If
you are undergoing chemotherapy treatment, the amount and
the quality of the water you drink can make a big difference
in your recovery. Drugs
and side effects of chemo treatment can lead to severe and
chronic dehydration and contaminants
in water can present a risk to your weakened immune system.
Therefore it is recommended that all chemo patients drink
lots of clean purified water to help them cope with the
stressful nature of cancer treatments and to protect their
bodies from it's adverse effects.
More
is Better
Drinking
plenty of water is very important if you are undergoing
chemotherapy. Staying hydrated can help minimize the fatigue
and constipation caused by chemo, and it also protects your
kidneys from the toxic waste buildup caused from cancer
drugs. Unfortunately the process of chemotherapy can actually
cause your body to lose more water and become dehydrated.
The many side effects of chemo treatment including sweating,
vomiting, diarrhea and appetite loss which will all lead
to dehydration. For cancer patients, dehydration can occur
rapidly and can cause serious long term damage to the body
and organs and should be avoided at all cost. If the average
healthy person needs 8 glasses of water a day, a chemotherapy
patient should drink at least 10-12 glasses just to be on
the safe side.
Quality
Does Matter
Chemotherapy
patients should drink ultra pure water to protect themselves
from the chemicals and bacteria that can be found in many
sources of drinking water. Natural bacterial contaminants
such as E.Coli can cause people to experience nausea, diarrhea,
cramping and headaches, not to mention it can cause sickness
or rarely even death. Man-made water pollutants are just
as bad. Plastic chemicals such as Bisphenol-A (BPA) have
been reported to actually reduce the effectiveness of cancer
treatments as they can induce proteins that protect cancer
cells from chemotherapy agents. Even worse, some compounds
in water such as radon, uranium and combined radium 226/228
can actually produce new cancerous growth in the body. Other
suspected carcinogens found in water include arsenic, fluoride,
herbicides, THMs and VOCs just to name a few. Since our
bodies are composed of 60-70% water, there is no question
that the quality of drinking water is directly connected
to our health and well-being.
Water Filtration Solutions
Since
the quality of tap and bottled water sources can vary greatly,
it is important for people to be aware of the different
options we have for purified drinking water. One solution
would be to install a water filtration system in your home.
Unfortunately, basic faucet and pitcher filters only use
activated carbon and cannot remove bacteria, viruses or
radioactive heavy metals so they are not very effective.
Another option would be a distillation system which would
remove these contaminants and more. However distillers are
notoriously energy inefficient and it takes very long for
them to produce even a gallon of water. The best solution
would be to install a reverse osmosis water purification
system. These advanced multi-stage filters can remove up
to 99% of all the aforementioned contaminants plus much
more, giving you bottled water quality at just a fraction
of the price and without the risk of plastic chemicals from
bottled water.
The
Best Medicine
Drinking
plenty of clean water is one of the most important things
a person can do for their health during chemotherapy treatment.
While water on its own may not cure a disease or illness,
it does give our bodies the support and fuel it needs to
fight, heal and repair the damage leading to recovery. It
also cleanses and flushes our bodies of the built-up toxins
that plagues our conditions.
Quality water consumption is a key component to our health
and should be a priority for everyone including cancer fighters,
survivors and the cancer-free.
You may qualify for a FREE Reverse Osmosis System through the FreeDrinkingWater charity program. To learn more about this donation program please click here.