WEEK ONE:: Drink half your body weight in fluid ounces of water each day. [ex. 180lb person = 90 fl. oz. water/day]

It’s hard to believe that December 1st is upon us already! As Christians, our new year begins tomorrow. What better time than this to make a change in your health? God has given us our bodies that we may fulfill His will while we are here on Earth. It is our responsibility to care for them as best we can so that their useful life is as long as possible.

As some of you know, I was diagnosed with a crippling form of auto-immune arthritis after my third child was born. Conventional doctors prescribed courses of steroids and chemotherapy. The end result was awful. I felt tired and sick, my skin was impossibly dry, my nails were extremely fragile, I had mouth ulcers constantly, I gained 40 pounds, and I lost a baby.

I had always been interested in natural healing, but didn’t think that it was for me. I didn’t think it would be powerful enough to rid me of this terrible illness. But when the conventional treatments forced me to trade my illness for hideous side effects, I decided that natural healing couldn’t do worse.

I was watching a programme on a Christian television channel. The guest was Dr. Valerie Saxion. She was talking about how God made our bodies to heal themselves. He didn’t make them to remain in illness. He gave us all that we need within our bodies and from the fruits of the earth to keep healthy. I challenged myself to try a course of natural healing. I went off my medications (AMA) and started changing my family’s habits. Three months later, I was in full remission, my fertility cycles returned and were more obvious than ever, and I looked better than I had in years… Three months after that, I was pregnant with Sophie (followed by Louis 17 months after that!)

We have forgotten how to eat, how to breathe, and how to use our bodies. Our Western diet resembles, more than anything, a chemistry experiment rather than a bountiful harvest. The stress we feel from lives driven by the pressure to conform and consume has caused us to breathe fast and shallow, or to hold our breath - often without realizing it. Our jobs are very sedentary, far moreso than when physical labor was the norm. We don’t move our bodies like our ancestors did. When we do move our bodies, we are prone to injury because we seem to have lost the wisdom of listening to signals our own bodies send.

And we’ve forgotten how to keep hydrated. That’s the focus of this week’s challenge. We are walking around terribly de-hydrated. If you wait until you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Dehydration shinks up our cells like little raisins. They can’t do their jobs. We can’t eliminate toxins, through our kidneys, bowels, or skin. Brain function slows, we find it more difficult to maintain focus. Our energy level drops sharply. But so many of us have been dehydrated for so long that we don’t realize what is happening. Prolonged dehydration causes toxins to build resulting in illness, seemingly benign, but left unattended to, can turn into something more serious. And because of the gradual progression, is often attributed to anything BUT poor nutrition and dehydration.

You need to drink half your body weight in ounces of water (and only water) every day - up to 64 oz. Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? But when you consider that our bodies are up to 65% water, the brain alone is 70% water, by weight, then you see that drinking half your weight in fluid ounces of water is the least we need to function.

Dr. Saxion recommends that we drink steam distilled water. And I agree. Steam distilled water has had all the minerals and heavy metals removed. It passes more easily through the cells to draw out toxins. You can get a steam distiller online. We got our first one through Ebay. Our choice is a Genesis 6000 countertop model. They are pricey, and you may need to save up for the $300-$400 purchase. In the meantime, clean, filtered water will do. The aim is to get into the habit of drinking enough. **NOTE: if you have trouble with your mineral levels, do NOT drink steam distilled water. Check with a naturopathic doctor to see what he or she recommends for balancing your minerals before drinking steam distilled.

Here are some water-drinking tips that helped our family:

- Drink room temperature or slightly warm water. Cold water is harder to swallow and actually raises your internal temperature. Keeping the water closer to your body temperature won’t stress your body.

- ALWAYS store your water - especially distilled - in glass. Distilled water will draw the toxins from plastic bottles.

- Keep a carafe of water on the table at mealtimes. We found that our entire family drank more when it was right there to drink.

- Pour your water into a quart-sized glass container, like a canning jar, and drink one in the morning, and one after lunch. That’s 64 ounces, enough for an adult weighing about 130lb. If you need to, add a quart in the afternoon. A nursing mama should be drinking 3 quarts of fluid a day, just to make enough milk and maintain her own health.

- Drink through a straw, for some reason, it helps it all go down faster! The brief trip through a plastic straw should not pose a significant health risk - it’s the storing that causes problems.

- Kids can drink half their weight in ounces, too. However, little ones under the age of 5 should probably not drink that much of their fluids from water alone. Filtered water should be sufficient for them. Check with your pediatrician.

- Our son, Jack, hated water until we switched to steam distilled. If you, or someone in your family hates the taste of water, try the distilled. They might just change their minds.

NOTES:

- You will have to pass water more often (obviously)
- You may have more frequent bowel movements (we hope - better out than in!)
- You may experience an outbreak of acne (that’s your body pushing out toxins every available way)
- You may find you have more energy within just a couple of days
- You may find that you have more mental clarity within just a couple of days

**DO NOT ADD ANYTHING TO YOUR WATER** No flavourings, no sweeteners, just water.

That’s it for this week. Drink, drink, drink. Post your comments and progress during the week. I’d love to see how you are getting along.

Each week’s task will appear in the sidebar ———–> under the “Fit in 40” logo. If you haven’t signed up to take the challenge yet, you can do so at any time! Just follow along by clicking “Fit in 40″ in the CATEGORIES section and start with Week One!

Be well!

***Nissa is not a naturopathic doctor, please consult your own physician if you have questions, or before trying this programme***