Your Body's Many Cries for Water by F. Batmanghelidj, M.D.
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Book Reviews of Your Body's Many Cries for Water
Book Review: How Much Water Does the Human Body Need?
Summary: 4 Stars
The author points out that, especially in older people, thirst and dry mouth are unreliable indicators of the need for water. By the time these are experienced, dehydration is already well advanced. Water should not be confused with beverages that are mostly water. Their action on the body is not the same.
The author believes that many common conditions are, at least in part, forms of the body's cries for water. These can include peptic ulcers, heartburn, headaches, feeling faint when taking a hot shower, weight gain, asthma, and allergies.
Batmanghelidj contends that the human body needs a minimum of 6-8 eight-oz portions of water per day, on top of that necessary to correct for the diuretic effects of coffee, juices, etc. [I do not know if the preponderance of scientific evidence suggests the need for such an amount, but do know that drinking anywhere near this amount of water sends me to the bathroom many times a day.]
Book Review: Great Insight into the importance of water
Summary: 4 Stars
Seriously got me back on track health-wise, just from upping my intake of water.
He makes a lot of great observations, which once read seem slightly obvious but
are extremely powerful as well. He also makes some wild claims, but either way
if he this book gets you drinking more water its worth its weight in gold.
Book Review: Brave New Paradigm
Summary: 4 Stars
It's a cliche (and a rarity for me) but I have to say this book changed my life. I bought 20 copies to give to people I care about and intend to order more.Book Review: My actual rating is actually 3.75 stars, so let's get that out of the way first.
Summary: 3 Stars
Alright. I bought the book and read the reviews. Got a few minuses to share. I also refer to his other book, "Obesity, Cancer, and Depression: Their Common Cause & Natural Cure."
Here's my take on it: yes, it is VERY technical and the details might make you suspicious that there's actually not that much real meat to the book. But the explanations do make sense, so for those of you who object to all the science, relax. It doesn't go on forever and it's there for a reason. The guy is an MD and all! My second objection to any book is the need to provide testimonials. It gives a book a kind of faint whiff of "hucksterish" that I wish it didn't have. My third objection is the assertion that his work is uniformly rejected by doctors and he's swimming against the tide. I'm reminded of the tripe published with the arresting title "Medical Cures THEY Don't Want You to Know". Did you ever look in one of the two books? Talk about lousy writing. And the paragraphs go on forever! I don't want to see Dr. B's books lumped in with those. Some could...But I'lI bet good money that there's a whole lot of doctors who agree with him, as well, but they don't put it out there to be ostracized by all their golfing partners Wednesday afternoons.
But here's the other side, and there's grounds for optimism:
First, there really IS a bias in what evidence is accepted by Big Pharma and the mainstream medicos. You can't discount the value of non-traditional healing modalities. Stuff works for whatever reason for a lot of people and just because it isn't in the PDA doesn't mean it's not a valid means to achieve results. Sorry about all the negatives, but you know what I mean. Me, I am distinctly uneasy with the cozy little arrangement of doctors being rewarded for writing lots of scripts for whatever drug company they happen to be under pressure from. All that swag... Anyway, the fact that he has the swingers to get it out there is commendable. The simplicity of the treatment just makes it hard to believe, but it has worked for a lot of people with real results reported. But, dang it, they're all testimonials. Now, if there had been some rigorous studies done, with a large population, that would be better to include rather than testimonials. I'd like to see that. That would bolster his credibility without him having to resort to the picked-on tone he assumes. I can't imagine some independent body willing to pick up the tab for an undertaking like that, though. And there's a Catch-22 for you. So testimonials might be as far as he will ever get. (He cites some publications, which help. A few of them are co-authored with other researchers.)
And... and... and, for all that, I started drinking more water, although not the gallon Dr. B. suggests, and my complexion DID clear up. And I seem to be losing a liddle around the middle. My doc is giving me a month to make some changes to improve my blood pressure or else he's going to give me Pills. It's not dangerously high, but he's calling it "borderline." (Also, alluding to the Big Pharma full-court press, there certainly have been reports that doctors are prescribing a more expensive medication for hypertension when an older, cheaper one would do the trick. Hell, EVERYBODY I know is on blood pressure meds, with all the side effects. Makes my hackles rise.) And, even though I don't normally discuss my, ahem, digestion with strangers (not you. You're fine. I'm talking about somebody else), that HAS improved. I've had some other benefits too delicate in nature to discuss, but, yeah, I'm less tired. I'm sleeping better. And the thing about thinning nasal secretions, jury's still out. I've been using a Neti pot, which helps. But what's in there, you ask? Salt water. That's certainly consistent. Still, I'd be happy to join a study looking to quantify the assertions, if it ever happened.
Losing weight is a big part of it, and I've got to make that happen for sure. So if drinking more water can speed that along, then, hey, let's go. I'm game. I know there's the thought out there that you actually don't need 8 glasses of water a day. And, yeah, there's that. That's why my review is leaning toward 4 stars. It might seem contradictory but it isn't. I like what I've read so far, and if I have more marvelous changes happening to me as a result of trying his program, you'll hear from me again.On the whole, the approach looks promising. 'Scuse me while I go drink up. See you later. Cheers!
Book Review: Can we trust what this doctor says?
Summary: 2 Stars
Beside the fact that this book is full of medical terms and figures that aren't necessarily needed, the book is chock-full with many testimonials from satisfied people that follow Dr. Batmanghelidj's suggestions, however the book lacks factual research to support his exaggerated claims. The testimonials comprise most of the book, not published research. While I do believe there is some truth to the benefits of drinking more water, this book is not the best resource of information, and I have not learned anything more than the very basics from reading it. I can summarize the book by just saying drink more water. I will be looking for a different book to give me more information on the importance of water quality, and how to obtain such quality. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. [...].