Your Body's Many Cries for Water: A Revolutionary Natural Way to Prevent Illness and Restore Good Health

"A must have for any alternative therapist. A must have for the education of those traditional medicine. The sooner we all understand the need for hydration the better. This book helps to convey this. The chapter on aids though I find difficult to understand. But dispite this it still gets five stars"
~ Written on 2007-06-17

"Dr Batmanghelidj is a man of conviction. He writes from his own considerable experience, shares his letters with us, and had taken the time to create fantastic flow charts and process diagrams to aid understanding.
The book is well written, with accessible, easy to understand explanations about how the body works, and why water is crucial to its good functioning. I learned so much from this book and notice that my skin, my energy levels and my concentration/cognitive abilities are better when I drink plenty of good quality water.
The ideas in this book are well explained, and it is only a question of keeping an open mind and experimenting for yourself if you have doubts. The problem with the central idea that water can be used as a cure/prevention for so many conditions is politics. Only the water companies would benefit from this book. Not to mention that the drugs companies make more money if conditions are treated over long periods or indefinitely like insulin, warfarin, etc. As the drugs companies sponsor most medical research, it will be a very long time before we get proper independent trials to validate the ideas in this book. Doctors, after 6-10 years of studying, do not want to be told that water can fix things that drugs only palliate. I can understand that, you cannot through that kind of training without developing strong beliefs. However, luckily the author used his training and his observations and his desire to ease suffering to produce this book. For me, it was easy. The book 'prescribes' a glass of water to be repeated at various times for certain conditions. It also talks about the ideal intake. I tried it, and except for more frequent trips to the ladies room, the benefits are clear.
For me, as a complementary therapist, this book is fascinating and I shall be recommending it to my clients."
~ Written on 2006-01-05

"In the west, most people drink little or no water, and often do drink lots of dehydrating liquids such as coffee or alcoholic drinks. The health pundits tell you to drink more without being very clear on why. And if you've ever tried to lose weight, you'll almost certainly have been urged to drink lots of water - as my mother used cynically to say, ‘to fill you up’.

But is there more to it than that? Dr Batmanghelidj thinks there iis. I found this book by accident when I was trying to find out just WHY water is supposed to be good for you, and I was riveted from the first page. It's easy to be sceptical of anyone so enthusiastic, but, if Dr Batmanghelidjhe is right, then far too many people are taking medication for problems such as high blood pressure and raised cholesterol, when all they really need to do is to drink a lot more water.

I don't suffer from either of those conditions myself, thankfully, but since I started taking the book's advice and drinking at least two litres of plain water each day, I've noticed a huge improvement in my energy levels. It's often hard to keep to this regime when I'm away from home, and I really notice the difference – even when I'm on holiday, I get fatigued much more easily when I drink less water.

My one criticism of this book is that there is not enough independent confirmation of the many fascinating anecdotes. I guess the idea of water being a cure-all is too dangerous for the pharmaceutical companies' profits and too naive for most doctors!"
~ Written on 2005-11-09

"Before reviewing the book, let me mention that I heard Dr. Batmanghelidj talk about his research and later met him about thirteen years ago at a conference I attended. During the Iranian Revolution, he was imprisoned along with many members of the Shah's supporters. Because he was a physician, he was often told by the guards to treat the other prisoners. In doing this, he usually had no medicines nor any instruments. The prisoners often were suffering from stomach ulcers and were cut off from their normal medications. All he could do in such cases was to get the patients to drink some water. To his own surprise, water drinking helped many feel better. After a time, it seemed like the effect was stronger than what a mere placebo could cause. After he was pardoned by the new regime, he voluntarily stayed in prison to run experiments testing his informal observations. Since leaving Iran, he has done much research in reviewing the published literature and has conducted further experiments. This book is based on what he has learned since then.

I bought the book, and began drinking more water. I found that my weight dropped more than 20 pounds in about four months, I had more energy, and my allergies improved. I also found that I had less desire for caffeine and alcohol. My mood improved, as well.

Since then, I have given this book as a gift to dozens of people who described themselves as having the potentially water-related health problems described in this volume. Most of them have reported improvements. I have not had such a positive response from any other health book that I have shared with others.

The book's basic point is that our bodies are 75 percent water. Because we are so dependent on keeping this balance (especially in our brains), the body has many mechanisms to conserve water for its most essential uses. When we become too dehydrated for too long, these conservation systems can produce unpleasant and unhealthy symptoms of pain, high blood pressure, depression, and allergies. Most physicians will treat the symptom rather than looking for potential causes. In many cases, water will help. The book explains why for pain from dyspepsia, colitis, false appendicitis attacks, general abdominal pressure, rheumatoid arthritis, back and neck pressure, angina, and headaches. He also addresses water-related mechanisms for helping relieve stress, depression, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, excessive weight, asthma, allergies, and diabetes.

Although I am not a scientist nor a physician, the arguments seemed solid enough to try more water. At the same time, I could see no harm from drinking more water. I believe I have been helped, especially by drinking more water before, during, and after long plane flights.

Dr. Batmanghelidj also includes his ideas about how AIDS could be related to body chemistry imbalances in the book. This section does not fit with the rest of the material or to drinking more water, and I did not know what to make of it.

The basic problem that causes dehydration is that as we get older, we lose our sense of thirst. As a result, unless we pay attention to drinking more water, we won't drink enough.

If you are like me, you will find that you have to spread the water out over the day to get the right amount. I usually drink one eight-ounce serving at a time. I prefer bottled water, and often put fruit slices in it for variety. But when bottled water isn't available, I let tap water sit long enough for the chlorine to leave. I also choose clear soups, and vegetables and fruits with lots of water content when they are available. This reduces how much has to be drunk as water.

Many people who drink little water tell me that they do not have access to clean rest rooms during much of the day. For those individuals, learning to time water consumption is critical.

The book's main drawback is that it doesn't have the editorial simplification that we are accustomed to seeing in health books. As a result, you will probably find it rambling. I graded the book down one star for this quality.

After you finish having your first glass of water to help you start enjoying life more, I suggest that you think about whether or not you are getting enough sleep. Although most of us can get along with very little for a while, doing that too long simply produces stress and other debiliating side effects. I found that water drinking helped me sleep better, and enjoy feeling more rested in the morning. I hope you do too!

To your good health!"
~ Written on 2004-07-18

"Before reviewing the book, let me mention that I heard Dr. Batmanghelidj talk and later met him about thirteen years ago at a conference I attended. During the Iranian Revolution, he was imprisoned along with many members of the Shah's supporters. Because he was a physician, he was often told by the guards to treat the other prisoners. In doing this, he usually had no medicines or instruments. The prisoners often were suffering from stomach ulcers and were cut off from their normal medications. Often, all he could do was to get the patients to drink some water. To his own surprise, water drinking helped many feel better. After a time, it seemed like the effect was stronger than what a mere placebo could cause. After he was pardoned by the new regime, he voluntarily stayed in prison to begin to run experiments testing his informal observations. Since leaving Iran, he has done much research in reviewing the published literature and has conducted further experiments. This book is based on what he has learned since then.

I bought the book, and began drinking more water. I found that my weight dropped more than 20 pounds in about four months, I had more energy, and my allergies improved. I also found that I had less desire for caffeine and alcohol. My mood improved, as well.

Since then, I have given this book as a gift to dozens of people who described themselves as having the potentially water-related health problems described in this volume. Most of them have reported improvements. I have not had such a positive response from any other health book that I have shared with others.

The book's basic point is that our bodies are 75 percent water. Because we are so dependent on keeping this balance (especially in our brains), the body has many mechanisms to conserve water for its most essential uses. When we become too dehydrated for too long, these conservation systems can produce unpleasant and unhealthy symptoms of pain, high blood pressure, depression, and allergies. Most physicians will treat the symptom rather than looking for potential causes. In many cases, water will help. The book explains why for pain from dyspepsia, colitis, false appendicitis attacks, general abdominal pressure, rheumatoid arthritis, back and neck pressure, angina, and headaches. He also addresses water-related mechanisms for helping relieve stress, depression, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, excessive weight, asthma, allergies, and diabetes.

Although I am not a scientist or a physician, the arguments seemed solid enough to try more water. At the same time, I could see no harm from drinking more water. I believe I have been helped, especially by drinking more water before, during, and after long plane flights.

Dr. Batmanghelidj also includes his ideas about how AIDS could be related to body chemistry imbalances in the book. This section does not fit with the rest of the material or to drinking more water, and I did not know what to make of it.

The basic problem is that as we get older, we lose our sense of thirst. As a result, unless we pay attention to drinking more water, we won't drink enough.

If you are like me, you will find that you have to spread the water out over the day to get the right amount. I usually drink one eight-ounce serving at a time. I prefer bottled water, and often put fruit slices in it for variety. But when bottled water isn't available, I let tap water sit long enough for the chlorine to leave. I also choose clear soups, and vegetables and fruits with lots of water content when they are available. This reduces how much has to be drunk as water.

Many people who drink little water tell me that they do not have access to clean rest rooms during much of the day. For those individuals, learning to time water consumption is critical.

The book's main drawback is that it doesn't have the editorial simplification that we are accustomed to seeing in health books. As a result, you will probably find it rambling. I graded the book down one star for this quality.

After you finish having your first glass of water to help you start enjoying life more, I suggest that you think about whether or not you are getting enough sleep. Although most of us can get along with very little for a while, doing that too long simply produces stress and other debiliating side effects. I found that water drinking helped me sleep better, and enjoy feeling more rested in the morning. I hope you do too!

To your good health!"
~ Written on 2004-05-08