Hydrosols

WATER AS MEDICINE 

 Despite its importance to our health, many people just don't like to drink water. They didn't grow up drinking water and find it impossible to imagine consuming a litre or two in a single day. In fact, a litre is just short of thirty -two ounces, and what we actually need is closer to two and one-half litres, or eighty ounces, per day. Of that two and one-half litres, close to one litre will come from the foods we eat, but that still means that we must drink at least one and one-half litres of pure water daily if we are to avoid dehydration and keep our body in balance.

Modern substitutes like soda pop; teas, whether herbal, green, or black; coffee; and the endless variety of fruit juices and other beverages are not a substitute for water. Most of these drinks are actually diuretic, meaning they take water out of the system; they may contain preservatives, artificial colors and flavors, and the equivalent of several spoonfuls of sugar or, worse, corn syrup. Drinking nonwater beverages only increase your body's need and desire for the real thing.

Water is truly a medicine. For thousands of years "plain old water" has been used to treat health conditions ranging from fevers to allergies, dermatitis to migraine, nervousness to indigestion, colds and flu to pain and swelling. Water was the cure for centuries and was used hot, warm, or cold, depending on the condition.

Water was also heated to become steam and frozen to become ice, as these changes in the form and temperature, could treat a whole new range of health issues. Natural mineral and hot springs were centres for spiritual practices, and many of the great cultures of history were founded on rivers and lakes, from the Tigris and Euphrates to the Nile, Yangtze, and the Amazon. Water has been combined with herbs, massage, and heat. It has been used in baths, compresses, dips and sprays: in fact, hydrotherapy is perhaps the oldest " profession" in the world.

Reference: Hydrosols The Next Aromatherapy : Suzanne Catty