Water
Please see our disclaimer before trying any of these natural remedies for yourself.
W-A-T-E-R. Yes, the refreshing drink we love. But water does more than just quench our thirst. Water helps our gardens grow, helps us brush our teeth, wash the dishes (ugh), wash our laundry, cook our food, flush the toilet, take a bath, and the list goes on and on! Every living organism on the earth needs...WATER! In fact, you can only live about 3 days without water! That's not very long! How much water should we drink per day? Well, 5-8-year-olds should drink about 5 glasses, 9-12-year-olds should get about 7 glasses, and 13 and older should get 8 to 10 glasses of water per day!
What if, one day, you decide you don't want water anymore. You decide you a soda instead (for example). Well, even though it might be more inviting than the water you have every day, it's not a very good substitute! It actually makes dehydration worse! If you decide to do that, your body will be in big trouble! It will beg you to go back to water! No, you can't replace soda for water. And the same thing is true for other juices and drinks. You had better stick to water!
Benefits of Water:
Keeps you clean, inside and out
Keeps your body the right temperature
Helps with digestion
Helps your body maintain a normal blood pressure
Keeps your chemicals in the right balance
Helps remove waste through sweat and urine
Helps you stay younger-looking as you age
Is a safe and natural treatment for headaches
Prevents bad breath
Helps you stay healthy
Helps you think better and be more alert
Protects your organs and tissues
Improves your mood
Keeps your kidneys healthy
Prevents constipation
Prevents sprains
Helps keep your heart healthy
Lubricates your joints
Helps with weight loss
Allows oxygen to get into and out of red blood cells
Hydrates the blood, helps with nutrient transfer
Staying fully hydrated during the day helps you sleep better at night
Helps your body create more energy
Reverses many so-called diseases
(For more information about many of these benefits, read You're Not Sick, You're Thirsty, by Dr. F. Batmanghelidj)
Did you know? Water is a doctor with more than one specialty. While one of it's benefits comes from drinking enough water every day, it also has many benefits when used externally. Hydrotherapy is a term used to describe treatments using water to treat a variety of illnesses/injuries.
Hot/Cold Contrast Shower
This can be used as a treatment to shorten the duration of colds/coughs/flus..., but is also an effective way of staying healthy and not getting sick. As a preventative measure, you can simply finish your daily hot (meaning "comfortably very warm") shower with cold (meaning "noticeably cooler than the hot," doesn't have to be freezing) for 10 or so seconds. As a treatment for an illness, do three repetitions of hot water till you are comfortably very warm, cold for less time than you were under the hot. Maybe 1-3 minutes hot (probably longer at first), and 10-30 seconds cold. Finish with cold. Please don't do this treatment without consulting a doctor if you have any of the following: heart disease, kidney failure, severe arteriosclerosis, hyperthyroidism, or exophthalmic goiter, nervous system Irritability, hypertension, shower spray not directed to Varicose Veins, neuritis or rheumatoid arthritis.
Note: I can really speak to the effectiveness of this remedy (at least for me). Since I started ending my hot showers with cold, I have only been sick once (Covid) in the last three years. I used to get a cold at least twice a year. ~ Teacher Trudi
Hot Foot Bath / Russian Steam Bath
A hot foot bath is a beneficial treatment for headaches, congestion... It also helps lower high blood pressure and helps you sleep better while boosting your immune system! This is how we do them in our family. (Note, this is not suitable for people with diabetes or lack of sensation, see links to contraindications below).
Get a bucket, a sheet and a warm blanket.
Start a teapot of water boiling on the stove to keep the water hot.
Fill the bucket with water as hot as the patient can stand, but be careful, you don't want anyone to get burned!
Wrap and sheet around the patient and have them sit in a comfortable chair.
Have them put their feet in the bucket and wrap the sheet around the bucket to trap the heat.
Tuck the blanket around the patient up to their neck.
As the water cools, add more hot. This goes on for about 20-30 minutes.
While the patient is having this remedy, they will sweat, have water or an electrolyte drink ready for them to drink (coconut water is good for this).
At the end of the 20-30 minutes, rinse the feet with cold water to seal the pores.
Check this site or this one for more complete directions and contraindications. -- T.T.
Links to more hydrotherapy treatments:
