Written by Dr. David Wheeler

Although the issue of cellular hydration has many important ramifications when it comes to health and anti-aging, many professionals, researchers and the general public simply don’t understand how devastating dehydration at any level actually is for the health and well being of every human being on the planet. This means any level of dehydration whereby the cells are not completed saturated with water so that it flows through the body easily, and not just the kind of dehydration mainstream medicine is concerned about where the cells have shriveled up so that body dies.

Where as mainstream medicine is focused on how to stop impending death and disability with all the different drugs, surgery and many other types of treatment, those involved in natural approaches to increasing health are not only concerned with life and death issues but also how to create the highest quality life possible and how to increase life span by slowing down the aging process.

A good example of the mainstream medical survival orientation involves minimum daily requirements for vitamins and minerals. According to the MDR for Vitamin C is 30 mg, which will prevent death and disability with such diseases as scurvy. However, for all the anti-oxidant and other important cellular heath issues (such as the vascular system) to have maximum effect from Vitamin C it may require much higher dosages.

Dehydration as a medical issue can be looked at in the same way. It is obvious that death will eventually ensue if a person does not drink water at all. We have all heard of the old saying about drinking plenty of liquids to get water into the body when suffering with the flu or a cold. But the same old tired story is involved, with the mainstream medical model about only making sure that survival levels of hydration take place.

Over the years with research on the properties of water that optimize hydration I became aware of the hydration paradox. If a person drinks a lot of water but not the kind that offers optimum hydration then there isn’t necessarily any consistent outstanding health benefit. This in my opinion is a major reason why people often ask me why I think hydration is such a big issue. People simply do not experience and therefore actualize the full potential of hydration if the water they are drinking does not hydrate effectively. It has been my contention that when people drink plenty of water in a natural form that duplicates what could be available from the environment under ideal conditions then optimum hydration of all the cells in the body can take place. It is on this foundation of optimum hydration that health benefits will be maximized and a person can then see the light when it comes to the profound changes that take place from drinking water in a perfect form.

Even though most sources of drinking water do not hydrate effectively, it is also obvious that drinking plenty of pure clean drinking water is healthy versus drinking very little day in and day out. Based on this foundation of medical research it is clear that it is better to make it a daily habit to drink plenty of water. However, it is relatively unknown to both those involved in the mainstream and alternative medical fields about the already existing research that proves the negative health consequences for any level of dehydration and not just the kind that causes disability and death.

The issues are so broad ranging when it comes to hydration versus dehydration. There is no single source to clarify all the medical research information when it comes to the negative consequences of dehydration and the positive benefits of hydration. However, there is a single book that I would recommend as a great source of information when it comes to the science of dehydration, which was written by a medical doctor who has spent his life bringing as much information together as possible about the negative health effects of dehydration as well as having people drink plenty of water in clinical practice as a treatment method. The title of this book is Your Body’s Many Cries For Water written by F. Batmanghelidj, M.D. available at the website www.watercure.com as well as many book sellers in stores as well as online.

In his book Dr Batmanghelidj makes it clear that medical research supports the fact that any level of dehydration causes the body to revert to a survival mode in order to protect water reserves in the body. In order to do this the body must increase its levels of histamine (and other subordinates) and cholesterol, which has obvious negative health consequences that Dr Batmanghelidj goes into great detail about in his book. More specific examples of dehydration consequences are: interference with the function of the pancreas for proper hydration and blood sugar control, interfering with ion transport, lack of good stomach and gastrointestinal system function, increased toxicity and therefore lowers body pH, decreased energy levels and therefore a greater tendency to fatigue with physical exercise, weight gain due to lower metabolism and the body conserving fat as a survival issue related to dehydration, increased likelihood of cell mutation, higher blood pressure, reinforcement of adulthood onset diabetes and decreased mental clarity and increased clinical depression tendencies because of fragmented brain function.

Dr Batmanghelidj points out that there are negative consequences for every cell, gland, organ and system in the body. It is also clear that there are many negative mental and emotional consequences from any level dehydration.

The difference between the approaches Dr Batmanghelidj takes in understanding the negative health consequences of dehydration is based on what I have already pointed out when it comes to the mainstream medical model. Mainstream medicine is only concerned with preventing death and or disability with the intake of basic components to support life, including water. What Dr Batmanghelidj focuses on is that there are negative health consequences to any level of dehydration. He further points out that all negative symptoms physically, mentally and emotionally are in one sense signals from the brain to the body that some level dehydration needs to be resolved. The capacity of the body to resolve any condition in order to resolve any symptomatic reaction is first and foremost based on creating a flow of water in and out of the cells and through the body as a whole.

When the reader understands the paramount importance of creating optimum hydration to all the cells it is then easier to understand why I have focused initial clinical studies on hydration as well as the absolute importance of optimum hydration as the foundation for health and anti aging. The first clinical study completed in the winter of 2004 establishes the foundation for creating the highest level of health physically, mentally and emotionally based on optimum hydration.

Long term clinical studies that are maintained for a much longer period of time than the original 30 day independent study I implemented with the Fenestra Company are necessary to confirm what I hypothesize in terms of specific biological measurements from optimum hydration. A 150 day study in this regard was started in January of 2005 to measure many different biological parameters as well as to conduct regular psychological inventory. In long term studies I am also interested in a more mysterious area of consideration when it comes to drinking water, which is the vibrational information water carries to the cells that will determine precursors to correct cellular chemistry.