Age-Proofing Your Brain – Water, 3

Water has been called your most essential nutrient. A vital nutrient that must be supplied from an outside source, water is also the most neglected in many people’s lives. As Linda Boeckner and Kay McKinzie point out in their article ‘Water: The Nutrient:’ ‘Water deprivation kills faster than the lack of any other nutrient.’ Your brain and body need water to live. Period. You can get along without food for longer than you can survive without water. As one writer put it, perhaps tongue-in-cheek, millions of people have lived without love—not one has lived without water. According to Neil Nedley MD, author of Proof Positive, a lack of water causes dehydration of red blood cells, making them less flexible, and they have a greater tendency to clot. A common drinking problem around the world involves a failure to drink enough water. This can lead to chronic dehydration, a major contributor to headaches. Symptoms of dehydration can include dry mouth, dry skin, sense of thirst, sleepiness, headache, decreased urine output, and constipation. Dehydration can lead to lethargy, impaired learning, and an increased risk for stroke and heart disease. More tomorrow