Bill Liedtke reposted a very useful post by Mark
Morin; and Ed Marco was spot-on about bananas -
God's Gift to Refs in "Banana Republics" like our
Nation's Capital, built on a swamp (they forgot to
drain).
However, I wish to take slight exception to one
point in Mark's article, and implied in the
others. Yes, if you "binge" for a week on water,
your body will "wash away" some needed elements
(as MM described it, "anti-diuretic hormone").
However, it is a fact that none of us drink
adequate levels of water, Period! I think it was
Gore Vidal's Bio of Abe Lincoln (in his 'set' on
American history) which pointed out how Lincoln
would go days on nothing more than water (in cut
crystal glasses!) and an occasional apple - he did
have a bad case of constipation <g>, but he was as
healthy (and strong) "as an ox."
Today, virtually every reasonable diet stresses 80
ounces a day of water. Nowadays, an occasional
cup of coffee is not considered "negative" (in
that it causes you to lose more water than
ingested via coffee, given its diuretic quality);
I understand you can count most of it as "water."
But my point is, we need to re-think our entire
approach to both Liquids and Diet. We need to
think of Diet as a Lifetime activity - not
painful, just Thoughtful (pay for our binges 'as
we go', so to speak!). Ergo, we need to think of
our Liquid consumption on the same basis. I cut
out virtually all sodas; cut down on coffee and
tea, and now regularly drink 80+ oz/day (actually
a lot more than that - it's amazing how much water
one sweats away in a pool swimming 2 miles. I can
tell Instantly, by whether or not I cramp up, if
I'm underhydrated.)
My general understanding of our body's
recuperative powers is that, if we regularly
consume 80+ oz of water, we will begin to develop
additional levels of "anti-diuretic hormones" to
counter that, and be able to get to, and remain,
in a healthy state of balance. May take a few
weeks, but once you got it . . .
Michael D. Cotleur, F.E.R.C. Trial Attorney
tel. (202) 502-8519 fax. (202) 502-6147
"L'homme est ce qu'il fait." (Andre Malraux)
