The Water Cure

Summary: Divide body weight in pounds by two and drink that many ounces of water per day. For example, if one weighs 180 lbs, this is 90 ounces of water per day which is approx 11 eight ounce cups or nine ten-ounce portions. After each 8 to 10 ounces, sprinkle a pinch of salt (1/16 to 1/8 tsp) on the tongue and let dissolve before swallowing (wash it down with more water if desired). Salt consumed can be as much as 1/4 tsp per 8 ounces of water for severe problems such as detox reaction.

It is best to drink the water at least a half-hour before meals and two hours after. For every 6 ounces of alcoholic beverage or coffee, an additional 10 ounces of water should be drunk due to the dehydrating effects of these.

The Water Cure is described in the book "Your Body's Many Cries for Water" by Dr. F. Batmanghelidj. The website gives a little information on the therapy, and a place to buy the book online.

Bob Butts' site at http://www.watercure2.org describes the technique in more detail and how it may be helpful for many illnesses. He states, "The MOST critical elements to a powerful immune system are oxygen, water and then salt. The amount required is what the watercure specifies. Before doing anything else, be certain that you are not violating this biblical recipe. If under a doctor's care, make no changes without consulting him/her. Be certain that your M.D. has a thorough understanding of the effects chronic dehydration has on the human physiology."

This therapy appears valuable to fight many maladies, especially those of insufficient circulation, mineral and toxin deposits, and liver, kidney, and other organs' general function. The Water Cure is also the cheapest and best method to combat and prevent detox reactions which occur in certain therapies, especially Bioelectronic, since water is the best "supplement" for this purpose and salt is found by many to greatly hasten recovery.

For salt, try to find KAL Real Salt or Himalayan Pink Sea Salt , which are available in many health food stores and online. They come in a half pound shaker bottle and costs around $3 and are sometimes available in bulk. Celtic Sea Salt is also good, but quite a bit more expensive. If either of these cannot be found, plain sea salts like Hain and Baleine brands, available in most supermarkets, are okay. Just don't use any with toxic additives like aluminum, which is found in many salt products. The salt is stated by Batmanghelidj as being safe to take if sufficient water is drunk and he says it is one of the best treatments for heart and circulation disorder, but it would be best to use only with an MD's permission if there are any serious kidney or circulation disorders. I would also ensure adequate mineral consumption in the diet or by supplements. Some people cannot handle this much salt even when drinking a lot of water and in this case, the amount should be decreased to a dose that is comfortable and still effective.

The salt is an important part of the regimen so do not omit it. It appears to indicate to the body that it is okay to "flush the cells," removing harmful metals and other toxins, since there are plenty of electrolytes available for replacement. Batmanghelidj recommends large amounts of salt, one-eighth teaspoon instead of a pinch, after each glass of water. I find that even a pinch, which is approximately 1/16 tsp, works fine. However, people with severe detox reactions find that the larger amounts are necessary. One guy who wrote me said he found it necessary to use a whole tablespoon (!) of salt in a glass of water after each Bioelectronic session to prevent detox, followed by plenty of additional plain water. Do not use large amounts of salt without drinking sufficient water or without consuming adequate potassium in the diet.

If salt absolutely cannot be used for this regimen, coral calcium can be used instead. It provides calcium, magnesium, and other trace minerals, and even a little bit of sodium, and probably serves to mineralize and alkalize the body even better. However, it does not have the pathogen-fighting ability of sodium.

Someone on the rife list was discussing detox and had this to say about The Water Cure: "In the discussions of clogged lymph I have not heard anyone deal with the basic cause (and many other problems as well) which is chronic dehydration. If you do not drink enough plain water (coffee, tea, pop or soda, alcohol do not count) you will become dehydrated - you will have clogged lymph and many other problems. If you start drinking 1/2 oz of water per pound of body weight per day, you will notice immediate improvements in the short term. In 2 to 6 months you will be fully hydrated and cleaned of many toxins. A simple test of your level of dehydration is to soak in the tub. If the pads of your fingers crinkle badly you are dehydrated. If they are hardly affected by a 1/2 hour soak you are much improved."

Following is a reprint from the book. In this reprint, Batmanghelidj attributes lack of water as the main causative problem in a lot of disorders. While I have not seen this to be true in all of them, using the Water Cure is certainly helpful for them, and is curative in many of the ones he mentions and some others he doesn't. Not bad for a regimen which costs about a dollar a month.