Hydrosols

Drink - Drank - Drunk

If you have problems and drink less than 2 liter of water a day, you may be suffering from dehydration. Before or along with any other form of treatment, increase your water intake until you reach the two-liter mark.This may take several weeks or months, depending on how much water you are drinking currently. As with any change in diet or lifestyle, an increase in water intake should be done slowly.The kidneys need time to adapt and relearn how to process all this fluid. Usually you will begin to notice improvements in overall health as soon as you have been drinking more than four or five large glasses a day for at least a month.

If you want to start drinking more water but don't like the taste, you could try adding hydrosols; they are, after all, a good flavouring agent as well as being therapeutic, and unlike most flavourings, they are free of salt, sugar, and additives. Start by spritzing very small amounts into each glass of water you consume . Vary the hydrosols so that the health properties specific to each glass of water you consume. Vary the hydrosols so that the health properties specific to each one are not overwhelming.

You will soon notice a positive difference in how you feel. Convince yourself that you're drinking iced tea by adding a spritz of melissa combined with clary sage. Neroli and Rose are really good on their own. Bay leaf, sage, and rosemary are non-sweet options and make highly refreshing beverages, but avoid sage if you have high blood pressure.It will soon become a pleasure to drink "flavoured" water, and you may find that the occasional glass of unflavoured water becomes more appealing over time. Before you know it you will be downing water by the liter, with or without hydrosols, and your body will love you for it.

The consummate water drinker can feel that fluid as it enters the stomach, then the bloodstream, and can describe its progress throughout the arteries, cells, and tissues as surely as you can describe the flow of any river.You may find it easier to drink large quantities of water if it is at room temperature or barley cool rather than 1ce-cold. Research has shown that ice water can cause spasms in the stomach owing to the temperature shock. While there are times when cold water is desirable to reduce temperature rapidly, a sufficient quantity of neutral temperature water has the same effects and will not cause abdominal cramps. Warm or hot water can be used to stimulate peristalis in the bowel, or if drunk in very large amounts (with or without sea salt), it can work as an emetic causing vomiting.The prime time for drinking water are morning and evening. First thing in the morning drink two large glasses thirty minutes before breakfast or your usual morning beverage. 

This stimulates elimination and acts like an internal shower, waking up the body and preparing it for activity. In the evening, drink a large glass about thirty minutes before retiring, which will allow you time to relive yourself before sleep. Additional water should be consumed before rather than during meals to improve digestion, makes the appetite more stable, and facilitate elimination.

If the water is drunk before eating, it also helps dilute the hydrolic acid in the stomach, making the food bolus less acidic when it passes into the small intestine. drinking during a meal means that the food itself will absorb the water and swell, contributing to the overstuffed feeling so many people experience after eating. Water should also preface any physical exertion or a gym workout and is highly beneficial for those working in environments lacking fresh air, such as closed-system office buildings. Supplying the body with adequate water to prevent dehydration is critical, and the immediate perceivable effects include increased energy, improved digestion, enhanced mental function, balanced metabolism and sometimes weight loss, improved circulation, healthier or younger looking skin, and for some, an increased libido.

The effects of dehydration from chronic water shortage in the body include fatigue, poor digestion and constipation, stressed liver and kidneys, headaches, muscle spasms, and cramps, uric acid buildup, gout, even arthritis has been linked to dehydration. If your blood is 90% water and each blood cell is 68 percent water, imagine the stress on your heart as the blood becomes dehydrated and thickens because of its decrease in volume. If the lymph, so integral to the immune system, is 94 percent water, how strong is your immunity to the flu when dry winter air and central heating dehydrate your entire being, including the lymph? If the liver is nearly 72 percent water, no wonder you get a hangover when you drink dehydrating alcohol and don't re-balance the organ with pure water. Thirst and dry mouth are not the first messages the body sends, and it is only when we start re-hydrating ourselves that we begin to realize what we have been missing.

Reference: Hydrosols -  The Next Aromatherapy: Suzanne Catty