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Dehydration, Bad Antibiotics and Your Immune System

Dehydration: This is a good time of year ( it's very cold and very dry) to talk about this extremely common problem, especially for those of us in Colorado. I would say that  ball park  70% of all of my patients test positive for dehydration which means that they need some water right now but probably do a pretty good job normally. And maybe 40% are chronically dehydrated which means that they have needed to drink more water for a long, long, time, maybe years. Their well is empty. This can cause a lot of problems, like a decrease in GABA receptors, (depression), urinary tract infections, high cholesterol, thick blood and premature aging.

Here is the problem with older people: We don't know when we are thirsty anymore. For some malign reason, our thirst receptors get dull and don't tap us on the shoulder when we are supposed to drink water. That means that we must be extra careful to have that bottle of water always at our side and just drink whether we are thirsty or not.

Let the color of your urine and the frequency (8 times a day at least) be your guide. And, like me, you may have to force yourself to keep up the water intake, because if you are not perceiving thirst, that makes it difficult. Another symptom of chronic dehydration, by the way, is confusion or anxiety which is another very good reason for the older gen-pop to keep up the water. I don't think we want to end up in the Home for the Befuddled where they pay no attention to you whatsoever and could care less about your fluid intake.

If you are a coffee or soda drinker, that will act as a diuretic that can dehydrate you as well, so the rule of thumb is this: For every cup of water or soda you drink, drink an equal amount of water. And remember, water is water is water. Green tea is not water. Diet Coke is not water. Kombucha is not water. Nothing is water but water. And drink it filtered and pure. The very least you could do is buy yourself a Brita at Costco. I have a reverse osmosis and I get Eldorado delivered. I also have a brand new Big Berkey in a box in the shed waiting for some smart person to put it together as I cannot make sense out of the directions and the teeny, tiny parts. Maybe I need some water...

Now let's talk about the container from which you will be drinking your water. Plastic is not OK. Not even the plastic with the BPA-free labels. I was chagrined to find out that the manufacturers are kind of slip-sliding around the truth and while they are taking out the BPA, they are adding some other endocrine disturber (Think breast cancer, prostate cancer, ADHD, Thyroid cancer, etc.) called BPS, which is just as bad as BPA. So stick to glass. I bought some Mason jars for myself at McGuckin's and I am now drinking out of those. Very classy, I know, but at least I won't have a cardiovascular event from the BPA/BPS. Oh yes, they have tied the BPA/BPS to elevated blood pressure and heart attacks.

A Warning for you on the Worst of the Worst: You already know how I feel about antibiotics, but since it's the cold and flu season and you might be up against this, I need to point out a class of antibiotics that might just kill you and at the very least cause you a lot of problems. They are the class of antibiotics called flouroquinolones which are brand named as Cipro, Avalox and Levaquin. Cipro and Avalox are manufactured by Bayer and brought into their coffers 1 billion in sales in 2010; Levaquin is a Johnson & Johnson product and its sales were 1.3 billion in 2010. I would rather you not add one single penny to their coffers and here's why.

Wow, what terrible bodily harm these fluoroquinones can cause: Liver toxicity, kidney failure, hearing or vision problems, severe tendon damage and rupture (a patient of mine ruptured her quadriceps tendon just leaning over in the bathroom after a round of Levaquin and had to undergo a big, complicated surgery for that). Then there is depletion of magnesium, disruption of cellular enzyme function, disruption of mitochondria and energy production, oxidative injury and cell death and inasmuch as it can cross the blood/brain barrier (fluoride can cross the blood/brain barrier, so don't drink city water, either) it can cause psychiatric problems, possibly long term.

To end this disturbing litany of horrible side-effects, I will mention skin reactions, GI symptoms, cardiovascular events, musculoskeletal symptoms (73%) and nervous system symptoms (93%). My advice to you is that unless a fluoroquinone is the only thing between you and death, don't take it. If you must have an antibiotic, always ask for a time-tested, common antibiotic - one that's been around for 20-30 years. But let's see what I can do for you first.

Ok, so to recap: We are not going to do antibiotics unless we are near death and we are going to keep ourselves hydrated. But what about the flu shot? It doesn't work this year. So, now what? How will we keep ourselves well for the next few months? Here are some suggestions: Hydration will help as "the solution to pollution is dilution" (Dr. Sherry Rogers). Other than that, I can tell you what I will be doing. I will drink lots of water, I will become OCD, washing my hands until they are bleeding and whatsmore, I will try to keep my fingers out of my eyes and mouth. I will grumpily eliminate sugar as best I can. I will try to avoid large venues with rude coughing people, and furthermore, I will do more. I will rinse my sinuses every morning with Neilmed Salt/Soda solution to alkalize my nose so that no bugs can stick. And every day, I will take Astragalus, Immune tonic (Echinacea, Gingko, Licorice, Cats Claw and Burdock), Vitamin C, Reishi and Cistanche and whatever else floats my boat when I am grabbing pills. Then I will do everything in my power to get 8-9 hours of good and restful sleep. And, lastly, a daily prayer to the Divine Spirit to keep me well.

Got any more suggestions?

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