This Is What Happens To Your Body When You Drink Water On An Empty Stomach

Japanese water therapy is well established in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Japanese people have known this simple practice for a long time and have used it to cure different conditions, ranging from headache to cancer.

Japanese Water Therapy

According to Japanese tradition, water therapy can be used as a natural treatment for diabetes, gastritis, headache, asthma, bronchitis, arthritis, epilepsy, heart problems, tuberculosis, kidney and urine diseases, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, hemorrhoids, eye diseases, ear nose and throat diseases, problems with the uterus, cancer and menstrual disorders.

The practice should be performed first thing in the morning.

1. Before brushing your teeth, drink 640 ml (4 glasses of 160 ml) of water. Ideally, the water shouldn’t contain fluoride.
2. Brush and clean your mouth, but don’t eat or drink anything for another 45 minutes.
3. Have your breakfast as normal.
4. After breakfast, don’t eat anything for 2 hours.

According to the original Japanese tradition, the water should be slightly warm, and not cold or room temperature. In the Far East, people usually don’t drink cold water with their meals. Instead, warm tea is offered.

How Often You Should Drink Water On An Empty Stomach

According to the Japanese tradition, the practice of drinking water on an empty stomach should be done regularly and different time frames are predicted to treat, improve or control different conditions:

1. High blood pressure – 30 days
2. Diabetes – 30 days
3. Gastritis – 10 days
4. Constipation – 10 days
5. Tuberculosis – 90 days
6. Cancer – 180 days
7. People who suffer from arthritis should do the therapy for only three days in their first week, and then progress to a daily treatment.

It is suggested that if you initially struggle to drink such a large amount of fluids first thing in the morning, start with a smaller amount and then gradually increase to 4 glasses.

Similar Tradition In India (And Why It Can be Harmful)

A similar tradition is also known in India. In Sanskrit, the practice is called Usha Paana Chikitsa, which roughly translates as ‘early morning water treatment’. The difference is that the Indian (Ayurvedic) version recommends drinking 1.5 liters of water on an empty stomach.

However, some warn against a rapid consumption of such a big amount of water. Our kidneys can only process 800 to 1,000 ml of water per hour, so drinking too much water can be dangerous.

Also, a condition known as hyponatremia can develop. This occurs when your bloodstream sodium levels lower to an unhealthy level. It can be due to a personal medical condition, but excess water consumption also leads to it. At low levels the condition is harmless.

If your kidneys cannot keep up with excess water intake, the extra water will dilute the concentration of sodium. As this happens, cells begin to stretch and things become potentially deadly…

Cells can normally expand with relative ease. Unfortunately the neurons in your brain cannot. Your brain cells work in an extremely confined space and have little room for swelling. If this happens from drinking too much water, it could result in a coma, seizure or even death.

Drinking too much water can be equally as dangerous as not drinking enough.

Japanese water therapy has no known side effects and contributes to a general state of well-being and health when incorporated into your daily routine. It’s been promoted by the Japanese Medical Society and many have embraced it (although I couldn’t find scientific evidence for the efficacy of this therapy like in many alternative medicines). But maybe it’s not a coincidence that Japan has proportionately the highest number of centenarians in the world.

And yes, dehydration makes you sick and fat!

Originally published on Healthy and Natural World