By RENATO U. PARAGAS, M.D. The WATERDOK
Most of us look forward to the month that ends the year. This is the time where the Christmas spirit is felt in the air and people, regardless of their religious belief, intensively feel love almost everywhere. All Christians get excited to celebrate the natal day of our Lord Jesus Christ that symbolizes hope, peace, joy and love.
December is not only Christmas time but also the month of gift giving. Gift giving signifies how much love people express to others. This is also the time where employees receive their 13th month pay and cash bonuses. There are more holidays in this month that makes families spend more bonding time together. It is also time for reunions of relatives, friends and schoolmates. Thus, it is known to be the best time of the year.
With much merriment and celebrations around, it is also during this period that people begin developing various diseases linked to their eating and drinking habits. Much fatty, salted and sweetened foods cause elevated blood pressures and elevated blood sugar levels. If these medical conditions already existed before the coming of the yuletide season, then there are dangers of their medical conditions getting worse and the risk of developing complications increases.
In relation to this, I would like to advise everyone to take the necessary precautions to avert the dreaded complications such as stroke, heart attack, gouty arthritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, fatty liver, and many more. The best way to avoid them is to hydrate the body properly.
Stroke and heart attack are cardiovascular diseases. The blood is approximately 86 percent water. Drinking dehydrating beverages such as alcoholic beverages and caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea, soft drinks, and chocolates may make your blood thicker and the risk for blood clot is elevated. Thick blood predisposes to clotting and obstructs blood vessels causing stroke. Thicker blood requires the heart to exert additional force to pump blood. This additional force to pump blood may elevate pressure resulting to hypertension.
Gouty arthritis results from accumulation of uric acid in the body. Uric acid is a metabolic waste from protein metabolism. Uric acid is normally eliminated from the kidneys through the urine. When the body is dehydrated, less urine is produced resulting to insufficient elimination of uric acid that accumulates in the body. They usually accumulate in the joint spaces thus causing gouty arthritis. If there are too excessive uric acids, some pile up in the soft tissues causing tophi formation.
In gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or acid reflux, the stomach outlet closes to prevent the stomach contents to pass into the small intestines. Unlike the stomach, the intestines are thinly structured organs. Their thinness is evident when you see the meat vendor making longganisa. You can see the ground meat inside the intestine used as a case. The pancreas secretes alkaline solution or pancreatic juice to buffer the acidic contents of the stomach. If the alkaline solution is inadequate to buffer or neutralize the stomach contents, their passage into the small intestines may corrode it and obstruct the passage. To prevent this from occurring, the stomach outlet prevents its contents to pass through. The stomach can only hold its contents for a certain period of time. Past this time, the only way out is through the mouth, thus, the stomach contents propel back to the esophagus then out the mouth. If the amount left in the stomach is not very significant, vomiting does not occur and the acidic stomach contents only reach the distal portion of the esophagus resulting to GERD or acid reflux.
To prevent the above medical conditions to happen, you should begin hydrating days before the partying. Hydrate yourself with the right volume of water using the formula 50 ml per kilogram body weight per day. If you weigh 60 kilograms, 60 x 50 is 3,000 ml (3 liters). If a standard glass measures 250 ml, 3,000 ml is equivalent to 12 glasses. This is the schedule of how water should be taken:
- 1/4 of the total volume: upon waking up in the morning and at bedtime;
- 1/8 of the total volume: 30 minutes before lunch and supper;
- 1/8 of the total volume: 2½ hours after breakfast and lunch;
- Add 250 ml more for every 30 minutes of strenuous physical activity;
- Drink whenever thirsty.
As an example of the computation with 60 kilograms as the weight:
- Three (3) glasses: upon waking up in the morning and at bedtime;
- One and a half (1½) glasses: 30 minutes before lunch and supper;
- One and a half (1½) glasses: 2½ hours after breakfast and lunch.
- Total: 3 + 1½ + 1½ + 1½ + 1½ + 3 = 12 glasses
This is the total volume of water you should drink if you weight 60 kilograms.
Since water pollution is very prevalent today, drink purified water purchased from an accredited drinking water refilling station. It utilizes several purification technologies such as mechanical filters, activated carbon block, reverse osmosis, ozonizer, ultraviolet radiation, etc. to eliminate the common contaminants in water such as sediments, microorganisms, chemicals and heavy metals. Problem with the use of various purification technologies is that even the healthy minerals are eliminated. Thus, it is very important to replenish the lost minerals by utilizing IONIQUE Mineral Drops.
Why IONIQUE Mineral Drops and not any branded mineral supplement? Because IONIQUE Mineral Drops is the world’s most potent, 100 percent natural, food-grade sourced, health-giving ionic minerals. It is manufactured by a verifiable company, Mineral Resources International (MRI) based in Ogden, Utah, USA. The company has been manufacturing these mineral supplements for the past 53 years.
If you utilize a water purifier, make sure that the devise has an NSF certification mark. NSF is National Sanitation Foundation International. It is a collaborative agency of World Health Organization that checks on the claims made by manufacturers that their health devises are true. Your device should bear the Class 1 certification on standards 42, 53 and 401.
So, to continue living healthily into the forthcoming New Year, let water and minerals, the magnificent, life-sustaining creations of God, be the answer to your fervent prayers for health and healing. With good health and well-being, enjoy life better with your loved ones and make the best time of the year even better!
Merry Christmas and a more prosperous New Year!
