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 plant 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.
This summer has been an extremely busy time for my family. While we have routines in place to keep us on track nutritionally, physical activity has been a different story! Other than the occasional walk, I am not getting much physical activity. 
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!