The Hydration Trick You've Never Heard Of
Gina Bria was an anthropologist studying how desert cultures survived with very little water when she got a call from her mother’s care facility. She was dismayed to hear that her mother was suffering from chronic dehydration. Bria decided to delve into her research to see if there was anything that she could learn from the desert cultures to help her mom.
Bria learned from her research that the Tarahumara people of Mexico used chia seeds to aid in hydration. Deciding to adapt this practice for her mother, she used her coffee grinder to turn some chia seeds into powder and instructed the caregiver to add it to her mom’s orange juice each morning. That did the trick and her mom did not have any more issues with chronic dehydration!
What Is Gel Water?
In their book Quench, authors Cohen and Bria describe gel water, or living water, as a “newly identified phase of water that’s not quite liquid, vapor, or ice. (It is) identified by an extra hydrogen and oxygen atom, so the molecular structure is H3O2.” Gel water exists in plants and can be found in fruits, vegetables, & seeds.
The Aztecs and Incas are thought to have often subsisted on only chia and cacti, actually going weeks without water. The fact that these plants products are full of gel water is probably the reason they could survive in this way!
When people come into my office for their first visit, we discuss their current health concerns as well as their medical history. After sharing a list of symptoms which may include body aches, inflammation, skin irritation, digestive issues, or the like, they often explain that they have a certain condition or believe that they have a genetic predisposition towards these symptoms.
Eating healthy, whole foods is important to me. But I’m also a busy mom of two little ones who runs her own business. When I come across a resource that makes meals both easy and delicious, I get very excited!
Spices and herbs have been believed to preserve health for thousands of years! Egypt has had schools for herbalists since 300 B.C. According to The Book of Spices, around 2600 to 2100 BC in Egypt “onions and garlic were fed to the one hundred thousand laborers who toiled in the construction of the Great Pyramid of Cheops, as medicinal herbs to preserve their health.” Recent studies have supported what the Egyptians long knew. There are many health benefits of herbs and spices.
It’s almost summertime and Farmers’ Markets are starting to open up across many communities in the area! In addition to being a fun way to connect with your community and support local farmers, these markets are great places to buy nutrition produce.
