A Miracle “Drug” Effective, Simple, Easy to Use…and Free! by

What if I told you that there is an oral drug that could slow the aging process, lower your risk of dying early, and decrease your chances of diseases such as diabetes, stroke, dementia, heart failure, and certain lung diseases? And it can help you accomplish that often-cited New Year’s resolution of losing weight? What would you be willing to pay? And what if I told you that you can obtain this drug without a prescription? And on top of that, it’s basically FREE? Well, there is such a substance, and it’s as close as the faucet in your kitchen – it’s water.

About 60% of the adult human body is water, and it’s involved in many vital processes: it rids our bodies of waste through sweating, urinating, and defecating; it acts as a joint lubricant; it regulates our body temperature through perspiration which is comprised primarily of water, and cools the body as it evaporates; it transports nutrients throughout our body (plasma, the liquid part of blood is about 90% water). Adequate water intake can prevent constipation and kidney stones, and help prevent joint pain. Even our brain is about 75% water, and as little as a 2% water loss can affect mental performance, according to the

Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

Jan Cullinane

Inadequate water intake can make you feel tired, as lower fluid levels in the body make the heart work harder to pump blood to the heart and brain. It’s estimated about half the world’s population doesn’t consume enough water on a daily basis. Even poets have written about the importance of water: “Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” (W.H.

Auden)

Aging, Medications, Hydration, and Research

As we age, our ability to sense that we are thirsty declines. Untreated diabetes, kidney disease, and bladder infections may cause us to urinate more often and become dehydrated without our realizing it. Certain medications, especially those for high blood pressure and kidney disease, as well as some anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications can increase urination and result in additional water loss. People who work or play (golf, pickleball, biking, etc.) outdoors in hot, humid weather may sweat profusely, and if they are older, may not recognize that additional fluid intake is necessary.

We lose an average of about 8.5 cups of water per day through perspiration, urination, defecation, and breathing (about a cup a day is lost merely from breathing). To replace water that’s lost, we’ve all heard the axiom that we should drink 6-8 cups of water day. This amount is generally adequate. Drinks such as tea and coffee (even caffeinated is okay), milk, and foods with high water content such as celery, cucumbers, spinach, strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, oranges, and peaches also count. If you exercise a lot, are breastfeeding, or pregnant, you’ll need to up your water intake.

Like math? One suggested equation to figure out specifically how much water to drink, although it ignores water-rich food and drinks, is to multiply your weight by .5, which gives you the number of ounces of water you should drink: your weight X .5 = ounces of water you should drink per day. So, if you are a woman who weighs 140 pounds, you should drink 140 X .5 = 70 ounces of water per day. Since there are 8 ounces in one cup, 70 divided by 8 is 8.75 cups per day. No need to be that exact, but it’s a good way to estimate your hydration needs.

Don’t like math? Some easy rules of thumb regarding hydration include monitoring how frequently you are going to the bathroom (if it’s been several hours since your last trip, you need to up your water intake); recognize that if you’re thirsty, it’s a sign of dehydration, so drink before you get thirsty; and monitor the color of your urine – it should be pale yellow, or almost colorless.

Need more convincing? A January 2023 National Institute of Health (NIH) 30-year study involving more than 11,000 adults found: “Adults who stay well-hydrated appear to be healthier, develop fewer chronic conditions, such as heart and lung disease, and live longer than those who may not get sufficient fluids.”

Drink more water, Lose more weight?

Year after year, losing weight is among the top five New Year’s resolutions. We are now well into the New Year, but if it’s still the same old you regarding unsuccessful weight loss, why not try drinking more water?

Ways drinking more water can help you lose weight:

• Drinking water stimulates your metabolism, so you burn more calories.

• The brain may confuse mild dehydration with hunger. Instead of reaching for a calorie-rich drink, down two glasses of water. It may quench your feelings of hunger.

• Substituting water for calorie-rich drinks is a no-brainer. A 12 oz. regular soft drink has about 150 calories.

• Increasing water intake is thought to burn fat more effectively, according to a review of studies by Frontiers in Nutrition.

• Staying hydrated improves workouts; you feel less fatigued, so you can work out for longer and therefore burn more calories.

• When water enters the stomach, the stomach will send signals of fullness to the brain.

My friend Leta lost about 20 pounds over the course of a year, and said it was pretty effortless. I asked her how she did it. Her response? She said she did try to eat a bit healthier and walk more, but said the biggest contributor was simply to drink more water. I’ll drink to that! (Drink water, that is!)