Drink plenty of liquids
Author: Brandia Deatherage | Published: May 20th, 2010
Oh, la pauvre! Though I responsibly abstained from Mardis Gras debauchery, and drank one pure white glass of wine, instead of six fiery tequila sunrises, I woke on Ash Wednesday feeling perfectly puny.
Five days of Lent passed, and I, due to my infliction, was no more able to follow certain dietary restrictions than to withstand bumper carts at Wal Mart. I prayed all week for a swift recovery, but, instead, alternated between mal and tres mal. (Perhaps reading the nauseating, but enviably well written, Lolita was not the best at-rest activity.)
On Day 3 I thought I might fake it and bang out a blog on what it was like to give up food, or to start taking baths instead of showers. But, dear reader, I must have developed, in two-entries' time, a writer's conscience, and I couldn't lie to you! Not only that, but God would have seen me steal the credit for what were mere side effects of a stomach ache and fatigue.
By the end of Day 5 the sunshine had energized me enough to make it through a two-hour run through Wal Mart and map out a plan for today-It is never too late to begin again.
So, I begin again today, on Day 6 (my lucky birth-number) of Lent, with visions of dried sugar plums cleansing me and my digestive system of all impurities. Let me just say: I have a plan!
My diet is going to be a perfect blend of asceticism and French fancy: flushing, fasting, fresh produce, fish and flirting with rich foods. I want to eat like a bird, look like a fragile French femme and feel as pure as Gautama himself.
Day 6 is all about flushing. Water is the spice of life on Earth, it seems, just as it is on Geidi Prime. Other than air, water is the most essential element to human survival. Therefore, with the recommended eight glasses of water, I will start to rinse my insides, to flush out the toxins and to hydrate my brain (95% water), blood (82% water) and lungs (which are oddly 90% water).
I know some local necks who won't drink water because it doesn't taste good like their "drink" does. Can you imagine what a thirsting third-worlder might think of this? But you don't need to take an existential guilt trip to properly value water; having an understanding of the havoc wreaked on your own body by a daily soda should provide guilt enough: "Even one soda per day increases your risk of developing metabolic syndrome by about 50 percent," according to Ramachandran Vasan, MD, professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine.
Personally, I love Coca Cola. I love cold, spicy Coca Cola with a passion that could almost be deemed obsessive. I already limit myself to an average of one Coke a day, which I relish with unnatural affection. Of course I don't want to continue this destructive pattern of behavior and develop diabetes, but I am not going to deny myself my daily carbonated pleasure just yet. I am on Day 6, and Day 6 is only about drinking more water, not drinking less Cokes!
It would be so easy if we could drink water straight from the faucet with no worries. Though we live in a developed country, where water is relatively well maintained, it is maintained so well sometimes that one can actually taste the added chlorine. A mouthful of chlorine never brings up pleasant memories. Chlorine is a strong oxidant which kills deadly microorganisms, but can also form carcinogenic by-products. I'm definitely not swallowing that junk if I don't have to.
There's also quite a bit of sediment in our drinking water that is worse if you live in an old house, with old plumbing, like I do. Faucet-bound carbon filters, such as Brita filters, are insufficient, in my opinion. Some friends of mine, Sonya and William Ward, who live in a historic home on West 2nd Street in Washington, swear by chlorine and sediment filters than can be purchased at Lowe's and applied to the pipes under the house. Even though they only cost a total of $75 and can be easily installed, I am holding out for something better, something Gwyneth Paltrow told just ME on Goop.com:
Reverse Osmosis Water Filter, starting at $299
I have one of these systems in my London house and I swear by it. This system squeezes water through a semi-permeable membrane, filtering out all of the particles, sediments and elements that bottled water cannot. It's the cleanest, safest water you can drink and you will save a fortune on bottled water...not to mention keeping all those plastic bottles out of landfill.
According to Wikipedia, reverse osmosis is, theoretically, the most thorough method of large scale water purification available. Until I can afford this deluxe system, however, I am buying jugs of Deer Park spring water from Wal Mart. They are less expensive there than at Food Lion, and I recycle the containers.
Instead of chilling the water in the refrigerator, I am drinking it room temperature. As you may have heard, people in other countries prefer their beverages served sans ice. Mexican Americans are said to take warm Gatorade to work in the hot sun, as it is better on the stomach than cold Gatorade. Warm liquid is easier to digest and does not shock the system, as do cold drinks.
In the morning before breakfast, I am adding a healthy squeeze of lemon into my water to clear my system, and, then, throughout the day as desired.
All of this reading and writing about water has me exhausted, but at least I'm hydrated. As Thomas Jefferson said, "The price of peace, is eternal vigilance."
My peace: no more dizzy spells, frequent urination, neuralgia, varicose veins, light sensitivity, bad skin and anxiety. I'll keep you posted. Au'revoir!
This article provided courtesy of our sister site: Beaufort County Now
Five days of Lent passed, and I, due to my infliction, was no more able to follow certain dietary restrictions than to withstand bumper carts at Wal Mart. I prayed all week for a swift recovery, but, instead, alternated between mal and tres mal. (Perhaps reading the nauseating, but enviably well written, Lolita was not the best at-rest activity.)
On Day 3 I thought I might fake it and bang out a blog on what it was like to give up food, or to start taking baths instead of showers. But, dear reader, I must have developed, in two-entries' time, a writer's conscience, and I couldn't lie to you! Not only that, but God would have seen me steal the credit for what were mere side effects of a stomach ache and fatigue.
By the end of Day 5 the sunshine had energized me enough to make it through a two-hour run through Wal Mart and map out a plan for today-It is never too late to begin again.
So, I begin again today, on Day 6 (my lucky birth-number) of Lent, with visions of dried sugar plums cleansing me and my digestive system of all impurities. Let me just say: I have a plan!
My diet is going to be a perfect blend of asceticism and French fancy: flushing, fasting, fresh produce, fish and flirting with rich foods. I want to eat like a bird, look like a fragile French femme and feel as pure as Gautama himself.
Day 6 is all about flushing. Water is the spice of life on Earth, it seems, just as it is on Geidi Prime. Other than air, water is the most essential element to human survival. Therefore, with the recommended eight glasses of water, I will start to rinse my insides, to flush out the toxins and to hydrate my brain (95% water), blood (82% water) and lungs (which are oddly 90% water).
I know some local necks who won't drink water because it doesn't taste good like their "drink" does. Can you imagine what a thirsting third-worlder might think of this? But you don't need to take an existential guilt trip to properly value water; having an understanding of the havoc wreaked on your own body by a daily soda should provide guilt enough: "Even one soda per day increases your risk of developing metabolic syndrome by about 50 percent," according to Ramachandran Vasan, MD, professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine.
Personally, I love Coca Cola. I love cold, spicy Coca Cola with a passion that could almost be deemed obsessive. I already limit myself to an average of one Coke a day, which I relish with unnatural affection. Of course I don't want to continue this destructive pattern of behavior and develop diabetes, but I am not going to deny myself my daily carbonated pleasure just yet. I am on Day 6, and Day 6 is only about drinking more water, not drinking less Cokes!
It would be so easy if we could drink water straight from the faucet with no worries. Though we live in a developed country, where water is relatively well maintained, it is maintained so well sometimes that one can actually taste the added chlorine. A mouthful of chlorine never brings up pleasant memories. Chlorine is a strong oxidant which kills deadly microorganisms, but can also form carcinogenic by-products. I'm definitely not swallowing that junk if I don't have to.
There's also quite a bit of sediment in our drinking water that is worse if you live in an old house, with old plumbing, like I do. Faucet-bound carbon filters, such as Brita filters, are insufficient, in my opinion. Some friends of mine, Sonya and William Ward, who live in a historic home on West 2nd Street in Washington, swear by chlorine and sediment filters than can be purchased at Lowe's and applied to the pipes under the house. Even though they only cost a total of $75 and can be easily installed, I am holding out for something better, something Gwyneth Paltrow told just ME on Goop.com:
Reverse Osmosis Water Filter, starting at $299
I have one of these systems in my London house and I swear by it. This system squeezes water through a semi-permeable membrane, filtering out all of the particles, sediments and elements that bottled water cannot. It's the cleanest, safest water you can drink and you will save a fortune on bottled water...not to mention keeping all those plastic bottles out of landfill.
According to Wikipedia, reverse osmosis is, theoretically, the most thorough method of large scale water purification available. Until I can afford this deluxe system, however, I am buying jugs of Deer Park spring water from Wal Mart. They are less expensive there than at Food Lion, and I recycle the containers.
Instead of chilling the water in the refrigerator, I am drinking it room temperature. As you may have heard, people in other countries prefer their beverages served sans ice. Mexican Americans are said to take warm Gatorade to work in the hot sun, as it is better on the stomach than cold Gatorade. Warm liquid is easier to digest and does not shock the system, as do cold drinks.
In the morning before breakfast, I am adding a healthy squeeze of lemon into my water to clear my system, and, then, throughout the day as desired.
All of this reading and writing about water has me exhausted, but at least I'm hydrated. As Thomas Jefferson said, "The price of peace, is eternal vigilance."
My peace: no more dizzy spells, frequent urination, neuralgia, varicose veins, light sensitivity, bad skin and anxiety. I'll keep you posted. Au'revoir!
This article provided courtesy of our sister site: Beaufort County Now
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