Reasons to Drink Water

Americans seem to carry bottled water everywhere they go these days. In fact, it has become the second most popular drink (behind soft drinks). But water lovers got a jolt recently when we heard that a new report had found that the benefits of drinking water may have been oversold. Apparently, the old suggestion to drink eight glasses a day was nothing more than a guideline, not based on scientific evidence.

But don’t put your water bottle or glass down just yet. While we may not need eight glasses, there are plenty of reasons to drink water. In fact, drinking water (either plain or in the form of other fluids or foods) is essential to your health.

“Think of water as a nutrient your body needs that is present in liquids, plain water, and foods. All of these are essential daily to replace the large amounts of water lost each day,” says Joan Koelemay, RD, dietitian for the Beverage Institute, an industry group.

Kaiser Permanente nephrologist Steven Guest, MD, agrees: “Fluid losses occur continuously, from skin evaporation, breathing, urine, and stool, and these losses must be replaced daily for good health,” he says.

When your water intake does not equal your output, you can become dehydrated. Fluid losses are accentuated in warmer climates, during strenuous exercise, in high altitudes, and in older adults, whose sense of thirst may not be as sharp.

Here are six reasons to make sure you’re drinking enough water or other fluids every day:

1. Drinking Water Helps Maintain the Balance of Body Fluids. Your body is composed of about 60% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature.

“Through the posterior pituitary gland, your brain communicates with your kidneys and tells it how much water to excrete as urine or hold onto for reserves,” says Guest, who is also an adjunct professor of medicine at Stanford University.

When you’re low on fluids, the brain triggers the body’s thirst mechanism. And unless you are taking medications that make you thirsty, Guest says, you should listen to those cues and get yourself a drink of water, juice, milk, coffee — anything but alcohol.

“Alcohol interferes with the brain and kidney communication and causes excess excretion of fluids which can then lead to dehydration,” he says.

2. Water Can Help Control Calories. For years, dieters have been drinking lots of water as a weight loss strategy. While water doesn’t have any magical effect on weight loss, substituting it for higher calorie beverages can certainly help.

“What works with weight loss is if you choose water or a non-caloric beverage over a caloric beverage and/or eat a diet higher in water-rich foods that are healthier, more filling, and help you trim calorie intake,” says Penn State researcher Barbara Rolls, PhD, author of The Volumetrics Weight Control Plan.
Food with high water content tends to look larger, its higher volume requires more chewing, and it is absorbed more slowly by the body, which helps you feel full. Water-rich foods include fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, oatmeal, and beans.

3. Water Helps Energize Muscles. Cells that don’t maintain their balance of fluids and electrolytes shrivel, which can result in muscle fatigue. “When muscle cells don’t have adequate fluids, they don’t work as well and performance can suffer,” says Guest.

Drinking enough fluids is important when exercising. Follow the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for fluid intake before and during physical activity. These guidelines recommend that people drink about 17 ounces of fluid about two hours before exercise. During exercise, they recommend that people start drinking fluids early, and drink them at regular intervals to replace fluids lost by sweating.

4. Water Helps Keep Skin Looking Good. Your skin contains plenty of water, and functions as a protective barrier to prevent excess fluid loss. But don’t expect over-hydration to erase wrinkles or fine lines, says Atlanta dermatologist Kenneth Ellner, MD.

“Dehydration makes your skin look more dry and wrinkled, which can be improved with proper hydration,” he says. “But once you are adequately hydrated, the kidneys take over and excrete excess fluids.”

You can also help “lock” moisture into your skin by using moisturizer, which creates a physical barrier to keep moisture in.

5. Water Helps Your Kidneys. Body fluids transport waste products in and out of cells. The main toxin in the body is blood urea nitrogen, a water-soluble waste that is able to pass through the kidneys to be excreted in the urine, explains Guest. “Your kidneys do an amazing job of cleansing and ridding your body of toxins as long as your intake of fluids is adequate,” he says.

When you’re getting enough fluids, urine flows freely, is light in color and free of odor. When your body is not getting enough fluids, urine concentration, color, and odor increases because the kidneys trap extra fluid for bodily functions.

If you chronically drink too little, you may be at higher risk for kidney stones, especially in warm climates, Guest warns.

6. Water Helps Maintain Normal Bowel Function. Adequate hydration keeps things flowing along your gastrointestinal tract and prevents constipation. When you don’t get enough fluid, the colon pulls water from stools to maintain hydration — and the result is constipation.

“Adequate fluid and fiber is the perfect combination, because the fluid pumps up the fiber and acts like a broom to keep your bowel functioning properly,” says Koelemay.

5 Tips to Help You Drink More
If you think you need to be drinking more, here are some tips to increase your fluid intake and reap the benefits of water:

Have a beverage with every snack and meal.
Choose beverages you enjoy; you’re likely to drink more liquids if you like the way they taste.
Eat more fruits and vegetables. Their high water content will add to your hydration. About 20% of our fluid intake comes from foods.
Keep a bottle of water with you in your car, at your desk, or in your bag.
Choose beverages that meet your individual needs. If you’re watching calories, go for non-caloric beverages or water.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Over the centuries, vinegar has been used for countless purposes: making pickles, killing weeds, cleaning coffee makers, polishing armor, and dressing salads. It’s also an ancient folk remedy, touted to relieve just about any ailment you can think of.

In recent years, apple cider vinegar has been singled out as an especially helpful health tonic. So it’s now sold in both the condiment and the health supplement aisles of your grocery store. While many of the folk medicine uses of vinegar are unproven (or were disproved), a few do have a medical research backing them up. Some small studies have hinted that apple cider vinegar could help with several conditions, such as diabetes and obesity.

So does consuming apple cider vinegar make sense for your health? Or is vinegar best used for cleaning stains and dyeing Easter eggs? Here’s a rundown of the facts.

What Is Apple Cider Vinegar?
Vinegar is a product of fermentation. This is a process in which sugars in a food are broken down by bacteria and yeast. In the first stage of fermentation, the sugars are turned into alcohol. Then, if the alcohol ferments further, you get vinegar. The word comes from the French, meaning “sour wine.” While vinegar can be made from all sorts of things — like many fruits, vegetables, and grains — apple cider vinegar comes from pulverized apples.

The main ingredient of apple cider vinegar, or any vinegar, is acetic acid. However, vinegars also have other acids, vitamins, mineral salts, and amino acids.

Apple Cider Vinegar: Cure for Everything?
While long used as a folk remedy, apple cider vinegar became well known in the U.S. in the late 1950s, when it was promoted in the best-selling book Folk Medicine: A Vermont Doctor’s Guide to Good Health by D. C. Jarvis. During the alternative medicine boom of recent years, apple cider vinegar pills have become a popular dietary supplement.

Look on the back of a box of supplements — or on the Internet or in the pages of any one of the many books on vinegar and health — and you’ll find some amazing claims. Apple cider vinegar is purported to treat numerous diseases, health conditions, and annoyances. To name a few, it’s supposed to kill head lice, reverse aging, ease digestion, and wash “toxins” from the body.

Most of these claims have no evidence backing them up. Some — like vinegar’s supposed ability to treat lice or warts — have actually been studied, and researchers turned up nothing to support their use. Other claims have been backed up by studies, but with a catch: vinegar may work, but not as well as other treatments. For instance, while vinegar is a disinfectant, it doesn’t kill as many germs as common cleaners. And while vinegar does seem to help with jelly fish stings — an old folk remedy — hot water works better.

Scientific Evidence of Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits
But there are some medical uses of vinegar that do have promise, at least according to a few studies. Here’s a rundown of some more recent ones.

Diabetes. The effect of vinegar on blood glucose levels is perhaps the best-researched and the most promising of apple cider vinegar’s possible health benefits. Several studies have found that vinegar may help lower glucose levels. For instance, one 2007 study of 11 people with type 2 diabetes found that taking two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before bed lowered glucose levels in the morning by 4%-6%.

High cholesterol. A 2006 study showed evidence that vinegar could lower cholesterol. However, the study was done in rats, so it’s too early to know how it might work in people.

Blood pressure and heart health. Another study in rats found that vinegar could lower high blood pressure. A large epidemiological study also found that people who ate oil and vinegar dressing on salads five to six times a week had lower rates of heart disease than people who didn’t. However, it’s far from clear that the vinegar was the reason.

Cancer. A few laboratory studies have found that vinegar may be able to kill cancer cells or slow their growth. Epidemiological studies of people have been confusing. One found that eating vinegar was associated with a decreased risk of esophageal cancer. Another associated it with an increased risk of bladder cancer.

Weight Loss. For thousands of years, vinegar has been used for weight loss. White vinegar (and perhaps other types) might help people feel full. A 2005 study of 12 people found that those who ate a piece of bread along with small amounts of white vinegar felt fuller and more satisfied than those who just ate the bread.
While the results of these studies are promising, they are all preliminary. Many were done on animals or on cells in a lab. The human studies have been small. Before we will truly know whether vinegar has any health benefits, much larger studies are needed.

How Should Apple Cider Vinegar Be Used?
Since apple cider vinegar is an unproven treatment, there are no official recommendations on how to use it. Some people take two teaspoons a day (mixed in a cup of water or juice.) A tablet of 285 milligrams is another common dosage.

Apple cider vinegar is also sometimes applied to the skin or used in enemas. The safety of these treatments is unknown.

What Are the Risks of Apple Cider Vinegar?
On the whole, the risks of taking occasional, small amounts of apple cider vinegar seem low. But using apple cider vinegar over the long term, or in larger amounts, could have risks. Here are some things to keep in mind.

Apple cider vinegar is highly acidic. The main ingredient of apple cider vinegar is acetic acid. As the name suggests, it’s quite harsh. Apple cider vinegar should always be diluted with water or juice before swallowed. Pure apple cider vinegar could damage the tooth enamel and the tissues in your throat and mouth. One study found a woman who got an apple cider vinegar supplement stuck in her throat. She seemed to have suffered lasting damage to her esophagus. Vinegar has been known to cause contact burns to the skin.

Long-term use of apple cider vinegar could cause low potassium levels and lower bone density. If you already have low potassium or osteoporosis, talk to your doctor before using apple cider vinegar.

Apple cider vinegar could theoretically interact with diuretics, laxatives, and medicines for diabetes and heart disease.

If you have diabetes, check with your doctor before using apple cider vinegar. Vinegar contains chromium, which can alter your insulin levels.

Using apple cider vinegar supplements — instead of the liquid itself — adds another layer of risk. You just can’t be sure what you’re really getting. Unlike medicines, supplements are not regulated by the FDA. They aren’t routinely tested for effectiveness or even basic safety. A 2005 study looked at the ingredients of eight different brands of apple cider vinegar supplements. The researchers found that:

The ingredients listed on the box did not reflect the actual ingredients.
The ingredients varied a great deal between different brands.
The recommended dosages varied a great deal between brands.
Most disturbing, the chemical analysis of these samples led the researchers to doubt whether any of these brands actually contained any apple cider vinegar at all.

Should I Use Apple Cider Vinegar?
The answer depends on how you want to use apple cider vinegar. As a salad dressing, you should be fine. But taken as a daily medical treatment, it could be a little more risky. Yes, some studies of applecider vinegar are intriguing. But a lot more research needs to be done. Right now, there is not enough evidence that apple cider vinegar — or any vinegar — has any health benefit for any condition. Since the benefits are unknown, so are the risks.

If you’re thinking about trying apple cider vinegar, talk to your doctor first. It’s always worth getting an expert’s advice. Your doctor can also make sure that the apple cider vinegar won’t affect other health conditions or the effectiveness of the medicines you take. Trying to control a serious medical condition on your own with an unproven treatment is both unwise and dangerous.

The Fast Way to Beat Jet Lag

Traveling to exotic places is great–except when you first get there and collapse from exhaustion and jet lag. But you may be able to beat jet lag; you just have to skip eating before you leave home.

A new Harvard University study suggests that fasting may fight drowsiness.

Our bodies have two internal “clocks”–a body clock, which is sensitive to daylight, and a “feeding clock,” which keeps track of meal times.

Using mice, researchers altered a gene called BMAL1 that regulates the body clock. In one part of the experiment, they made the mice sleep, even through hunger–meaning unless woken, the mice could have starved to death.

More importantly, they discovered that the feeding clock could overpower the circadian clock, keeping mice up until they found something to nibble on.

Researchers say you can shift your body clock by changing your eating schedule. In particular, they say fasting can help with jet lag.

For an 11-hour time difference, “A period of fasting with no food at all for about 16 hours is enough to engage this new clock,” says lead researcher Clifford Saper. “Simply avoiding any food on the plane, and then eating as soon as you land, should help you to adjust and avoid some of the uncomfortable feelings of jet lag.”

Until time travel becomes reality or you can cross 10 time zones in an hour, it’s worth a try. We all know airport food is sub-par, anyway.

If you’re not traveling anytime soon, try this meal plan to eat right all day–no fasting required.

Beware the Bikini

When you go to the beach, you worry about sunburn, how you look in your swimsuit, maybe even sharks. But men now have something else to fear: bikinis.

A study in the Journal of Consumer Research says scantily clad women can make men do stupid things. (Did we really need a study to prove this?)

When men looked at photos of beautiful women, watched video of women running in bikinis, and touched bras, their desire for immediate gratification increased. Which caused them to seek instant reward, even when making decisions about money or food.

“It seems that sexual appetite causes a greater urgency to consume anything rewarding,” the authors suggest.

The men who handled lingerie were more likely to be satisfied with a smaller immediate monetary reward. (We see this as some sort of excuse to get out of doing the laundry. “Sorry honey, your bras make me want to spend money frivolously.” It’s worth a shot, right?)

The authors say sexy stimuli could mean the difference between selecting chocolate cake or fruit for dessert. Think about that next time you’re at Hooters.

The researchers believe the beautiful women make men’s minds shift to the here and now (yummy chocolate cake) instead of thinking long-term (trying to flatten your belly).

Whatever the reason, we’re not going to stop admiring beautiful women. We’ll deal with any consequences later.

First Aid Kit for Baby

Many mothers may not realize that along with taking on the name of Mommy, they will also earn the title Dr. Mom. Yes, at some point in your mothering career you will heal the sick and bandage the wounded with lots of tender loving care. To make the job of Dr. Mom easier in the coming months, you can create a baby friendly first aid kit. The time to assemble your kit is before your baby arrives. You’ll be ready for those first boo-boos and ouchies without having to make a trip to the drug store. Assembling a first aid kit geared specifically for your baby will give you the peace of mind knowing you have anything you could possibly need for an emergency together in one place and at your fingertips.
Prepackaged first aid kits are widely available. They’re economical and contain many of the essential items, but no one commercial product will contain everything you need for your baby. One easy way to build a first aid kit is to start with the prepackaged kit and add the extra items you will require for your baby.
You may want to have a large kit assembled for your home and then create mini-kits for your purse, a backpack, the diaper bag, and one for the car for when you travel with your baby. All kits need to be stored in a box that latches (lunch or tackle box) or a zippered bag, and out of baby’s reach. Well, the most important items in your baby’s first aid kit may actually be names and numbers to use in case of an emergency. Securely tape, glue, or sew the following contact information inside your kit:
Emergency Information
• Your doctor’s name and information including any after-hours or emergency numbers
• Hospital name and address
• List of any special health alerts (diabetic, high blood pressure, medical allergies, etc.)
• The number for the Poison Control Center
• The number for the local police, fire station and rescue squad
• Phone numbers of your partner, family members or friends
• The numbers of your two closest neighbors in case you need immediate assistance, such as help to care for an older child or a ride to the hospital
Here are the must-haves for your baby’s first aid kit:
• Infant/child thermometer (digital, ear or rectal)
• Children and infant’s non-aspirin liquid pain reliever (Children’s Tylenol or Advil), as recommended by your pediatrician
• Calamine lotion or hydrocortisone cream for insect bites and rashes
• Rubbing alcohol to clean thermometers, tweezers, and scissors
• Petroleum jelly to lubricate rectal thermometers
• Hydrogen peroxide to clean cuts and scrapes
• Antibacterial cream (Neosporin) for cuts and for scrapes
• Tweezers for splinters and ticks; you can buy long very-pointy tweezers made specifically for removing splinters
• A pair of sharp scissors
• Child-safe insect repellent
• Children’s strength liquid decongestant
• Nasal aspirator bulb (not the long, pointy ear syringe)
• An assortment of band-aids in various sizes and shapes (cartoon characters can really help take the sting out of a boo-boo)
• Gauze rolls (1/2 to 2 inches wide)
• Gauze pads (2×2 and 4×4 inches)
• Adhesive tape
• Sterilized cotton balls
• Cotton tipped swabs
• Mild liquid soap
• An oral syringe or calibrated cup or spoon for administering medicines
• A package of tongue depressors to check sore throats
• A heating pad
• A hot water bottle and ice pack
• A small flashlight to check ears, nose, throat, and eyes
• First Aid manual: Pick one that’s easy to read with step by step instructions and gives advice for handling a wide range of emergencies
• Activated Charcoal: Keep this on hand in case of accidental poisoning, but do not use it without first calling the local poison control center or your baby’s pediatrician.

THE H2O HABIT

Here’s how to start your tot chugging regularly on the worlds healthiest drink

• Serve it cold.
Children usually like water cold. If you are uneasy about serving your little one ice-cold water, try mixing half icy water and half lukewarm water. Or use a clear, transparent glass, adding fancy-shaped ice. Your little one will have fun watching the ice melt while sipping his drink. Use non-choking –hazard-sized ice or a scoop of crushed ice.
However, be moderate in serving ice-cold water. According to Gary Rosard, a certified holistic health counselor in New Jersey, in his web article “Enhancing Your Immune System The Natural Way With Food,” water need not be ice-cold water all the time, it will expend double the energy to maintain the ideal body temperature

• Add a little flavor and color.

Most children have a natural preposition for sweet tastes during the early years, which is why they prefer juice or soda to plain water. Add a hint of flavor to their water with a pinch of sugar, a lemon strip, or a mint leaf.

VACCINE AFTER-EFFECTS

A vaccine is derived from one of the following: a weakened live virus, an inactivated virus, a toxin produced by the bacteria, or synthetic substances. Usually, if a vaccine is derived from the weakened live virus itself, the immune systems response maybe similar to the natural infection but mild and only temporary.
Talk to your child’s pediatrician to know what to expect after every vaccination to help you monitor your child’s reactions to each. After getting your child’s shot, he or she may experience…
• Soreness, tenderness, and redness at the injection site
• Low-grade fever
• Rashes
• Crankiness
• Loss of appetite
• Minor temporary abdominal discomfort

Call your doctor if your child has severe reactions such as…
• Having a fever higher than 40.5 degrees celsius
• Fainting
• Seizures
• Hives
• Swelling of the lips, throat, and other parts of the body
• Difficulty in breathing

SMOKING DURING PREGNANCY

Between 12% and 20% of all pregnant women smoke.
Rates of smoking during pregnancy are at least 12 times higher among women 9 to 11 years of education (27%) than among women who hold a college degree (2%).
Smoking during pregnancy may impair normal fetal brain and nervous system development.

REMOVING GALLSTONES NATURALLY

Gallstones may not be everyone’s concern. But they should be because we all have them. Moreover, gallstones may lead to cancer. “Cancer is never the first illness,” Chiu Nan points out. “Usually, there are a lot of other problems leading to cancer in my research in China ; I came across some material which says that people with cancer usually have stones. We all have gallstones. It’s a matter of big or small, many or few. One of the symptoms of gallstones is a feeling of bloatedness after a heavy meal. You feel like you can’t digest the food. If it gets more serious, you feel pain in the liver area.” So if you think you have gallstones, Chiu Nan offers the following method to remove them naturally. The treatment is also good for those with a weak liver, because the liver and gallbladder are closely linked.

Regimen:

1. For the first five days, take four glasses of apple juice every day. Or eat four or five apples, whichever you prefer. Apple juice softens the gallstones. During the five days, eat normally.

2. On the sixth day, take no dinner.

3. At 6 pm, take a teaspoon of Epsom salt (magnesium sulphate) with a glass of warm water.

4. At 8 pm, repeat the same. Magnesium sulphate opens the gallbladder ducts.

5. At 10 pm, take half cup olive oil (or sesame oil) with half cup fresh lemon juice. Mix it well and drink it. The oil lubricates the stones to ease their passage. The next morning, you will find green stones in your stools. “Usually they float,” Chiu Nan notes. “You might want to count them. I have had a person who passes 40, 50 or up to 100 stones. Very many. “Even if you don’t have any symptoms of gallstones, you still might have some. It’s always good to give your gall bladder clean up now and then.