Ayurveda on ‘Do we drink excess water?’
Ayurveda Blog No 5.
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You may remember the example of boy going to gymnasium and how he created problems about his health by drinking unnecessary water. This habit of drinking excess water also creates so many other problems. One major of them is common cold. Remember body cannot throw away all the excess water. It is just not a simple procedure that on one end we are putting water in and on other end it comes out. After digestion like food, water also gets mixed with blood and then circulates in the body and at last goes to kidneys. Kidneys filter the blood and takes out the excess water. This whole process has certain limitations. Kidneys can filter blood upto certain quantity. Naturally body can not throw this excess water easily. This water gets converted into kapha (mucus) and stored where ever it founds space in the body. One very good space is our sinuses and chest(lungs).
I have seen so many patients with chronic complaint of running nose. They have taken all the treatments available but still their complaint of running nose, sinusitis has not gone. The answer is very clear tome. Their water drinking is too much. Many of them felt better by just reducing their water consumption. Not a single medicine was used for them. For certain others reduction in water consumption along with some medicines and treatments was needed.
You must have noticed so many around as especially westerners carrying a water bottle with them and using it religiously every now and then. And on other hand continually cleaning their nose with paper napkin. Isn’t it?. Some people drink water which is cold, chilled in nature. This is more dangerous. Naturally the water is cold and on top of it they are using chilled one. This creates another great problem. Even this excess water of normal temperature decreases the body temperature especially around abdomen.( Check the temperature around your abdomen and back. Also compare with others.) And if one drinks cold temperature water then the effect is much more.
Usually person drinking more liquid especially cold ones will have cold abdomen. You know the law of nature. Coldness leads to constriction and hotness leads to expansion. This increase coldness around abdomen causes constriction of organs inside. This leads to difficulty in passing out of gasses. After every digestion gasses gets formed in abdomen If they remains inside, can not come out then pressure develops inside the abdomen. This pressure leads to restlessness, pressure over the chest, palpitations, fast and deep breathing ( breathlessness), bloating of the abdomen ( usually after the meals). Due to this accumulated gas in abdomen, one will not get feeling of hunger. When abdomen becomes empty one feels hunger. Such patients usually complaints about not getting feeling of hunger.
One reason is excess drinking of water and other is accumulation of gases. Even if they feel hunger, after eating very less quantity of food they will feel full. Eating less food eventually will lead to weakness and wear and tear of the body. This cold body will also show one more symptom and that is freezing of the movements, restriction of joint movements, catching of the joints may be at neck, at back, in the knees etc. And if you try to get rid of this excess coldness by reducing the water intake, drinking hot water, taking shake with heating pad or hot water bag, taking steam, applying worm oil to affected parts or even hot water bath, you will notice the change. You will get some relief in catch, the gasses will start coming out as burps or passes out from below. As gases comes out the pressure created inside the abdomen will get relived and symptoms generated due to that will get reduced. The pressure over the chest, the breath, restlessness, bloating will come down. See up to what extend water can create imbalance in our body. For common cold, indigestion, bloating, freezing of the joints and so many other problems we keep on fighting by doing investigations, taking medicines and treatments from so many pathies. But it we do not take care of our water imbalance, the problem will not get solved.
There are so many other reasons for the above problems. One or many reasons coming together may create such problems. In such cases our treatments should be holistic. We must take care of every cause. If we take care of water imbalance and may found some relief, fine, then we must find out and take care of other reasons. Is it clear to you? So be careful about your quality and quantity of water intake.
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