Getting your daily intake of about 2.7 to 3.7 liters of water every day isn’t always easy. But a routine like morning water therapy can ensure that you start on the right track. Water therapy is popular in several Asian branches of medicine – from ayurveda to traditional Japanese medicine.
Beginning each day with a big glass of lukewarm water is considered a quick and easy method to give your body a leg up. Here’s why you should keep that momentum going every day.1
1. Kickstarts The Digestion
Water consumption early in the morning helps get your digestion going and is a good antidote to problems like diarrhea and constipation, which are usually due to sluggish digestion. For best results, use warm water.
This practice also causes your blood vessels to dilate and help you digest food better. This treatment may also help ease heart trouble for some people due to the vasodilatory effects of warm water.2
2. Flushes Out Toxins
Water has the ability to flush out toxins from your body, and this detox effect helps with problems like acne. It also eases the workload for your kidneys, keeping kidney trouble at bay.
This ability also helps in the optimal performance of the gastrointestinal tract, a clincher if you’re struggling with obesity. This practice helps get a good start to the day, cleaning out your system and getting it ready for the rest of the day.3
3. Helps Fight Illness
According to Japanese water therapy practitioners, following the morning water regimen can ward off problems as diverse as acne and obesity. Other claims surrounding this therapy aren’t backed by clinical studies or scientific research yet, but many vouch for its benefits. For instance, women with menstrual issues or people suffering from diabetes, headaches, body aches, arthritis, and piles say that morning water therapy eases their symptoms. The water temperature is the key as cold water does not yield the same results.
How To Do It At Home
Morning water therapy is easy enough to work into your routine.
- As soon as you wake up, before you even brush your teeth, drink water. The Japanese version of the water therapy suggests drinking 4 glasses (of 160 ml each) of warm or room temperature water, while some practitioners of ayurveda recommend as much as 1.2 liters.4 A glass or two is probably what most people should go for to avoid overdoing it.
- Next, brush your teeth but avoid eating or drinking anything – not even a morning cuppa. You’re free to eat or drink whatever you want after a 45-minute window.
Ayurveda recommends warm water mixed with lemon or lime. According to practitioners, this warm water encourages muscular contractions of the intestinal walls to get your bowel movements going while also stimulating the gastrointestinal tract. The rich vitamin and mineral content of lime or lemon is considered useful for freeing toxins called “ama” from the tract.5 Storing the boiled water in a copper vessel overnight has added benefits, including killing microbes in the water.6
What To Watch Out For
Water therapy may be a good supplement to modern medicine. But remember, this routine is based on individual user experience and not prescribed by doctors; so you will need to take an informed decision on whether or not this is for you. While it may be useful to treat cases of digestive trouble or acne, for more serious ailments like diabetes and heart problems, consult your doctor first. If you are pregnant, elderly, or have kidney problems, this is probably not for you.
Also, avoid overdoing the water therapy. Diluting your blood too much through excess water consumption can lead to serious problems. Consuming over 3 liters of water in a short interval is also likely to cause water intoxication. If this happens, you may first feel a headache coming on, nausea and vomiting, fatigue, and disorientation. You will also need to urinate often. If the buildup of water goes to the brain cells, it could cause seizures, respiratory arrest, coma, or even death. So moderation is the key!
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