Life-giving Fluids – Blood and Water

by Fern Shaw | Jun 3, 2013 | Health and Hydration

There are so many beliefs, myths and legends about this life giving force, it’s not difficult to see why blood has taken on an extremely mysterious ‘persona’ about its capabilities!

Facts

Let’s demystify this rather incredible fluid.

• Human blood is 83% water.
• The average adult man has about five to six litres of blood in his body, while the average woman has about four.
• Your blood makes up about 7% of your total body weight.
• About 95% of the body’s blood cells are made in bone marrow.
• There are approximately 1 billion red blood cells in two to three drops of blood.
• There are three types of blood cells: Red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets, all of which float around in plasma. The blood that you donate can be separated into these constituent parts.
• Whole blood has a shelf-life of 35 days. Red blood cells last 42 days, platelets only five days and plasma up to one year.
• The most common blood type is O positive, while AB negative is the most rare. People with AB blood can receive any kind of blood from a donor, while O negative blood can be given to anyone.
• Half your body’s red blood cells are replaced every seven days.

Blood colour

Think all blood is red? Not so.

Human blood is red. This is because of the iron content.

Crabs have blue blood. Not because they are crustacean royalty, but because their blood contains copper.

Leeches have green blood. This is from the chlorocruorin (a dichroic red-green respiratory protein).

Beliefs

Then there’s the other side of the coin (or platelet), fact and fiction mixed in:

Ancient Greece

The Ancient Greeks believed that the blood of the gods, ichor, was a mineral that was poisonous to mortals.

Blood was associated with air, Spring time, and with a merry and gluttonous personality in classical Greek medicine. It was also believed to be produced exclusively by the liver.

Indigenous Australians
In many indigenous Australian Aboriginal traditions, ochre — particularly red — and blood, considered Maban, are applied to the bodies of dancers for ritual.

Blood is also used to fasten the feathers of birds onto people’s bodies. Bird feathers contain a protein that is highly magnetically sensitive.

Lawlor (Robert Lawlor, mythographer) comments that blood employed in this fashion is held by these peoples to attune the dancers to the invisible energetic realm of the Dreamtime. Lawlor then connects these invisible energetic realms and magnetic fields, because iron is magnetic.

Chinese and Japanese Cultures
In popular Chinese culture it’s often said that if a man’s nose produces a small flow of blood, it signifies that he’s experiencing sexual desire.

This frequently appears in Chinese-language and Hong Kong films as well as in Japanese culture parodied in anime and manga. Characters, mostly males, will often be shown with a nosebleed if they have just seen someone nude or in little clothing, or if they have had an erotic thought or fantasy.

The belief is based on the notion that a man’s blood pressure will spike dramatically when aroused.

Indo-European Paganism
Among the Germanic tribes – such as Anglo-Saxons and Norsemen – blood was used during their sacrifices. The blood was considered to have the power of its originator, and after the butchering the blood was sprinkled on the walls, on the statues of the gods, and on the participants themselves.

The act of sprinkling this blood was called ‘bleodsian’ in Old English, and the terminology was borrowed by the Roman Catholic Church becoming to bless and blessing.

The Hittite word for blood, ‘ishar’ was a cognate to words for ‘oath’ and ‘bond.’

Water is such an incredibly important, literally life giving external source to one’s life blood for a number of reasons:

• Our blood, which contains a lot of water, carries oxygen to all the cells of your body.
• Without oxygen, those tiny cells would die and your body would stop working;

So, water and blood are inextricably linked in keeping you going, keeping you healthy and keeping your blood cells plumped up.

Remember – 8 glasses a day. Whether at home; at school; at the office or exercising.

Super, Duper Ways to Save Water – Part V

by Fern Shaw | May 20, 2013 | Health and Hydration

From ice to veggie peelings through to getting the hound involved, here are 10 more super water saving ways:

• When you give your pet fresh water, don’t throw the old water down the drain. Use it to water your trees or shrubs.
• Catch water in an empty tuna tin to measure sprinkler output. Two and a half centimetres of water in approx. 0.09 square metre of grass equals about 3 litres of water.
• Aerate your lawn at least once a year so water can reach the roots rather than run off the surface.
• When you have ice left in your cup from a take-away, dump the ice onto a plant and the cup in the rubbish.
• For hanging baskets, planters and pots, place ice cubes under the moss or dirt to give your plants a cool drink of water and help eliminate water overflow.
• Have your plumber re-route your grey water to trees and gardens rather than letting it run into the sewer line. Check with your city codes, and if it isn’t allowed in your area, start a movement to get that changed.
• Keep a bucket in the shower to catch water as it warms up or runs. Use this water to flush toilets or water plants.
• When you are washing your hands, don’t let the water run while you lather.
• While staying in a hotel or even at home, consider reusing your towels.

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Hydration – Children and the Elderly

by Fern Shaw | May 17, 2013 | Health and Hydration

I don’t know if you are aware of this, but in the U.K. a rather large percentage of people that are hospitalised are admitted with illnesses that stem or are complicated by dehydration.  It is rather sad to think that in such a marvellous country, with all of the facilities available to us, there are still many, many people who are ignorant about something as simple as drinking water.

Children are particularly at risk of becoming dehydrated because a child’s body is less effective at perspiring and produces more heat during physical exertion. Children also tend to be more physically active than adults, resulting in a greater loss of bodily water.

As we get wrapped up in an activity or task it is easy to forget to consume enough water, especially as a child. Children can often find consuming water difficult as it lacks flavour. Here are a few tips for helping to keep your child hydrated, so they can maximise their potential each day.

• Be a good role model; the more your child observes you drinking, the more likely they are to copy your behaviour.
• Introduce a drinking routine. If your child regularly forgets to drink water, having a routine in place to ensure a glass of water is consumed at least first and last thing in the day, at meal times and pre/post exercise may help.
• Offer a variety of drinks but limit caffeinated beverages as very large quantities can have a diuretic effect, causing an increase in urination.
• If your child prefers fruit juices, try gradually diluting them with water.
• Many fruits are high in water volume so offering a fruit salad for desert or as a snack can help increase water intake. Soups and stews can also have similar benefits.
• Protein requires additional liquid to metabolise so reducing meat intake can help with hydration levels.

Older people have very similar water requirements to those of younger adults. A conservative estimate for older adults is that daily intake of fluids should not be less than 1.6 litres. Unfortunately, many older people do not drink adequate amounts of water. A recent survey of water provision in UK care homes for the elderly found that most residents only consumed 2-4 glasses of water per day.

• Developing a habit of drinking only in response to the body’s thirst signals raises an older person’s risk of becoming dehydrated.
• Seniors who have relocated to areas where the weather is warmer or dryer than the climate they are accustomed to are even likelier to become dehydrated unless they make it a practice to drink even when they are not thirsty.
• As fear of incontinence may factor into a reluctance to drink sufficient water, elderly people should nevertheless be encouraged to drink sufficient water so as keep their organs functioning.

Some methods to combat these are:

• Encourage the drinking of water. As a general rule, try to avoid hydrating beverages that have added sugar.
• Snack on the right foods. Fresh veggies and fruits are good snacks, and not just for dieters.  Fresh produce has a very high water content, so it’s a great way to hydrate without having to drink a ton of water. For example, an apple is up to 85% of water by volume.
• Drink constantly, not occasionally. You should be constantly drinking fluids, rather than guzzling multiple litres of water all at once.
• Avoid diuretic behaviours. This means not constantly drinking a liquid that is known to dehydrate. Culprits include coffee and alcohol.

Educating oneself, one’s family (older and younger) is absolutely essential in teaching good hydration habits. As we all know the maxim ‘It’s never too late to learn something new’.