I often get asked how to get rid of a headache, and also how to improve mental clarity. Iโm grouping these two things together here because there is a link!
And that link is WATER.
I know I often talk about the basics, but the basics are the most important in laying a solid foundation, and they really are the most profound things that make all the difference.
So, today I want to talk about water. Iโm gonna discuss why itโs the most important thing for your body, how it improves your memory, and why being dehydrated leads to headaches and migraines.
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ญ
Obviously, we all want to be mentally sharp, and many people come to me about memory problems.
You may be surprised to hear that dehydration is linked to memory. But when you consider that the brain is housed in about 2 ยฝ to 3 L of water (it is actually made up of over 90% water) it definitely makes sense.
Just look at the meaning of the word brain. B means beth or house. B-RAIN literally means House of Rain.
Now, letโs look at the word memory, which is also composed of two parts โ the words mem and ory. If you look at the ancient Hebrew text, which is where our language comes from, the word mem actually means water, and the word ory means light. So, memory is composed of water and light.
And now youโll start to see the link that water has with our brain function and memory.
I think when peopleโs memory starts to deteriorate, itโs because the water in the brain becomes murky and fogginess sets in. In this state, memories can become distorted, and so therefore our brains cannot utilize this process of shining light onto water to create a โreflectionโ. You see, to reflect upon (create a reflection) of past events is what memory actually is.
๐๐ฒ๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง
We have a system in the body for hydrating the brain using the process of osmosis. When you drink plain pure water on an empty stomach the water is lifted to the 3rd and 4th ventricles of the brain through the process of osmosis precipitation.
This process means that the brain gets first priority to the water over the rest of the organs in the body. The thing here to be aware of is that this process does not take place if thereโs anything added to water. So, if youโre drinking soda pop or anything with artificial colours, sugars, or any of that stuff in it, the brain wonโt actually hydrate directly from it.
The reason why is that thereโs something called the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) that only allows fresh pure water to cross it.
The exceptions that cross are salt or citrus like lemon or lime. And itโs been found that lemon or lime added to water can actually help clear things like โlipofuscin brain plaqueโ out of the brain, helping us to be mentally clearer.
โWater is the driving force of all nature.โ Leonardo da Vinci
Water is more than just an element that we need to survive. It is an element that significantly defines our physiological existence. Water moves within our cells, our blood, and our bones, and not only gives and sustains life โ it IS life.
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐จ ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐: ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐๐ก๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ญ๐จ๐ฆ
A lot of times you can tell that people are highly dehydrated simply because theyโre not drinking plain pure water. Itโs often mixed with other things, and when you drink anything that is a mix of water and something else, it has to go throughout the entire body first hydrating everything along the way, and then your brain has access to some of it. So, itโs a big difference from the brain having first priority on pure water, to almost last priority when itโs mixed with something else.
Many people experience a low threshold of pain simply from being chronically dehydrated over a long period of time. Headaches and migraines and classic symptoms of dehydration.
When your brain becomes dehydrated, all the little blood capillaries in the brain โratchet downโ, literally constricting themselves so as to hold on to the water they have (because if that didnโt happen, you would eventually die!), so that creates the pain.
Whatโs crazy to me is that we are told to take a painkiller to mask this symptom rather than address the solution. But now you know!
Nidhi Jagetia