It Really is the Humidity

ISLAND IMPRESSIONS BY FR. TOM PURDY, RECTOR OF CHRIST CHURCH

Iwrote about humidity last month, and I’m revisiting the topic following a recent vacation out west. We enjoyed some time in the mountains, with their cool mornings, and also explored the desert a bit. The lowest temperature of the trip was around sixty degrees, while the highest was one hundred and fifteen. That’s a big swing, to be sure. What was most notable, however was my opportunity to experience summer temperatures without our South Georgia humidity!

Humidity is not new to me. The part of Pennsylvania I grew up in was in a bit of a geographic bowl, and in a typical summer with typical rainfalls, it’s plenty humid in those parts. Southeast Georgia, however, is in a category unto itself. Since I moved here I’ve petitioned for blessed Willis Carrier to be included on the calendar of saints in our church tradition. I think he’s historically responsible for more prayers of thanksgiving than potentially any other human being. I can’t be the only one who comes in from outside to feel the refreshing coolness as the air conditioning envelopes me and utter my thanks to God! Let’s just say I have developed a new appreciation for air conditioning, be it in my car, my home, or my office.

It’s hot here in the summer, and I’m not really complaining. I’ll take our hot and humid days over the chill, cold, and gray of winter that I grew up with. Every day, and twice on Sunday. Well, maybe not on Sunday. Wearing liturgical robes can be, shall we say, unpleasant, when one stands outside to greet before and after services in the summer. That’s why our clergy team all have ice cooling vests to wear under our robes. Clearly, they were invented for police and emergency responders, and those who work outdoors, but they also work wonders for priests! And while it’s cliché to say it, it’s clearly the humidity.

My cousin, whom I visited out west on this trip, is a police officer in a very hot desert community. As the subject of the incredibly high temperatures came up, he interrupted me to interject, “don’t say it’s a dry heat!” It seems the locals don’t like hearing from folks like me who have no pity on them for their heat. But when you’re used to humidity in addition to high temperatures, being out west is like standing in the ice cream aisle in the grocery store. The heat there, which happens to be dry (See, Alan, I didn’t say it!), really is more comfortable than heat down here. I think it’s because sweat glands simply cry uncle in extreme humidity.

The heat out there (which happens to be dry) is still hot, don’t get me wrong. But it’s just not as oppressive. We hiked a fair amount in desert locales, and while we drank a good bit of water, it wasn’t unbearable. The proprietary vent system built into the back of my day pack actually allowed air to move and cool me down, whereas it’s more of a gimmick in these parts. The intense heat in the desert is not without its dangers, though. It can and does kill people. Just a week after we got home I read a report of a man who died after hiking in the same national park we had hiked. He had water with him, but didn’t drink enough, and died from severe dehydration back at his hotel. Cases like his are the reason there are signs at trail heads warning of the risk of death if one hikes without sufficient water.

While it may feel like I want to die as a result of our humidity on occasion, I’ve never really felt in danger of it. My mouth doesn’t get dry here like it did out there – the indication that you need to take a drink. Drinking when thirsty, and only when thirsty is the way those warning signs tell you to balance between dehydration and overhydrating, apparently. It’s a bit of a novel idea, I know, but I’ve never seen it on a sign here. Maybe that humidity is good for something besides letting me be lazy with watering the plants on my front porch after all. I suppose I’ll keep the humidity too. I enjoyed the dry heat (yes, I said it), but it felt wrong somehow. Maybe it’s just that I’ve grown accustomed to my Southern card that says, “It’s a dry heat,” on one side, and, “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity,” on the other. I like to play that card. At the end of the day, though, it’s just hot. I’m going to hang out in the air-conditioning a while longer. See you in the fall.

Healthy Hydration

by Hans Trupp

We have all been told that we should drink 8 glasses of water a day; however, most of us have never received an explanation of why we should. I was introduced to the book Your Body’s Many Cries for Water by Dr. F. Batmanghelidj approximately 25 years ago and it gave me a totally different appreciation for water and an understanding of what happens when you drink it and when you are dehydrated. I have been living a water cure life since that time and I believe that understanding the importance of water to our bodies can be key in changing your life.

Our bodies are 75% water and every bodily function and interaction of our organs revolves around water. The minimum daily intake of water should be 1/2 ounce of water for every pound of body weight. A person who weighs 200 lbs. should therefore drink a minimum of 100 ounces a day. The benefits of consuming adequate amounts of water daily are multitude. Water aids in brain function, ensures healthy metabolism, digestion, and kidney function. It also helps circulate oxygen in the blood stream, lubricates joints and ensures proper muscle function. Proper hydration can alleviate so many common ailments. It can help alleviate headaches, improve skin condition, relieve stress and depression, reduce high blood pressure, as well as other health benefits. In short, water is the natural lubricant of the body and is necessary for all the organs and parts of the body to function properly.

Proper hydration sounded like such a simplistic solution to so many of our healthcare issues that I asked four of my doctor friends to read the book and let me know if they thought the material was accurate. Their consensus was that it was about 80% accurate but contained some exaggerations. When I asked these same doctors what percentage of the patients they see every day were dehydrated, their response was almost everyone. That’s the bottom line: almost everyone is dehydrated most of the time.

I encourage everyone to read Dr. Batmanghelidj’s book to get a better understanding of your body and the importance of proper hydration. Water is inexpensive, there is no downside risk, and the upside is that you feel better, healthier, and improve your quality of life.

HANS F TRUPP, CCIM

Hans Trupp has recently been the featured guest on several occasions for the entire hour of Barry Farber’s nationally syndicated talk radio show to discuss his efforts to get the federal government involved in promoting the Water Cure project.

DISCLAIMER: The author is not a medical doctor or healthcare professional and the information contained in this article is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice by a physician or other qualified healthcare provider. The statements made herein are strictly the views of the author and do not represent any opinions of or endorsements by Elegant Island Living or its staff.

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