Tag Archive for: water

Citric Acid: Stone Killer?

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Increasing fluid intake can reduce the risk of developing stones of all types: kidney stones, gall stones, bladder stones, or uric acid crystals. But there’s one more thing you could do to reduce the risk—add some citric acid to the fluids you drink. While the research on using a form of pharmaceutical is not clear yet, this is one thing we can do with diet.

We expect electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium in sport drinks, but adding citric acid can help your blood’s pH as well as reduce the formation of stones. The simplest approach would be to drink limeade or lemonade; fresh squeezed or a manufactured drink, citric acid makes the drink tart and sour. The food with the highest amount of citric acid is lime, with lemon a close second. I typically use sugar-free lemonade and add the juice from one lime in a 16-ounce container. It’s very tart but not inedible.

Avoid the mentality of “if some is good, more must be better.” Research hasn’t shown that to be true, so let’s stick to what we know. And while citric acid is a weak acid, it may still give you an upset stomach if you have too much. One lime or lemon per day seems to reduce stone formation.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: Korean J Urol. 2014 Dec; 55(12): 775–779.

Don’t Forget Fluids

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With the unseasonably warm weather many of us are experiencing, I thought it was time to remind you that it’s not all about water: the emphasis should be on fluids. Coffee, tea, milk, soda, sports drinks, soup—all of those count toward your daily fluid intake.

It’s true that some drinks are better than others. Sugary drinks take extra fluid to keep your blood osmotically balanced or to store the sugar as glycogen, but all drinks count as fluid. The only drinks that don’t count are alcoholic drinks because alcohol is a diuretic; caffeine isn’t a true diuretic, so worry about the caffeine only as it affects your sleep. But the rest? All good. Don’t forget that most vegetables and fruit are mostly water, so they count as fluid as well.

How much fluid do you need? One-half your body weight in ounces (if you weigh 200 pounds, make sure you’re getting at least 100 ounces of water every day), and more if you’re in the humid heat.

There’s one more thing you could add; I’ll let you know what on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Too Fat to Get Sick?

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Once in a while, a health news story makes you do a double-take and say, “Did I just read what I thought I read?”

The legislature in West Virginia passed a bill to delay the implementation of water safety guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency for two years. They’re allowing delays in the restriction of 60 pollutants, including some known carcinogens, dumped into streams and rivers by chemical manufacturers. How did this happen? A lobbying group for the chemical manufacturers lobbied the legislature to delay the implementation so that more state-specific data could be gathered. Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?

No. The lobbying group’s justification for the delay is that West Virginians are fatter and thus can handle more pollutants. They also drink less water and eat less fish as well; therefore additional amounts of pollutants are just fine in drinking water.

I understand that we’re now in an era of turning back EPA regulations, and maybe some are even justified. But a legislature that accepts this BS argument by a group representing chemical companies doesn’t seem to have the health of their populace in mind. The facts are that many pollutants are stored in fat, so being heavy may make people more vulnerable, not less.

Too fat to get sick? Unbelievable. Maybe it’s time to see what’s happening to the water in your area.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Winterize Yourself

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The official start to winter is quickly approaching, but for most of us the cold, wet, snowy, rainy weather has already begun. Today’s Memo contains some tips on how to winterize your body by focusing on basic nutritional supplementation.

Water: Make sure you increase fluid intake during the winter. The humidity is lower because the heat is on in your home, work, and school. You breathe out more water as a result. You have to replace those fluids. Every day drink one-half your body weight in ounces of water or any other fluid; if you weigh 150 pounds, drink 75 ounces of water daily.

Multivitamin-mineral (MVMM): If you haven’t been consistent in taking your MVMM, this is a good time to begin. Your immune system needs some basic nutrients and a MVMM is a good place to start, especially if it’s one that contains plant concentrates and extracts.

Probiotics: The immune system starts in the gut. Taking a probiotic every day can help your immune system function better. In addition, taking fiber with the probiotic can help feed all the good bacteria in your digestive system.

Vitamin D: Consider adding vitamin D to your regimen because we get a lot less sun during the winter. Ask your physician to test your vitamin D levels; if it’s below 30 ng/ml, add 2,000 IU vitamin D to your supplementation. There’s no real danger in taking vitamin D, so make sure you’re getting some even without a test.

Antioxidants: Help your immune system; add additional vitamins C, E, and beta-carotene to your supplementation.

Supplementation may or may not help you avoid getting a cold or the flu, but it may help reduce the severity and duration of a respiratory infection if you do get one. That’s worth the small expense of the supplements in my opinion.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Paula and I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. We are grateful for your support throughout the year. This week is one to spend with family and friends, so this will be the only Memo of the week. Thanks for being a member of the Dr. Chet family.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

The Simplest Solution for Migraines

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Let’s continue with the theme of the simplest solution often being the correct one. Migraines are a devastating form of headache. While most causes are unknown, people have identified triggers from chocolate to sounds to odors and more. My pretend daughter Jamie suffers from them on a regular basis.

As I researched how to deal with migraine headaches years ago, I found a pilot study that examined whether subjects could reduce the frequency and intensity of migraines by drinking more fluids. The researchers asked the subjects to drink 1.5 liters of water per day for 12 weeks. The subjects managed to increase their average intake to only one liter per day, but total hours with migraines and the intensity of those migraines decreased.

Will it work for everyone? Most likely not, but because there’s no harm in simply drinking more water every day, it will help those who were unaware that they were dehydrated; that’s not the first cause we think of when we think of migraines. It’s worth spending a month drinking more water to see if it has the same results for you or someone you know. For more potential solutions for migraines, see The Bottom Line on Migraines at the DrChet.com Store.

One more simple solution on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

Reference: Eur J Neurol. 2005 Sep;12(9):715-8.

 

How Menopause Affects Exercise: Thirst

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Dr. Peggy Whitson is an astronaut on her third extended mission on the International Space Station. If her current mission ends as planned, she will be the astronaut with more time in space than any other. She just completed her 7th spacewalk to install three new lithium-ion batteries. This is nothing like changing the batteries in the remote; each battery is about the size of half of a refrigerator and takes hours to install. And, oh, by the way, Dr. Watson is 56 years old.

By all accounts, she is fit, with an avid interest in weight training and . . .

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Ten O’Clock Zombie

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The second tip of the week leading up to The 6th Super Bowl Webinar on Sunday is something I think we’ve all experienced at some time. You eat a carbohydrate-based breakfast before work—cereal and milk, bagel and cream cheese, even one of those breakfast sandwiches you can now buy all day long. Somewhere between 10 and 10:30 a.m., your head drifts toward your chest and you could go to sleep. Just like a zombie, you cannot function. You’re in what some people call a carb coma.

The obvious solution is to restrict those carbohydrates . . .

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The Two O’Clock Fade

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See if this sounds familiar. If you work a typical 9-to-5 job, and somewhere around two o’clock in the afternoon, your body is there but nobody’s home. If you work a second shift, adjust the time to a couple hours after lunch. You can stare at the computer screen or the telephone, know what you have to do, but have no mental focus to get it done.

My philosophy is that the simplest solution is often the correct one. Odds are this fade is caused by dehydration. Make sure you drink two to three cups or . . .

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Heat, Water, and Sports Drinks

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While I was in Austin doing a seminar this past weekend, I posted a thought on Facebook about drinking fluids when it’s hot. And it was hot in Austin; the temperature topped out at 100 degrees. It’s also been hot in Grand Rapids with temperatures hitting the 90s with some humidity to make it even worse. If you’re going to work outside in that type of heat and humidity, you have to drink fluids.

Water is important but when you sweat, you lose sodium and potassium as well. You should alternate four ounces of water with four . . .

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