All About Water

What is an isolation tank? You may have heard people talking about isolation tanks recently, but you may not know what they are yourself. An isolation tank is a lightless, soundproof tank in which a person floats in skin temperature salt water. Isolation tanks employ sensory deprivation as a tool for meditation and relaxation. Some consider isolation tanks a form of alternative medicine. Isolation tanks go by many names, such as float tanks, sensory deprivation tanks, and floatation baths.

What Is an Isolation Tank: Tank Design and Use

Isolation tanks are designed to cut off all stimuli. The water in isolation tanks is filled with Epsom salt, which increases the water’s salinity and density, allowing users to float more easily with their faces above the water. Because the users’ ears float below the water, hearing is reduced. Other users use ear-plugs to further cut off sound. Users float with their arms by their sides, reducing skin sensation. To reduce smell, the water is treated as little as possible. The water temperature is carefully matched with the air temperature, cutting down one’s feeling of having a body boundary. In short, the isolation tank is designed to eliminate as many stimuli as possible.

What Is an Isolation Tank: How to Use an Isolation Tank

People usually use the isolation tank while naked. While users can technically wear swimsuits, this is discouraged because the elastic on swimsuits can uncomfortably compress skin, producing extraneous negative stimuli. Because the water should be altered by external forces as little as possible, users must bathe before entering the tank. After their isolation tank session, users must bathe again to cleanse their skin of the Epsom salt. For this reason, a shower is usually installed in the same room as the tank. This allows the user can switch directly from the shower to the tank and the tank to the shower.

What Is an Isolation Tank: The History of the Isolation Tank

The isolation tank was created in 1954 by medical practitioner John C. Lilly. John C. Lilly, a trained psychoanalyst, wanted to experiment with sensory deprivation. Several theories about sensory deprivation were circulating in Lilly’s. These theories held that the brain could go to sleep if all stimuli were cut off to it. Lilly decided to test these theories with the isolation tank, an experimental environment that would isolate the individual from external stimulations. He used this experimental environment to study awareness and consciousness. Experimenters at other universities continue his studies today. What is an isolation tank? A relaxation technique whose benefits are still being researched today.

Chlorine in Water

Chlorine is commonly used to disinfect our water. However, chlorine in water can also harm us. Because of this, we need to learn how to remove the chlorine in water, or how to entirely replace chlorine usage in our water treatment.

Why Chlorine Is Added into Our Water Supply

Chlorine is well-known and widely used to disinfect our water. Chlorine in water deactivates various pathogenic microorganisms (like bacteria or viruses), which cause illness. Authorities chlorinate public water supplies in order to kill the hazardous bacteria present in our water or water pipes. In addition to disinfecting water, chlorine is also used to disinfect various home and hospital areas and to bleach fabrics. We have used chlorine in water as a disinfectant for over two hundred years.

How Chlorine in Water Can Hurt Us

Although chlorine can disinfect our water, it can also hurt us if ingested. Chlorine in water can form into toxins called trihalomethanes (THMs); THMs correlate with diseases like asthma, eczema, bladder cancer, and heart diseases. Studies have shown that drinking large amounts of chlorinated tap water dramatically increases pregnant women’s risk of miscarriages and birth defects.

How We Can Remove Chlorine from Water

Carbon filters remove chlorine, THMs, and other harmful contaminants from our water. Additionally, while they produce the same excellent water quality that electronic filters produce, carbon filters are much cheaper. You can also remove chlorine and other contaminants from water without a home filtration system by placing water in an uncovered container and leaving it inside your refrigerator for twenty-four hours.

Water Treatment Alternatives to Chlorine in Water

Although we need to disinfect our water, we don’t need to use chlorine to do so. Several Canadian and European cities are disinfecting their water using the ozone instead of chlorine. Some cities in the United States, like Las Vegas and Santa Clara, are also switching to this alternative. However, the easiest way to get rid of the chlorine in water is simply to filter it out.

What is Water Retention?

Before discussing the possibilities of getting rid of water weight, one must be recognized that the body is mainly made up of water. Therefore, before one takes on the challenge of getting rid of water weight, one must understand that water plays a key physiological role in the ability to sustain life. Seventy-five percent of the human body is made up of water; water levels seriously affect one’s health. In some humans, however, the water level exceeds the necessary amount needed, bringing about certain signs, symptoms and illnesses, from high blood pressure, heart disease and kidney disease to the bloating that we see as water weight.

Where Does Excess Water in the Body Come From?

One big reason for water retention is a person’s diet. If one’s diet is too high in sodium, a nutrient necessary for balancing electrolytes, this excess salt removes moisture from where it is needed to other parts of the body, like the hands, feet, and face. High-sodium foods include most junk food, low-fiber food and fast food. There are also some prescribed medicines that cause water retention. Pregnant women can also retain water because the baby’s weight adds excess fluids to build up in a woman’s body, especially in places like the legs and feet.

Getting Rid of Water Weight

While it is important to know how much water you should drink, it should also be known that you can drink too much water. Although some severe cases of water retention require medical intervention, there are many methods of getting rid of water weight, of keeping water levels normal and eliminating the discomfort or possible health hazards that too much water in the body can bring about.

Getting Rid of Water Weight: Exercise and Eat Fiber

Exercise is a great method of getting rid of water weight: it keeps the blood flowing and flushes out excess water from body tissue. Any exercise program will work, but the key is to make it part of a daily routine. Another great way to get rid of excess water is to change one’s diet. Eat more fiber, and don’t eat junk food, as for the most part, it contains very little fiber. A trip to the local burger joint is okay once in a while, but too many trips will lead to water retention.

Getting Rid of Water Weight: Avoid Salt

As mentioned, eliminating or cutting back on salt is another way to control water weight; while salty foods may taste wonderful, salt is the enemy when it comes to water retention. Look for salt substitutes that can be found by mixing up herbs and spices that are low in salt or have no salt whatsoever. You’ll find this can be as satisfying if not more than covering a meal with salt.

Getting Rid of Water Weight: Take Vitamins

Stock up on Vitamin B, which helps regulate water weight and electrolyte balances. Stay away from too many alcoholic or caffeinated drinks, as they cause dehydration that could lead to excess water weight. The best way to solve this problem is to make sure that you drink at least eight glasses of water per day.

When Should You See a Doctor About Getting Rid of Water Weight?

As noted, in some cases, when water weight retention is extreme, a trip to the doctor might be in order. A physician may recommend medications that work at getting rid of water weight, as well as ease the discomfort and risk of more serious problems if you are still having trouble getting rid of water weight.

There are several reasons why you should be drinking water for yoga. An array of yoga types, classes, settings and environments can greatly affect the hydration levels within exercisers, making the consumption of water before, during and after an imperative aspect to successful practice and improvement. Fatigue, lack of coordination and cramping muscles can all be conditions that resulting from dehydration, affecting the actual success of yoga poses and what the body can detract from the practice. According to the IDEA Association of Health and Fitness Professionals, an entire liter is lost from merely breathing and perspiring, which highlights the importance of staying hydrating no matter what exercise is being completed.

Water for Yoga: Bikram Yoga

Within particular types of yoga, like Bikram yoga, hydration can be especially imperative because of the excessive loss of moisture in the body due to increased levels of perspiration. With a heat of 90-100 degrees maintained within the room where Bikram, also known as Hot Yoga, is completed, participants performing a series of poses within the class can expect to lose high levels of moisture within the body. Because of high levels of perspiration that occurs during Bikram yoga, it is very important that exercisers stay hydrated prior to arriving and especially following completion.

Water for Yoga: Other Types Of Yoga

Though not all types of yoga will produce the perspiration that accompanies Bikram yoga, participants can expect to sweat throughout their workout, increasing the need for hydration to aid the performance of various muscles used, the activity of the mind while switching from diverse poses and to help the body during the recovery process following exercise.

Water for Yoga: Acceptable Liquids to Consume

Caffeinated beverages, sodas and other sugary drinks can be dehydrating in contrast to the healthy hydration sought by yogi’s. In fact, for every cup of caffeinated beverage consumed, an equal glass of water should match it in order to promote true hydration and counteract the dehydrating properties of caffeine. Insuring a diet is accompanied by adequate levels of water can help flexibility performance by contributing to muscle and limb mobility, which, as a result, help improve performance and improvement in a yoga class and various poses. In addition, the proper hydration levels that come with water consumption can aid in relaxation, a very important aspect in yoga.

The National Athletic Association recommends that exercisers drink a healthy 17-20 ounces before working out. Weighing oneself prior to completing yoga and after in order to uncover the amount of water that should be drunk in order to replenish lost moisture, the association adds.

Drink Water for Yoga Before Exercising

While insuring the body is properly hydrated in a healthy manner prior to a yoga workout is important to insure the highest level of performance, it is also important not to over-do consumption. Drinking too much water right before attending a yoga class or completing poses elsewhere can result in difficulty moving smoothly and changing poses with the ease required. To stay hydrated, one must in advance consider drinking water for yoga.

Dehydration is a serious issue. It occurs when the body loses more fluids than it takes in. This can happen for various reasons, such as vomiting, diarrhea, fever, sweating, or simply not drinking enough water. Dehydration can be devastating for the body. More specifically, while it may begin symptomless, it can lead to issues such as swelling of the brain, seizures, hypovolemic shock or kidney failure. Dehydration is especially dangerous for infants and the elderly. In order to avoid these consequences, one must always make sure he or she is drinking enough water, especially when sick, in hot weather and when working out.

Dehydration Causes Swelling of the Brain

According to the Mayo Clinic, the fluid that you lose when you are dehydrated contains the same amount of sodium that your blood does. Therefore, when you are dehydrated, your body tries to compensate for this loss by making particles to pull water back into the cells. Due to this, your cells may receive too much water, swell and burst. This can be very serious when brain cells are involved.

Dehydration Can Cause Seizures

When you are dehydrated, normal electrical charges in the brain become disorganized, leading to seizures and a loss of consciousness.  This can have serious effects on the brain and the entire nervous system. In fact, if seizures are left untreated, death can occur. This can be a very scary side effect for someone to witness. Therefore, if you are with someone who is dehydrated and having a seizure, you should immediately call the doctor or take them to the closest hospital.

Dehydration Can Cause Hypovolemic Shock

Hypovolemic shock is an extremely serious complication of dehydration. This occurs when low blood volume causes the blood pressure to drop, resulting in a drop in the amount of oxygen making its way to the tissues. If hypovolemic shock is not treated right away, it can result in death within minutes, especially for infants, the gravely ill and the elderly.

Dehydration Can Cause Kidney Failure

Kidney failure is serious and dangerous. When you are dehydrated for too long, the kidneys lose their ability to remove waste and excess fluids from the blood. Kidney failure can be deadly if not treated immediately.

Dehydration

If symptoms of dehydration are present, immediately call your doctor and try to keep yourself hydrated by drinking plenty of water. In some cases, it might be necessary to check into the hospital and be hooked up to fluids through an IV, especially if you are sick and having trouble keeping fluids down. The grave consequences mentioned above can be avoided if the proper steps are taken to treat dehydration.

Water is the best appetite suppressant, health aid, and beauty secret available. For those people who are “on a diet,” water is the best dieting aid. Drinking water while dieting raises metabolism, suppresses appetite, and burns fat deposits throughout the body. Water suppresses appetite because the brain can’t tell the difference between hunger and thirst. Often, when we think we are hungry, we are merely thirsty. What feels like hunger pangs can be satiated by a glass of water. By drinking a glass of water, we stop consuming needless calories.

Water Keeps the Body Healthy and Hydrated

Water is not only essential to weight loss and healthy weight maintenance, but to hydrating the body and providing other health benefits. According to the Mayo Clinic, a well-hydrated body relies on the kidneys to flush and cleanse it, and the kidneys rely on water consumption. When we don’t drink enough water, the kidneys turn to the liver for help in flushing the body of impurities and toxins. The primary function of the liver is to metabolize fat and produce bile. When the liver is called on by the kidneys to help flush the body, the liver is unable to do its job properly. This means that less body fat is metabolized; instead, it is stored, which leads to weight gain.

Drink Water to Stop Bloating

Water consumption also eliminates water retention. Water retention, or bloating, causes discomfort and causes our clothes not to fit. Additionally, water retention can lead to weight gain, which is commonly called “water weight.” When the kidneys do not receive enough water to help them eliminate waste, they store water to re-use. The only healthy way to get rid of this excess water weight is to drink enough water to restore the water balance within the body.

Water Can Cure Headaches

Besides suppressing appetite and hydrating the body, water also eliminates “diet headaches.” Often, when confronted with a headache, the sufferer takes a pain reliever with a glass of water. The headache disappears and the person attributes this to the pain reliever. However, the glass of water that was used to swallow of the pill is  often what really eliminates the headache. Headaches are a common side-effect of dehydration, and people who are dieting often forget to hydrate. Water is perfect both for dieters and for those who want to maintain a healthy weight.

Beneficial Side-Effects of Water

Those who consume enough water also notice side-effects like as younger-looking skin and reduced muscle fatigue during exercise. Those who drink at least six glasses of water a day notice the inches and pounds melting away.

You can drink water to prevent disease. Water is the building block of the human body, which is made up of 60% to 70% water. Drinking water has long been linked to health benefits. The health-conscious individual might ask, “How much water should I be drinking?” Many medical authorities advise drinking as much as eight glasses of water every day. Knowing some of the benefits that water can bring to the body helps us to better appreciate this advice. These health benefits include the elimination of toxins, promotion of excellent eye health, and prevention of various skin diseases and health conditions like asthma and arthritis.

Water to Prevent Disease: Water Helps Eliminate Carcinogenic Toxins

Every organ in the human body is made up of cells, and each cell, in turn, is composed of a water solution. Blood, which is also mostly composed of water, helps transport nutrients and oxygen and remove toxins from the body. According to J.H. Tilden’s Toxemia Explained, when the body lacks water its blood thickens, which consequently impedes circulation. As a result, excess body waste keeps storing in the interstitial space that surrounds the cells. If unresolved, the toxins accumulate and the interstitial space becomes an acidic wasteland that lacks nutrition and proper oxygenation. Because of this, the cells there become abnormal. In order to survive, these cells have to rely on fermentation processes instead of oxidative functions. This fermenting condition will eventually lead to cancer or other degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

Water to Prevent Disease: Water Prevents Skin Conditions

Drinking enough water every day will keep skin healthy and moisturized. On the other hand, when the body is dehydrated it uses the water found in the skin without replacing it. Thus, dehydration is a common cause of dry, prune-like skin. It can also reduce capillary circulation, causing the skin to look pale and unhealthy. Another common skin disease resulting from dehydration is scleroderma. People with scleroderma have atrophied, rough and unhealthy-looking skin.

Water to Prevent Disease: Water Promotes Eye Health

The cornea is made of 80% water. Many computer users notice that staring into the monitor for long hours can cause their eyes to feel dry and irritated. Closing and resting the eyes for a couple of seconds helps the tear glands lubricate and moisturize the cornea. Drinking a sufficient amount water also helps prevent eye inflammation.

Water to Prevent Disease: Water Prevents and Cures Asthma

Asthma affects fourteen million children and every year, thousands of children die from it. Asthma is caused when water vapor is unable to exit the body because its air passages are impeded. This condition can be remedied by increasing one’s water intake.

Water to Prevent Disease: Water Prevents Arthritis and Joint Pains

Arthritis and joint pains may also be symptoms of dehydration. Both old and young people can be affected by these conditions. Simply drinking water with a small addition of salt may be a more effective treatment than taking painkillers, which will may damage their users. Drink water to prevent disease and treat your body right.

As Dr. F. Batmanghelidj MD outlines in his book, “Water: For Health, for Healing, for Life: You’re Not Sick, You’re Thirsty!” the health benefits of water extend to every system of the body. He reminds readers that an initial protocol when any patient is hospitalized is to hydrate them intravenously with a saline solution. The following a broad overview of the ways that water benefits wellness, as Dr. Batmanghelidj points out.

Mental and Emotional Wellness

Hydration helps relieve depression by replenishing the neurotransmitter serotonin. The brain, comprised of 85% water, requires more water to imprint new information. Water helps with memory, focus, and concentration, and reduces symptoms of ADD/ADHD. The production of melatonin, the body’s sleep regulator, requires hydration; water consumption helps promote regular, healthy, restful sleep. Additionally, water increases our energy levels by literally generating an electromagnetic charge in our cells.

Protection from Disease

Even a 1% decrease in the hydration of the brain can damage blood vessels and cause plaque and bleeding, which is responsible for Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and Multiple Sclerosis. By normalizing the blood, water can even help treat and prevent leukemia, lymphoma, and other forms of cancer.

Pain Relief

Dehydration can cause or exacerbate back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, and other joint pain. Hydration lubricates the cartilage that cushions joints and the tendons and ligaments that hold them together, making for greater mobility, flexibility, and comfort.

Cardiovascular Wellness

Hydration keeps blood vessels clean and clear, helping lower cholesterol. This reduces risk of heart disease and stroke. Water can also lower high blood pressure.

Healthy Skin

The skin needs moisture to perspire, one of the primary processes by which the body releases toxins. Skin experiencing dehydration holds on to what water it has left, halting the essential process of perspiration. This dries and withers skin, leading to wrinkles and other signs of early aging. In cases of extreme dehydration, the skin is at risk of scleroderma.

Anti-Aging

Dr. Sang Whang, in his book “Reverse Aging,” asserts that aging mostly results from a build-up of waste in the body. Water helps flush that waste from the system. It helps detoxify the liver and kidneys, cleanse the bloodstream, facilitate good digestive function, promote lymphatic wellness, and regulate the body’s pH balance. These processes combined help stave off early aging and keep the body looking and feeling young.

Weight Loss

Water is a necessary component for the proper functioning of the metabolism, the process by which the body breaks down proteins and carbohydrates into energy, rather than storing it as fat. Even bodies overweight from retaining liquid may benefit from drinking more water, as retention is a biological process spurred by dehydration. Water is also instrumental for healthy digestion, as it circulates enzymes through food and helps nutrients absorb into the bloodstream. Water consumption naturally reduces appetite, as a hydrated body is more nourished by the food it eats and craves less. The National Institute of Health advises parents of overweight children to replace sodas and other sweetened beverages in their child’s diet with water.

Wound Healing

When you wash your wounds, they heal faster and won’t get infected.

How Much Water Should I Be Drinking?

Water is the “principal chemical component” of the body, comprising about 60% of our bodies’ weight. Folk wisdom advises that a person should drink eight eight-ounce glasses of water per day. While this advice is not espoused by any particular medical or scientific body, the Institute of Medicine in Canada notes that women drink a daily average of nine cups of water, and that men drink thirteen.