Most of us are chronically dehydrated. We often hear that we should drink 8-12 glasses of water each day. But why is it important to stay hydrated? How do you know if you are well hydrated and what can you do about it? Is the best solution to drink water?
Chronic dehydration is seen by a number of researchers as a beginning stage of chronic illnesses. It is not just a matter of how much water we drink. A great deal has to do with our intake of toxic substances. This is why a healthy raw food diet can help.
What is Dehydration?
Most think of dehydration as a condition when the body does not have a sufficient amount of water. This is true. A grown up looses more than 2 liters of water daily through breathing, sweating, urin and bowel movement. That water needs to be replaced in some way. However, there is another part of the story that is seldom told. It is the part that often is the cause of dehydration, namely: toxins.
The Relationship Between Water and Toxins
Dehydration has to do with the relationship between water and toxins. The more toxins we have in our bodies the more water we need. The fewer toxins, the less water our body needs to carry.
Our body’s reaction to toxins is to water them out before removing from the body, or in some cases storing them.
We add toxic substances daily with our food. Apart from this we often also add two poisons that have a dehydrating effect on the body. One is alcohol. The other is excess salt.
Dehydration out at Sea?
Most sailors know that should you happen to find yourself stranded in a little boat out at sea, or perhaps on a tiny island with no drinking water, you should not drink seawater. If you drink the seawater you will become dehydrated and die.
Few stop to wonder how that is possible. How can one become dehydrated with a seemingly endless supply of water? The reason is the salt. The salt concentration in seawater is poisonous to us. The relationship between the toxin and the water is too high and leads to dehydration.
Dehydration and Chronic Illnesses
When poisonous substances enter our cells they stop the cells from functioning optimally. This is seen as a first stage of chronic illness.
Our body needs a small amount of salt to function well. However, when the body is given too much salt it starts to swell up. The salt starts to get inside the cellular walls. Inside of the cell it disrupts the protein and fat synthesis. The cell can no longer function at its peak.
Inside of the cellular walls the salt starts acting as an enzyme inhibitor. It makes it difficult for our body to produce enzymes. Most chemical processes in the body require enzymes in order to function. By impeding the production of the enzymes we slow down or hinder all chemical processes that the enzymes would have participated in.
If we are constantly, chronically, slightly dehydrated, our body cannot function as it is meant to. In time this may lead to chronic illnesses.
Are You Dehydrated?
See if you experience any of these dehydration symptoms:
- Your morning urine has a deep yellow color, as opposed to almost transparent.
- You pee less than 6 times a day, as opposed to a healthy 8-12 times a day.
One of the first symptoms of dehydration is thirst. However, this is a symptom that will go away, as dehydration progresses. Other usual dehydration symptoms are fatigue, slight nausea, dry skin, headache. If you have ever had too much alcohol you probably experienced dehydration symptoms the day after drinking. Most of what you felt was due to dehydration.
Most people experience dehydration symptoms already when they loose about 1-2% of their body weight in water. It is easy to accomplish. At that point the body is no longer working optimally. Experiencing this once in a while is no problem. The problem is that most of us are within that range chronically.
Medically dehydration is diagnosed when 5% of the body’s weight is lost in water. Following this definition it would be accurate to say that most people are not dehydrated. At 5% many experience a slight heat stroke. At 7% hallucinations may occur. At 10% severe heat stroke has set in and the circulatory system may collapse.
For those interested in excelling in sports we can mention that already at 2% you can no longer perform at your best. At 4% your muscle’s ability to function declines significantly.
By hydrating our body we give it the opportunity to function optimally. We relieve ourselves from any dehydration symptoms (fatigue, headaches, etc…) and lower the risk of developing chronic illnesses. A well hydrated body also has the bonus of diminished skin problems and gives a less swollen look.
Dehydration and Raw Food
Lowering the Intake of Toxins
By eating a low fat raw vegan diet without added salt you dramatically reduce the number of toxins you put into your body, as compared to a regular cooked diet with animal products. There are several reasons for this.
As food is heated the chemical structure is altered. Often the body is no longer able to utilize the nutrition and sees it as toxins to be eliminated. We change the structure of the sugars when heating them up, loose 50% of the proteins, and 80% of the vitamins and minerals. The parts that we loose are still in the food, only this time they are seen as toxins.
Cooked food often has the reversed proportions of sodium and potassium of uncooked food. Instead of the healthier large portions of potassium it provides is with an excess of sodium. Sodium is what we find in salt.
Cooked foods have often been processed so that only parts of the original foods are present. In the preparations they are often treated with different additives. These additives may be toxic.
As soon as one starts eating a healthy diet based on raw foods with no added salt the body looses weight. The weight is largely water weight. This is because a much smaller amount of toxins are put into the body and so it no longer needs the excess water to water the toxins down.
Getting Water with Food
When you start a low fat raw food diet you will have to eat larger quantities of food in order to meet your standard caloric needs. Fresh fruit and vegetables are not as calory dense as fats and the products we create by cooking. As a result you will be taking in a great deal of water with the food.
When we heat food we get rid of a lot of the water. Just think of a raw potato and a cooked one. The raw potato is much heavier. A large salad bowl with fresh spinach yields but a small portion of cooked spinach.
By eating low fat raw vegan, most of the food weight will come from water. Together with the fact that we put fewer toxint into our body, it means that we no longer have to drink as much. It will be when we exercise or for some other reason loose larger quantities of water that we will have to drink.
How Can You Make Sure You Stay Hydrated?
- Lower your intake of toxins (salt, alcohol, cooked foods, additives)
- Eat pleanty of fresh fruit and vegetables (or drink lots of water)
- Drink water or a special recuperation drink after exercise
- Drink water when it is warm or when you sweat
- Loose weight, if you are overweight (the more body fat you have, the less water you have)
By diminishing the toxins we take in we can come to the root of the problem. Constantly drinking more water means working with the symptoms. It means that we water out the toxins.
We recommend a low fat, mostly raw food diet with no added salt and pure water when needed. This will in time solve any overweight problems. It will dramatically lower the intake of toxins (as compared with cooked diets). It will also automatically provide you with water (in the food).
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Basia has worked as an alternative health practitioner in Sweden. Her educational background is in preventive health, massage, and thoracic mobilization (the Lotorp Method). Her current focus is on health promoting diets and lifestyle. 
