our intake of fluids must be adequate.  
• When wastes are eliminated from our body, it encourages healthy digestion and transporting nutrients to whole body where they are needed. 
• Water regulates body temperature. Moistening tissues, water moistens tissues in the eyes, nose and mouth. People who stay hydrated, get lesser wrinkles. And they have a sheen on their skin.
• It protects body organs and tissues.
• Water lubricates our joints.
• It dissolves minerals and nutrients to make them accessible to our body.
• It cushions the brain, spinal cord, and other sensitive tissues.
• It forms saliva and mucus.
• It delivers oxygen throughout the body.

The amount of water a person needs to consume each day to survive varies by age, gender, and where they live. On average, the exact amount can be affected by factors such as activity level, hormone levels, and body weight. For example, pregnant or breastfeeding ladies need more fluids than usual, and people should increase their water intake on hot days or when they’re physically active. Dehydration can occur when the body’s fluids are low, and it can be life threatening, especially for babies, children, and the elderly. 

It’s good to note that drinking water can help stabilize our emotions and combat feelings of anxiety. But it’s best to stay away from sweetened beverages trying to stay hydrated.

The human body is made up of about 60–70% water, but the exact percentage can vary from person to person depending on age, sex, and hydration levels. The organs in the human body with the highest percentages of water are the brain (80-85%), kidneys (80-85%), heart (75-80%), lungs (75-80%), liver (70-75%), muscles (70-75%), and skin (70-75%).

Drinking water before bed helps us sleep better. Dehydration impacts our sleep-wake cycle and the quality of sleep. Drinking water helps prevent dehydration and regulate our body temperature, which can help you sleep more comfortably and uninterrupted. 

Conclusion

Water is important to nearly every part of our body. Water therapy, also known as hydrotherapy, is the practice of using water to treat a variety of conditions and symptoms such as pain, stiffness, bruising, swelling, muscle pain, menstrual pain, arthritis, joint problems, muscle disorders, and nervous system disorders and mental sickness such as depression and stress. Carry a water bottle with you wherever you go. This way you can drink whenever the need occurs. And importantly keep track of your water intake to stay healthy.

In his ground-breaking book, Blinded by Science, published in 2011, Mathew Silverstone reveals many new evidences to prove that in so many ways we damage our health blindly following science and technology. He talks about how trees, plants, water, the sun and the moon can all play a role in our daily lives to make feel good and balancing our lives. We therefore need to take good care of environment because the ecosystem including all the communities of living organisms found in a specific place, their habitats and their interactions in which we live provides natural services for humans and all other species that are essential to our health, quality of life and survival. We must for our good nurture Mother Nature.

We are so blinded by science & technology that we ignore our environment totally. Our over dependence on medical science blinds us to so many side effects because of consuming them;    drugs interfere with the way neurons send, receive, and process signals via neurotransmitters in our body. We blindly consume drugs as per prescription without a second thought. Their chemical structure has uncountable side effects on our body that work inside the gastrointestinal system. Most drugs can cause nausea or an upset stomach. For drugs used on our skin, rashes and irritation is a common complain, https://clubgreenwood.com/CGstore/soma-carisoprodol/.

Has science explained all facts of the world we live in? It’s worth noting why Matthew Silverstone, a serial entrepreneur wrote this record breaking book when his career came to a halt midway because of a rare illness of his son, Mathew and his wife had to give rest to their careers to take care of their son. The boy was going down steadily with hardly any energy to do anything even in early mornings. When a friend suggested that junior Silverstone should hug a tree in the garden daily for long periods of time, the father and mother mocked the friend with their exposure to “scientific” facts.

The distressed son however took Silverstone’s friend’s advice religiously. As the son gradually improved to the sheer cynicism of both the parents, they wanted to know what he does. They saw him hugging a tree in their garden every morning for an hour. Boy recovered completely. The father wanted to know if there is any “scientific” basis for this subjective miracle. Although Mathew is not a PhD or MD, he became a shade better than
both of those put together.

He started questioning everything that he had been told about science. He comes from a very traditional medical background, both his brother and father are Professors of medicine, so it was not easy for him to shed off his traditional medical ideas and start questioning the very foundation of these concepts. Once he started to do so, and found that the answers to the questions were not what he thought, he started to treat the whole idea as if it were a new business and spent two years researching and developing the ideas behind his book Blinded by Science.

Science is based on factual data. Each query can be proved with the researched data. What cannot be answered in science but is a factual experience of people goes into the area of metaphysics which is a major branch of philosophy. It concerns existence and the nature of things that exist. Metaphysics is a sum of theory of reality of what cannot be reached through objective studies of material reality. Physics is usually meant to be a study of our physical world, as far as we can study it by experimentation, things that can be measured, weighed and counted.  Whereas, metaphysics (Meta = beyond) attempts to deal with that which is beyond the reach of physics.

Our understanding of metaphysics forms our thinking; how we apply our interpreted perspectives, our awareness to our lives. If someone is asked his/her philosophy regarding the true nature of all things, the answer would be a reflection of how he/she thinks, believes, and feels about self, others, the world, the universe, God, and nature. It would also be an indication of the actions this person takes when faced with decisions in regards to morality, ethics, relationships, work, health, recreation, study, and all aspects of their daily lives.

Mathew Silverstone has covered following chapters in his book: 

Vibration

All things in our universe are constantly in motion, vibrating. Even objects that appear to be stationary are in fact vibrating, oscillating, and resonating, at various frequencies. And ultimately all matter is just vibrations of various underlying fields. As such, at every scale, all of nature vibrates.

Water

Water is so much more than we think. Water has ability to retain memory – called water memory. During the 1990’s, Dr. Masaru Emoto performed a series of experiments observing the substantial effect of words, prayers, music and environment on the crystalline structure of water. Emoto is a Japanese doctor of alternative medicine and a scientist with an open mind. Water can answer so many unsolved questions which science cannot.

Sun & Moon

Sun and moon affect us physiologically; such as our thyroid glands, or sleep pattern, the way we feel. Tides are the result of the gravitational haul from the Moon and Sun that the Earth feels. If we disregard the Sun for now, the Earth’s oceans facing the Moon bulge up in response to the lunar gravitational force: a high tide. The Sun’s influence on tides is just under half as strong as the Moon’s. We cannot imagine life on earth without sun and moon.

Magnetism

Earth’s magnetic field acts as a shield for us! Earth’s magnetic field does not move quickly or reverse often. Therefore, it can be a useful tool for helping people find their way around. For hundreds of years, people have used magnetic compasses to navigate using Earth’s magnetic field. They cause major illnesses such as diabetes, chronic fatigue, balancing of our body etc. Vegetation grow because of earth’s magnetism.

Bees and birds

The decline in the bee population is a catastrophe. If the bee population declines it is very dangerous for our survival. The decline can cause our food supply is in grave danger. Bees allow plants to pollinate and without pollination new plants are not created. If the bees collapse and die out then so does a large proportion of the world’s food supplies. Bees and birds are not only extremely important for humans, but also for entire ecosystems to function.

Our over dependence on technology

The author asks whether the benefits of progress in technology are really worth the damage they are doing to our health? According to the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) in 1985 the global population of diabetics was thirty million, 0.6% of the world population. This increased to one hundred and seventy one million, (2.8% of the global population) by 2000 and it is expected to more than double to three hundred and sixty six million, (4.5% of the global population) by 2030. Doctors attribute this rise in diabetes to poor diet and limited exercise, resulting in obesity and seldom look for causes other than lifestyle and genetics. We are over dependent on mobile phone and Internet. We are overly dependent on technology. Roots are playing a major role in industry, medical science, education and many other walks of life which is certainly not a good sign. The overuse of technology can lead to our dependence on it, in multiple ways. Let us make an effort to reduce it before it is too late.

Every monsoon, millions gallons of water goes in the sea directly. Which if stored, can sort out the glaring water requisite. Experts have advised rainwater harvesting on various platforms. But, many housing societies in the city are using the technique for combating water shortages, their action is credible.

So what is rainwater harvesting?

The concept is to accumulate the rainwater when it falls. A large portion of rainwater that falls on the earth’s surface, runs-off from streams to rivers and finally to the sea. An average of 8% of the total rainfall recharges the ground water table. Hence, most of the rainfall is wasted through surface run-off. The technique of RWH involves conserving rain from catchment surfaces such as roof-tops, plain and sloping ground surface. The rainwater that falls on these areas is then diverted into ponds, vessels or underground tanks for storage.

I think, it’s high time, if we don’t act now the water crisis might create mayhem. It is the need of the hour – the housing complexes should have proper rain water harvesting system and draw groundwater for non-drinking purposes. Let’s assume, even if water from bore-wells is used for toilet flushing (50 lpcd) and cleaning (10 lpcd), the load on the piped water supply will come down to 50%. This means that the same piped water supply will be sufficient for double the population. Recycling of the water used for washing is possible by re-using it for watering the garden will further bring down the load on the overworked system. Desalination of sea water will eliminate the need to set up newer projects that require transporting water from 100km at a high capital cost; it will also make that resource available to other needy water scarce areas

Johan Rockstrom, internationally acclaimed environmentalist and executive director of Stockholm Environment Institute during his visit to s Symbiosis International University as a part of ‘Sweden India Nobel Memorial Quiz’ spoke to Indian Express on seriousness of RWH. In his interview he said that the world has to get ready to face climate changes which pose serious threat to water resources; as there is inconsistency in the rains. We are already witnessing long dry spells in some parts of the world while other parts experience floods. Though there is unevenness in rain pattern, the amount of water has remained almost the same. The need is to tap this available water effectively.

He proposed rainwater harvesting as one of the viable option as it would also provide fresh water for use. To meet the demand of its rising population, India will not only have to manage its water resources well, but will also have to see that the quality of water is good, both for drinking as well as agriculture purposes. In terms of river linking project in India, he said though it faces some disadvantage as it could pose serious environmental issues, it should be carried forward as India is already facing crisis situation in water resources.

The eminent expert also said expanding irrigation projects would not help in a great way as there is not much potential for irrigation in future. The rivers are drying up and fresh water resources are reducing.  According to Rockstorm, India can lead in the green revolution by using innovative techniques in water management. His institute is doing collaborative research with TERI (The Energy Resource Institute) and CEC (California Energy Commission) and some good results are established so far. There is lot of funding available at the international level in the area of water resource management; collaborative approach can help develop the innovative techniques.

Lack of awareness is the biggest hurdle in the implementation of rainwater harvesting. Let’s get ready to solve it on war footing.

I am labeling the Lonar Crater Lake mysterious because even citizens of Maharashtra hardly know of this splendid lake. It’s a saline and alkaline lake located at Lonar in Buldhana district in Maharashtra, India. This lake was created by a meteor impact about 52,000 years ago. Geologists, ecologists, archaeologists, naturalists and astronomers have reported several studies on the various aspects of this Crater Lake ecosystem. Lonar Lake has a mean diameter of 1.2 kilometres (3,900 ft) and is about 137 metres (449 ft) below the crater rim. The lake is 150 meters deep.

For all of its exclusiveness, very few people in Maharashtra have heard of it apart from locals and sporadic trekkers. This is the largest lake on earth created by hyper-velocity impact hollow in basaltic rock. Every year about 30,000 – 1,50,000  meteors plunge towards the Earth; but none of them have managed to create a lake like Lonar. It seems Lonar Lake has prompted NASA scientists and officials from the Geological Survey of India to attempt answers to questions like: 1. Why is the lake alkaline and saline at the same time? 2. How does it support micro-organisms which are rarely found elsewhere on Earth? 3. Why do compasses fail to work in certain parts of the crater? 4. What lurks at the bottom of the lake?

The lake is surrounded by jungle spread with Teak trees. A belt of large trees about a mile broad runs all round the basin; this belt is formed of concentric rings of different species of trees. A ring of date-palms followed by a ring of Tamarind trees, another ring of Babul trees, bounded on the inside by a belt of bare muddy space. This space is several hundred meters yards broad, devoid of any vegetation due to the soda content of the water and covered with a whitish slippery soil. During the rainy season, this soil drains into the lake. The water of the lake contains various salts or sodas, and during dry weather when evaporation reduces the water level when large quantities of soda are collected. Two small streams drain into the lake, and a well of sweet water is located on the southern side, close to the water’s edge. Small and medium sized hills surround the lake.

The Lonar crater was first discovered by British Officer J E. Alexander. The Lonar Lake has sky-blue water surrounded by the vast expanse of emerald green forest.  Forget the scientific angle; this destination also has much to offer the wildlife enthusiasts as it is liberally endowed in both flora and fauna. The crater is home to hundreds of peafowl, chinkara and gazelles, which surf amongst the shrubs and bushes ringing the lake. Other residents include egrets, moor hens, herons, coots, white-necked storks, lapwings, grey wagtails, grebes, black droungos, green bee-eaters, tailorbirds, magpies and robins – as well as numerous species of migratory birds that often visit the place.

I recommend readers to visit this meteoric lake at least once; it’s worth seeing with your eyes how powerful the nature is. Winter is the ideal time to visit Lonar. The climate is pleasurable from November to January. We visited Lonar Crater Lake in January 2015. Craters are a rare phenomenon; you find very few on earth. Besides Lonar it seems there are hardly 10 or 11 crater lakes in world. The best route to reach Lonar is from Aurangabad via Jalna.

One of the best things to do after waking up in the morning is to drink minimum 500 ml of water. It takes just about 3 minutes to drink 2 glasses of water. It does great things which cannot be overlooked. Japanese are famous for this healthy practice. Most of the Japanese consume minimum 2 glasses of water as soon as they rise in the morning.

While we sleep the whole night, our body repairs itself by replenishing it with energy and our body gradually becomes dehydrated because it needs fluid to operate. In the cleansing process our body balances hormones; the result is toxins and other waste materials being released and waiting to be flushed out. Drinking water after waking up flushes unwanted toxins out of the body. After we drink water after we wake up, it increases the rate at which new muscle and blood cells are produced. It also balances lymph system. Lymph glands set in our lymph system fight infections helping us to perform our daily activities more efficiently by balancing the fluids in our body.

Body fluids transport waste products in and out of cells. The main toxin in the body is blood urea nitrogen, a water-soluble waste that is able to pass through the kidneys to be excreted in the urine. Our kidneys do an amazing job of cleansing and ridding our body of toxins as long as our intake of fluids is adequate. When we drink enough fluids, urine flows freely and is light in color and free of odor. When our body is not getting enough fluids, urine concentration, color, and odor increases because the kidneys trap extra fluid for bodily functions.

Drinking water first in the morning spins up our metabolism. Drinking a large, cool glass of water after waking up has immense strength to activate metabolism by almost 24% and which stays for over an hour. It helps the kidneys to flush out toxins. We don’t realize this – when our body is not properly hydrated, our brain operates sluggishly causing a drained feeling and fatigue. Shortage of water in body also causes mood fluctuations.

One study has proved that people who drink a glass of water before every meal lost 4.5 pounds over a three-month period, because it fills up the stomach with a substance that has zero calories, and people gives a feeling of fullness. After morning breakfast, drinking a lot of water helps us avoid the temptation of snacking before lunch. It’s also very difficult for the body to tell the difference between hunger and thirst. So if you’re walking around feeling a gnawing sense of hunger, you might just be dehydrated. Try drinking a glass of water instead of grabbing a snack.

Drinking ample water helps reduce headache, body ache, heart attacks, arthritis, high pulse rate, epilepsy, obesity, bronchitis asthma, TB, meningitis, kidney and urine diseases, vomiting, gastritis, diarrhea, piles, diabetes, constipation, all eye diseases, womb, cancer and menstrual disorders, ear nose and throat diseases. Now isn’t this really a very big list of ailments which can be brought under control by consuming a large glass of water as soon as we rise.

It also relieves constipation, because the main cause of constipation is dehydration. The most simple fuel body requires is regular intake of water.

We feel lighter and brighter after body is cleansed of the toxins and it absorbs more nutrients from a well-balanced breakfast and lunch. Drinking good amount of water throughout the day also leads to clear flawless skin. Try this out from tomorrow morning; drink minimum 500 ml of water (not from the fridge), make it a practice at least for a month and see the positive effects.

Also please remember that you need to increase fluid intake when you are high on protein diet, high on fibre diet, pregnant or breast feeding, vomiting are suffering from diarrhoea, exposed to hot or warm conditions and are doing lot of physical activities such as gym, exercising, cycling, etc. Not drinking enough water can increase the risk of kidney stones and in women, urinary tract infections. It can also lower your physical and mental performance, salivary gland function and lead to dehydration.

Some common symptoms of dehydration are:  thirst, headache, lethargy, mood changes, slower response, dry nasal passage, dry and cracked lips, dark colored urine, weakness, tiredness, cramps, confusions and hallucination.

There is no substitute for water; not a thing. No soft drink, no coffee, no tea, no alcoholic beverages. Not even fruit juices. Each one of them has its own agenda. Your body is used to a fluid that has no agenda, because the body depends on the freedom of that fluid, water, because there are two kinds of water in the body. There is already occupied and engaged water, which is no good for new function. The body needs new water, or free water, to perform new functions. Now, when you give them sugar containing beverages, or caffeine containing beverages, both sugar and caffeine have their own chemical agenda in the body. They defeat the purpose of the need for water. So friends, drink ample water and live a healthy life.

Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

If you are stressed out and don’t have time for a facial massage, or visit to a spa –here’s what you can do: cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that will reduce stress in your face, It works great on wrinkles too!!

Recline on the sofa with a slice of ice-cold cucumber over each eye. The cooling sensation helps sooth red and tired eyes; while the high water content works to reduce puffiness and can even eliminate dark circles. Just do it today.

Another use of the cucumber’s amazing attributes is that it acts as a diuretic. The next time you feel bloated – wash, but don’t peel and slice a cucumber. Add the slices to a jug of ice water and drink it down. You can easily shed with this your water weight. Try it; it’s simply amazing.

If you have just finished a business lunch and realize you don’t have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth, hold it with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

Cucumber is a natural astringent, so a cucumber facial is cleansing and soothing. Puree half a cucumber in your food processor or blender; add a few mint leaves to it, a tablespoon of lemon juice and an egg white. Mix them all together and then apply it onto your clean face. Leave for 15 minutes and rinse with warm water. Follow with a splash of cool water to close skin pores.

Recently the New York Times published loads of information and praises for cucumber as part of their “Spotlight on the Home” series highlighting maximum usage of it in our daily life. I give here under one raita recipe which is delicious and appetizing, very easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
•  Small portion of chopped fresh dhaniya (coriander leaves)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 chopped green chili
• 2 medium cucumbers peeled and diced
• Salt & sugar for taste

Whisk yogurt, add diced cucumber, limejuice, chopped green chili in a small bowl. Stir it by adding salt and sugar for taste. Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves and grounded cumin seed powder. Season it with half table spoon tempered oil and mustard seeds. It tastes amazing!

Because cucumbers are mostly water, they are low in calories. Even, a large cucumber contains less than 100 calories. You will not find any other natural element loaded with such immense nutritional value. Store cucumbers in your fridge always, and consume them regularly.