We were sitting on our porch swing this morning, enjoying the beautiful breeze and the clean air, and watching the trees swaying back and forth, like in the movie Phemonenon. It’s a beautiful day here in the Hudson Valley, not a cloud in the clear blue sky, about 70 degrees, during this transitional time of year between summer and autumn.

Earlier this week, the weather had been in the 80’s, and we have had plenty of days in July and August with temperatures in the 90’s, with high humidity. Many times I thought I was back in the Midwest or the South.

When the weather is really hot and humid, it’s tough to drink enough water to keep up with one’s sweat loss. Even when it’s not hot and humid, it’s best to drink approximately one quart of water for every 50 pounds of body weight per day.

Melanie and I had a patient who came in twice this week, because of several problems she was having. “If it weren’t for the vitamins I take, I wouldn’t be drinking much, if any water. I just don’t think to drink.”

She had been working out in the yard, sweating profusely, not eating much, and hardly drinking any water. On top of that, she had had an usually heavy menstrual cycle, and had been bleeding a lot for a couple of days.

She said that she was just walking up the hill from the house to the barn and just passed out and fell over.

Between the heavy sweating (loss of fluids and electrolytes), heavy bleeding (loss of blood), not drinking enough water (dehydration), and low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), it’s no wonder she passed out and fell over while walking up a hill.

Dr. Victor Frank, the founder of Total Body Modification, says, “If you don’t drink your water, you can’t get well.” I used to think that was a very strong, almost arrogant statement to make.

After treating thousands of people for the past 14 years, I have come to agree with Dr. Frank.

We have patients who come in all the time with lots of different complaints, and they don’t drink enough water. And they have no interest in even trying to drink more water. But they expect us to fix them.

Melanie came up with the greatest analogy this morning:

Your Body Needs Water Just Like A Garden Need Water!!

What would it be like if a person never watered their garden, but expected the plants to grow and thrive?

They might go see Dr. Garden.

Based on what we see in the office, here’s how the conversation might go:

Patient: “Dr. Garden, I can’t get my plants to grow. My flowers and vegetables all seem to look tired, lifeless, withered, shriveled, puny, droopy, and brown.”
Dr. Garden: “How much are you watering them?”

Pt: “Oh, I don’t really water them very much.”
DrG: “Why not?”

Pt: “I don’t like watering.”
DrG: “But your plants need water to grow.”

Pt: “I don’t think to water them.”
DrG: “But they need water to thrive and be healthy.”

Pt: “The hose is too short.”
DrG: “Your plants won’t continue to live very long if you don’t water them.”

Pt: “I don’t like carrying water.”
DrG: “You can’t expect your fruits and vegetables to be plump, luscious, and juicy, if they aren’t getting enough water.”

Pt: “I don’t have any water buckets.”
DrG: “You can’t expect your flowers to be anything other than limp, withered, and droopy, or have anything other than puny, measly little excuses for vegetables if they don’t get the water they need.”

Pt: “Don’t they get enough water from rain?” [“There’s water in soda, tea, coffee, beer, cocktails.”]
DrG: “There’s often not enough water coming from the environment for your plants to be optimum. Most of the time you have to help nature by watering your plants.”

If you expect to have a healthy, beautiful, productive garden, you have to water it.
If you expect to have a healthy, beautiful, productive body, you have to give it the water it needs.

Science tells us that the human body is made of approximately 70-80% water.
Every day, you sweat, go to the bathroom, and utilize water for millions of metabolic processes in all of the cells of your body.

Again, the average is one quart of water for every 50 pounds of body weight per day.

I know that sounds like a lot, but if you drink water from the time you get up until the time you go to bed, it’s not really that much.

Example: 150 pound person needs three quarts water per day.
1 Quart = 32 ounces x 3 quarts = 96 ounces per day

If a person sleeps 8 hours per day, that leaves 16 waking hours.
96 ounces of water per day, divided by 16 waking hours, equals 6 ounces per hour.

6 ounces is ¾, or 0.75 of a cup.
So, every hour, that person would need to drink 6 ounces of water.
Or, 12 ounces every two hours (1.5 cups)

It’s not that much!

For further information about the water that your body needs,

click on the following Amazon link and purchase Your Body’s Many Cries for Water: You’re Not Sick, You’re Thirsty!

We welcome comments!

Thank you.

Dr. Andrew Colyer and Melanie Buzek, P.T.

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