Do you drink enough?

Do you drink enough?

Were you taught that you need 8? 12? more glasses of water per day?

And what does any of this have to do with gallstones?

Lets start with the last question first:

Gallstones are created when there is an imbalance between the solids and the bile acids in the liver and gallbladder. having too much solids (Mainly cholesterol) starts the process of solidifications that eventually turns into a stone.

When you don't drink enough it is the most common reason for this imbalance. And many of us don't drink enough! Ask Dr. Batmanghelidj (Wrote the immortal book "You body's many cries for water"). In his, very educated, perspective, most of our diseases relate to not enough water in our system.

So how much water do we need?

Well, that depends...

Did you exercise today? Were you out in the sun? In an airconditioned room? how many juicy vegetables did you eat today? Are you menstruating? How much salt did you ingest?

So many parameters affect our hydration needs that is is impossible to suggest an accurate average figure.

And the answer?

Well, the simplest way to know if you drink enough is to regularly test it once in a while. The easiest test is to take mid-day a urine sample in a clear glass and look through it towards a good light source. If the urine is transparent (No floaters) then you have drank enough. If it resembles an aquarium on a bad day then you need to drink more.

Simple, right?

So go drink and test on occasion and see for yourself.

In health,

Chen