Water: For Health, For Healing, For Life (9 page)
In dehydration, lung tissue becomes very vulnerable. The air sacs in the lungs have very thin walls and need water to keep them moist at all times. The constant flow of air through these sacs also evaporates the available water in their lining. Dehydration automatically reduces the amount of available water in these tissues and causes damage, unless the rate of airflow is reduced. In essence, this is the rationale behind the blockage of airflow through the lungs in asthmatics. Histamine is responsible for cutting down the rate of airflow through the lungs. It causes constriction of the bronchioles that are attached to the air sacs. Histamine also stimulates the production of added amounts of thick and viscous mucus that partially plug the bronchioles and protect the lining of the bronchioles themselves. All these actions of histamine in dehydration are carried out to protect the delicate passageways of the body that are in direct contact with the outside air and could easily become dried up and parched if not protected.
Histamine will be further discussed in the section on neurotransmitters in chapter 10.
ALLERGIES AND THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
When we become dehydrated, histamine sees to it that the available water in the body is well preserved and distributed according to a priority of function. The rate of histamine production in the body increases exponentially when the body becomes more and more dehydrated.
Supplying the body with water causes a disappearance of histamine from areas where it should not be present. With adequate water supply, histamine production, and its excess release, is inhibited proportionately. This relationship of water to histamine has been demonstrated in several animal experiments. It is now physiologically apparent that water by itself has very strong natural antihistaminic properties.
Immune System Suppression
There are certain white cells that are sensitive to histamine and that strongly inhibit the activity of the immune system in the bone marrow. There are twice as many of these white cells as there are cells that stimulate the immune system. Thus, dehydration that can cause the production and release of more than a certain amount of histamine may, in the long run, suppress the immune systems of the body at its central command station, the bone marrow.
Since there is a greater-than-normal rate of histamine production and storage in prolonged dehydration, a stimulus for the release of histamine from its immune system side of activity will produce a greater quantity of its release into the tissues. At the same time, antibody production and efficiency, which have already been suppressed because of dehydration, will be inadequate to deal with foreign agents such as pollen and other antigens. The enormity of this problem becomes apparent during the pollen season when the eyes get invaded with these foreign agents. The tear-producing glands need to wash the offending pollen away from the delicate membrane of the eye— the conjunctiva—since antibodies are not adequately available to neutralize the pollen. This is the reason why histamine activity for secretion of water onto the delicate membranes covering the eyes and the nasal passages becomes exaggerated. It is a naturally installed need-driven response. “Water wash” is the only way of getting rid of the offending pollen types that are not neutralized by antibodies. This is how allergy to pollen occurs.
If you were to ask me: “Do you mean to say I can prevent asthma and allergies by drinking more water?” my answer would be yes, yes, and yes again. You can do it naturally, with no medication and at no cost. Water will do it because of the primary role of histamine in water regulation and drought management of the body.
It is now clear that chronic dehydration
is
the primary cause of allergies and asthma in the human body. Increased water intake—on a habit-forming, regular basis—should become the treatment of choice. In those who have attacks of asthma or allergic reactions to different pollens or foods, strict attention to adequate daily water intake, with the addition of some salt, should become a preventive measure. People who suffer from allergies and asthma will also have other indicators of dehydration. They will definitely develop other very serious health problems if they do not take their bodies' need for regular intake of water seriously. If you have any doubts about this information, read Andrew Bauman's letter, which follows.
If you suffer from allergies and asthma, you must begin by drinking water on a regular basis. You should stop taking caffeine and alcohol until your condition becomes normal. Those with normal heart and kidney functions should begin drinking two glasses of water a half hour before each meal, and one glass of water two and a half hours after the meal. When you increase your water intake, you also need to increase your salt intake to make up for the salt lost during increased urine production. Read more about salt in chapter 13.
Andrew Bauman suffered from different aspects of dehydration that emerged one after another, until he was told nothing could be done for him. His doctor advised him to put his affairs in order before his anticipated early death. Fortunately for him, he discovered the medicinal effects of water and is still alive. He has reversed the variety of problems produced by dehydration, save one condition that is gradually improving. Mr. Bauman's case history highlights the serious implications of allergies during childhood, which can lead to the development of serious diseases later in life if steps are not taken to hydrate the body adequately. For more information on asthma and allergies, and to read an abundance of testimonials from people who got rid of their problems, refer to my book
ABC of Asthma, Allergies and Lupus.
November 13, 1998
Dear Dr. Batmanghelidj:
My name is Andrew J. Bauman IV, and I am 42 years young, yet at age 34 I felt and looked like I was at least 44! Most of my life has been spent battling illness and disease, whereas now I celebrate each moment of each day with a renewed vigor and vitality. I used to be chronically dehydrated and now I know better.
I was born on October 29, 1956, in Taylor, Pennsylvania. My parents lovingly cared for me— including having me vaccinated. I was reared on infant formula and later cereal, juices, and a small amount of water when I would cry from colic. After my first polio vaccine, I became mysteriously paralyzed from the waist down. Specialists were puzzled yet diagnosed “aborted polio.” It left as suddenly as it appeared. When I received a booster dose of the vaccine at around age 5 in first grade, the paralysis returned. Months of hospitalization and bed rest resulted in my gaining weight. I mostly ate my meals and had visitors, drank soda and some water now and then—and once again the paralyzation disappeared.
When I began third grade—around eight years old—my allergic afflictions and symptoms had begun. I had problems with frequent dry coughs. I began experiencing some difficulties with breathing, itchy and watery eyes, and fatigue when I was around fresh-cut lawns from springtime until autumn. When I was a junior in high school, I experienced blackouts from allergies. Sometime around 1979, I saw a specialist who did testing and diagnosed me with allergies and asthma. I was treated with allergy shots and inhalers. The treatments just seemed to make things worse. My lips were always dry and cracked. At that time of my life I was drinking about 2 to 4 cups of coffee per day along with a few glasses of soda and some tea and alcohol. I would have an occasional glass of water during the day. The allergies and asthma stayed with me until 1996 when my water intake was up to about two to three quarts a day. I no longer struggle with allergies or asthma.
My problems with diabetes began at age 14. I was diagnosed as an insulin-dependent or “juvenile diabetic.” It was then that I began drinking diet beverages, including those with caffeine. My water intake at that time was still only around 2 to 4 glasses a day and I was drinking tea and started drinking coffee. The diabetes resulted in many hospitalizations over the years. By the mid-1980s I had problems with diabetic neuropathy, which was causing my legs to swell. I was scheduled to have dye injected into my legs to perform a diagnostic scan after a Doppler radar study showed some apparent blockages in the veins in my legs. The dye injections caused my veins to burst, which made the swelling get worse. I was then diagnosed with “venous insufficiency.” In 1994, I was told that my legs would probably have to be removed within a year or so.
While attempting to get on a diabetic insulin supply trial, the initial examination revealed that the retinas in my eyes had grown blood vessels that were bleeding (diabetic retinopathy). I began receiving a series of laser surgeries over the next 15 years to attempt to seal the leaky vessels and to attempt to prevent any new vessel growth. This reduced my peripheral and night vision. In 1992, I developed an enlarged yet benign prostate gland and my kidneys began showing signs of deterioration. In 1993, I began experiencing some potency difficulties. In 1994, I began seeing a natural or homeopathic physician who, besides treating me with alternative medicine, advised me to increase my water intake. My intake of insulin was around 95 units of insulin daily.
In 1976, many immune system problems began developing. I developed infectious mononucleosis. In 1979, during one of my then frequent hospital stays, I was diagnosed with “mono” again! The doctors insisted that I shouldn't have “mono” again and began consulting with specialists. I received an influenza vaccine and was discharged—only to be readmitted a day later with a fever of 106 degrees F. I was undergoing many tests, however nothing much was showing up at that time. After many tests for severe abdominal pain, I was told that I grew a second spleen that was attached to my spleen and that the second one was also functioning. That year I was visiting someone and drank unpasteurized milk and ended up in the hospital again with a bacterial infection of the intestinal tract. “Brucellosis and Proteus OX-19” was the diagnosis and I was on yet more antibiotics.
During 1980 or 1981, I developed another case of “mono” and was admitted to the hospital again; diabetic control problems were a constant battle for me. An infectious disease specialist discovered that a number of special antibodies against foreign agents were also affected, which the doctors suggested were related to the problems with my allergies and asthma, as well as my frequent infections.
The 1980s were filled with many hospitalizations, illnesses, job losses, and stress-related problems. It was then that I was diagnosed with allergies to penicillin and tetracycline, began developing hypertension, was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, lymphoid hyperplasia (overstressed immune system), arthritis, bursitis, fibromyalgia, acid reflux problems, and bowel problems. I also developed a benign tumor on the left flank of my back. I developed a nodule on my thyroid area and was diagnosed with lead, cadmium, and aluminum poisoning, which were also found in a landfill I lived near. I was overweight and developed sleep apnea. Tests showed that I stopped breathing over 300 times in a six-hour period and had “narcolepsy.” I could fall asleep in a short period of time. I had surgery to attempt to correct the sleep apnea, and I wore a tracheostomy tube in my neck to help me breathe at night, and slept with a breathing machine to keep my airway open. During the '80s I still only drank a few glasses of water daily, yet consumed large amounts of coffee, saccharine, and eventually NutraSweet. In 1987, I was declared “disabled.”
In 1992, at 36 years old, I looked and felt like I was in my late forties and felt worse than I looked. I began using natural supplements with vitamins, herbs, and other natural medical techniques. The natural doctor's advice was to increase my water consumption and decrease my caffeine intake as well. I had lost the feeling in my feet, was always tired and achy, depressed, and had little hope.
I began to drink more water and reduced my caffeine intake somewhat, and by 1995 I began to feel and look much better. Yet I was still only consuming a quart to a quart and a half daily, and not flushing all the caffeine out of my system, nor was I using sea salt.
In September of 1995, the lump on my left flank turned red, began itching and enlarging. My family physician removed it and sent it away for study. In October, I was diagnosed with cutaneous B cell lymphoma. Twenty-six new tumors had grown on my back where there was one, and I was sent to a major hospital where I was told that lymphatic cancer on the skin surface was rare and that not much research was done yet on it. I went for a gallium scan and it revealed that my entire body surface glowed positive for cancer cells. The flank of my back was brighter white or “hyperpositive,” as was the middle of my chest where two melanomas were previously removed. I was advised to receive localized radiation, and “as tumors appeared we would radiate them, too,” or I could travel to Philadelphia and have my entire body surface radiated. They began to radiate my back, which began giving me third-degree burns. I refused total body radiation and, midway through my radiation, my homeopathic physician began using a natural cleansing therapy. The cancer specialist had advised me to try anything and to “pull out all the stops” as well as “to get my affairs in order.” I increased my water consumption and took supplements and natural treatments.
In November of 1995, while traveling in search of an answer, I was introduced to a man who exposed me to your Water Cure program and advised me to stick to it very seriously to get cured. I now began to seriously increase my water intake, but was still leery of increasing salt intake due to the traditional medical contraindications for its perceived high blood pressure problems. Later I learned of the error of that thinking and began to increase my salt intake, too. In March of 1996, I went for another gallium scan, which revealed that there was not a single sign of cancer glowing positive on my entire body. Doctors thought there was an error in the gallium scan, but my homeopath and I knew that I was healing. Drinking more water, reducing caffeine, a change in dietary habits, natural medicine, and faith had brought me home.