Water, Salt , Sleep

Salt on your Tongue?

OK, so this sounds like the story my parents used to tell me that if you can put salt on the tail of a bird you can catch it…. now they’re saying if you put salt on your tongue (with a drink of water) you can sleep.

What?

A friend recently referred me to a book Water for Health, for Healing, for Life by F. Batmanghedlidj, MD.

Here’s an excerpt from it:
“Salt is vital for sleep regulation. It is a natural hypnotic. If you drink a full glass of water, then put a few grains of salt on your tongue and let it stay there, you will fall into a natural, deep sleep. Don’t use salt on your tongue unless you also drink water. Repeated use of salt by itself might cause nosebleeds. Routine intake of water and the addition of some salt to the diet will regulate sleep pattern.”

And then I noticed the following article on Dr Mercola’s site… citing salt as a natural antidepressant. Interesting.

Knowing that depression and insomnia have a link too… I think it’s worth a try.

Don’t forget to use a good quality unrefined sea salt… where the minerals balance is good.

And I’d love to hear some feedback on this. My friend says she has tried it, and it worked… but I’d like to see a lot more responses.
Write back and tell me how you go, both good and bad, please!
And is it like sleeping at the beach? Crashing waves? Salty sea? Just kidding.
Elizabeth

jamie

I read about this in Women’s Day and it is true it really works… I have tried to tell friends and family to try it but they won’t they think I am crazy… But it really works well…

 

tim

I've recently had mouth sores while simultaneously having headaches. All ive done differently was rinsing my mouth with salt water, before going to bed. and i sleep like a rock with no headaches and the best sleep ever.

 

Nada

I’ve never tried it but will give it a go. I have read however that salt helps with the Serotonin levels, those that are low in serotonin will usually crave salt to help with the balance but it is vital to drink water! I find that when i am really run down I crave a lot of salty foods or just a pinch of salt.
If you think about it according to the above theory it works to the opposite of sugar… Now that makes sense.

 

Shanita

I received the tip from an app on my phone & tested it out. I was sleep within a few mins!! It was the best sleep I had in a long time.

 

Sripal Jain

I read this in one of the app and try it out on myself, I was amazed and I as in a deep s leep

 

brock

got this tip out of the who knew book. got a few questions. seemed to work night before last but not tonight. how much salt do you put on your tongue? do you swallow it? water before or after or both? also what kind of salt – plain ole morton – sea – kosher? could using this on a long-term basis raise blood pressure. (salting food raises blood pressure) even though this is much less. thanks for any input. i really need help sleeping. hey it worked once!

 

sripal jain

Same tip i was reading on iphone app and tried it out and it works best for me, its like a hypnotic sleep and i get refreshed and energetic in the mornning

 

pipinay

The salt cure works often for me but not always. About four out of five times. Not bad! I also suppressed laughter when i heard about it the first time but what have i to lose. Now i am the one that gets the incredulous looks when i talk about my experience with salt and sleeplessness.

 

Dimitri

It works. Glas of water before bed and and suck on some salt grains and I fall asleep in no time.

 

MikeAugust

This works. It’s amazing that we have become so conditioned as “consumers” to trust almost anything we see/hear in commercials, which convince us to buy medicines, and we scoff at the notion that the body’s basic needs can be easily treated with things like proper nutrition and hydration. I read Dr. Batmanghelidj’s book, “Your Body’s Many Cries For Water: You’re Not Sick, You’re Thirsty — Don’t Treat Thirst With Medication” and every sentence in that book makes complete sense.
 

The body’s most basic requirement is water, salt and potassium to maintain proper hydration. While we can last several weeks without food, if need be, we will die within only several days without water. Drugs are chemicals, and the side-effects of many of them can be shocking and downright life-threatening.
 

I am 63. After almost 20 years of believing I had allergies and wasting hundreds and hundreds of dollars and more on allergy meds that didn’t do anything – some common drugs like decongestants and antihistamines were actually making the problem WORSE – Dr. Batmaghelidj’s book convinced me I was severely dehydrated. I now take NO MEDICATION WHATSOEVER and all my “allergy” symptoms are gone.
 

Placing on the tongue a few grains of unrefined sea salt (recommended because it has all the natural minerals that are removed from common table salt) after drinking a glass of water will make you sleep very soundly.
 

I highly recommend the book.

 

Elizabeth Shannon reply August 10, 2016 at 6:18 pm

Thanks Mike for your comments. The salt suggestion was a bit left of field, and it is interesting to know that you have both tried the method and found it helpful. Hydration is very important. Yes, often the basics are what we are not doing, thinking instead that complicated solutions are required. Thanks for your suggestion and book recommendation.

 Many people consume too much salt, but new research may have uncovered one reason people crave it -- it might lead to a better mood.
 
Researchers found that when rats are deficient in sodium chloride (common table salt), they shy away from activities they normally enjoy. A loss of pleasure in normally pleasing activities is one of the most important features of psychological depression.

If salt is a natural mood-elevating substance, it could help explain why so many are tempted to over-ingest it, even though it's known to contribute to high blood pressure, heart disease and other health problems.

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Most processed foods and restaurant meals contain very high levels of sodium from refined salt, and account for about 77 percent of Americans’ total salt intake. (90 percent of the money most Americans spend on food is for processed foods, and every one of these foods is loaded with unnatural highly processed salt).

 

One 2007 study, featured on BBC News found that the amount of salt consumed in just one Pizza Hut meal is more than twice the recommended daily limit for an adult and four times the daily limit of a six year old.

 

However, the vilification of salt is similar to the issue of saturated fat, which is in fact a healthy type of fat, but is typically consumed in many fast foods that also contain large amounts of trans fats, which can cause a number of health problems. Similarly, whereas natural salt is a healthy ingredient, processed table salt can be a problem.

 

Natural salt is in fact essential for life and play a key role in:

• allowing fluids to pass in and out of your cells
• helping carry nutrients to your cells
• helping nerve cells in your brain and body to transfer information
• various metabolic reactions in your body
• regulating blood pressure

An adequate intake of sodium is also required for optimal growth of fat, bone and muscle tissues. According to the study above, severe sodium restriction may negatively affect your glucose metabolism and disturb normal blood viscosity. They also found that sodium deficiency can induce behavioral changes such as reduced motivation, fatigue, and feelings of depression.

 

However, it’s important to understand that the salt used in processed foods is the highly processed variety, and NOT at all the same as the natural salt your body actually craves to perform these vital functions, including the maintenance of proper brain function.

 

Personally I seek to avoid all processed foods whenever possible and rarely consume regular table salt. I like the taste of Himalayan salt so much I carry it with me when I travel, and as many who have dined with me know, I typically put it on the table and offer others to try it and they just love it.

 

Of course I warn them that Himalayan salt tastes so good, many who try it like it so much they refuse to use regular table salt again.

 

Mood Changes May Signal Sodium Deficiency

In the scientific review above, the researchers discovered that sodium taste as well as certain motivational/affective processes converge at sites in your limbic forebrain, suggesting that taste and motivational processes overlap, and because they are related to your sodium homeostasis, changes in sodium levels can influence your behavior both in terms of mood and taste cravings.

In fact, changes in mood are frequently among the first signs of a nutritional deficiency in your diet.

 

For example, people who work day-to-day in extremely hot environments and lose large amounts of sodium through sweating commonly complain of fatigue, headache, difficulty concentrating, and sleep disturbances — symptoms that are often associated with psychological depression.

 

In a classic study in 1936, they showed that it took about seven days to make subjects sodium deficient when consuming sodium-free diets and sweating.

Mood-related symptoms reported by the subjects included:

• loss of appetite
• loss of capacity to experience pleasure and joy
• difficulty concentrating
• excessive fatigue
• general sense of exhaustion

Since they did not detect any changes in blood pressure or pulse rate, and none of the subjects experienced cramps, it was determined that the deficiency did not initially disturb physiological functioning to any noticeable degree.
 
Interestingly, the researchers believed it is possible that changes in mood and appetite are among the first noticeable manifestations of sodium deficiency.

Salt actually becomes more palatable as a consequence of sodium loss, so when you become deficient in sodium, your taste buds play a fundamental role in restoring the balance.

 

People suffering from sodium deficiency typically report having a peculiar sensation in their mouth that is more commonly associated with thirst than with craving salt. People with weak adrenals usually report that they crave salty types of foods.

 

How Much Salt Does Your Body Need?

Normally, the homeostasis of your body fluids is corrected primarily by your kidneys, and proper renal handling of sodium is necessary for normal cardiovascular function. Given that your survival and normal physical development are dependent on adequate sodium intake and retention, the central question is – how much salt do you really need?

 

Previous research has shown that the worldwide average for salt intake per person is about 10 grams per day. Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommend a maximum of 2.4 grams per person, which still may be more than double what your body really needs.

 

As an example, the New Guinea Highlanders average daily salt intake is around 0.5 g/day, and there is no evidence they are unhealthy. In fact they show far less cardiovascular disease than populations that consume the worldwide norm.

 

A strictly vegetarian diet contains about 0.75 grams of salt per day, and it’s been estimated that the Paleolithic diet contained about 1 to 1.5 grams, which was clearly sufficient for survival, even though it falls far below the FDA recommended amount.

 

I believe it’s clear that most Americans consume FAR too much processed salt that offers minimal health benefits. But if you want to find out whether you’re eating the proper amount of salt for your body, a fasting chemistry profile that shows your serum sodium level can give you a good idea, so that you can modify your diet accordingly.

 

Your ideal sodium level is 139, with an optimal range of 136 to 142.

If it is much lower, you probably need to eat more salt; if it is higher, you’ll likely want to restrict your salt intake.

 

Keep in mind that if you have weak adrenals you will lose sodium and need to eat more natural salt to compensate.

 

Why You Should Avoid Regular Table Salt

As I mentioned earlier, there’s a big difference between standard, refined table salt and natural health-promoting salt.

 

Your table salt is actually 97.5 percent sodium chloride and 2.5 percent chemicals such as moisture absorbents and iodine. This salt is dried at an excessively high temperature -- over 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit -- that actually negatively alters the natural ionic physical structure of the salt.

 

Virtually all of the naturally occurring minerals that are typically in the salt have been processed out. Additionally, the processing imparts unhealthy vibrational frequencies into the salt, somewhat like a harmful homeopathic.

Moreover, when your body attempts to eliminate the excess processed salt, water molecules surround the sodium chloride to break it up into sodium and chloride ions in order to help your body neutralize these ions.

 

To accomplish this, water is taken from your cells, which tends to compromise the fluid balance in your cells.

You may be surprised to learn that for every gram of sodium chloride that your body cannot get rid of, your body uses 23 times the amount of water to neutralize the salt. Eating common table salt therefore causes excess fluid in your body tissue, which can contribute to:

• Unsightly cellulite
• Rheumatism, arthritis, and gout
• Kidney and gall bladder stones

 

Considering the fact that the average American eats 40 to 60 grams of salt each day this is really a pervasive issue. One reason for this overconsumption (other than the fact that it’s in virtually every type of processed food you buy) is that salt appears to be addictive, in a manner similar to that seen after regular consumption of coffee or nicotine.

Your Body Needs Salt – Choose Unprocesed Salt!

Considering the many biological functions facilitated by salt, it would be a mistake to eliminate it entirely. However, it’s important to make sure you’re consuming the right kind of salt – the kind of salt your body can actually process and use.

I believe it’s perfectly fine and beneficial to use a pure, natural salt, such as Celtic or Himalayan salt, to add flavor to your food. (Personally, I far prefer the pink Himalayan salt, but either one will do as they are unprocessed salts and are not associated with most of the problems of commercial salts.)

Natural salt is dried naturally, and is not chemically processed so it contains minerals that your body actually needs to function normally.

If you are following the advice in Take Control of Your Health and have already eliminated processed foods from your diet, then your salt consumption will automatically be very low, as the only salt you’ll be consuming is what you personally add to your meals.

If your sodium levels are too high and you need to avoid salt, you can use lemon, garlic and other fresh herbs as replacements that will give your food added flavor and a healthy kick.

"I GIVE UNTO YOU POWER"

"I GIVE UNTO YOU POWER"

God's gift to man is power; power and dominion over all created things; his mind, his body, and affairs. All unhappiness comes from lack of power. Man imagines himself weak and the victim of circumstances, claiming that "Conditions over which he had no control" caused his defeat. Man by himself, is indeed, a victim of circumstances; but linked with God-power all things are possible.

Through a knowledge of metaphysics we are discovering how this can be done. By your word you contact this power. Then, miraculously, every burden is lifted and every battle is won. Life and death are in the power of the tongue. Watch your words with all diligence. You are continually reaping the fruits of your words. And he that overcometh and keepeth my works to the end, to him will I give power and dominion over the nations." Overcoming means to conquer all doubts, fears and negative vibrations. One man with vibrations. They would melt away like snow under the sun. Jesus Christ said: "All power is given unto me to bring heaven upon earth." Let us give thanks that this is now coming to pass— for evil is unreal and leaves no stain. This God- power is within you, your superconscious mind. It is the realm of inspiration, revelation and illumination. It is the realm of miracles and wonders. Quick and seemingly impossible changes take place for your good. A door opens where there were no doors. Supply appears from hidden and unexpected channels, for "God has weapons ye know not of."

To work with God-power you must give it right of way and still the reasoning mind. The instant you ask, Infinite Intelligence knows the way of fulfillment. Man's part is to rejoice and give thanks, and act his Faith. A very well known woman in England told of this experience: She was asking, with great feeling, for a realization of God. These words came to her "Act as though I were, and I am." It is exactly what I say, over and over again—only active Faith impresses the subconscious, and unless you impress the subconscious, there are no results.

I will now give you an example to show you just how the law works. A woman came to me whose heart's desire was her right marriage and happy home. She was very fond of a certain man, but he was a most difficult person. After having shown her every attention and devotion, he suddenly changed, and dropped out of her life. She was unhappy, resentful and discouraged. I said,perfect peace and perfect poise, filled with love and good-will, could dissolve all negative "Now this is the time to prepare for your happy home! Buy little things for it as if you hadn't a minute to spare." She became quite interested in shopping for her happy home, when all appearances were against it. "Now," I said, "you'll have to perfect yourself on the situation and become immune to all resentment and unhappiness." I gave her the statement: "I am now immune to all hurt and resentment: my poise is built upon a rock, the Christ within." I said, "When you are immune to all hurt and resentment, this man will be given you or his equivalent." It took many months, when one evening she came to see me and said, "I have only the kindest and most friendly feelings for this man. If he isn't the Divine selection I would be happy without him."

Not long after, she happened to meet the man. He was so sorry for the way he had acted. He begged her to forgive him. Not long after, they were married and a happy home came into manifestation. It had built itself around her active Faith.

Your only enemies are within yourself. The woman's enemies were "hurt" and "resentment." They are indeed "serpents and scorpions." Many lives have been wrecked by these two enemies. Linked with God-power, all opposition vanished from this woman's life. Nothing could by any means hurt her.

Think what that means, to have a life free from all unhappy experiences. It is done through making a conscious contact with God-power every instant.

Many times in the Bible, the word "power" is mentioned. "Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth."

A person with a rich consciousness attracts riches. A person with a poor consciousness attracts poverty. I have seen people in this Truth, rise out of lack and limitation by linking with the God-power within, not depending on the external, trusting in God gives you irresistible power, for this Supreme Intelligence only, knows the Way of fulfillment. "Trust in Me and I will bring it to pass."

All our knowledge of Truth can bring us is to know that God is the only Power. One Power, one Presence, one Plan. When you have the fixed idea that there is only one Power in the universe, God-power, all appearance of evil will disappear from your world. In getting a demonstration we must acknowledge only one Power. Evil comes from man's own "vain imaginings." Withdraw all power from evil and it is powerless to hurt.

I will give you an example which shows the working of the law. I was in a restaurant with a friend who spilled something on her dress. She was sure it would leave a stain. I said, "We'll give it a treatment." I made the statement, "Evil is unreal and leaves no stain." I said, "Now, don't look, leave it to Infinite Intelligence." In about an hour we took a look and there was not the slightest stain.


What is true of a little thing is true of a big thing. You can use this statement for past misfortunes or mistakes, and somehow or other, under Grace, the effects will disappear, they will leave no stain.

Many people are using personal-power instead of God-power, which always brings unhappy reaction. Personal-power means forcing personal will. I will give the example of a woman I knew a long time ago. She married a man who worked on a newspaper drawing a comic strip. His drawings demanded a knowledge of slang, which he used on every occasion. She decided he should cultivate his mind and read the classics. They moved to a college town so that he could go to college. She insisted upon his going to college. He resisted a little at first then he grew to like it! Soon he was steeped in the classics. He wouldn't talk anything but Plato and Aristotle. He wanted the food cooked the way they cooked, and eat the simple food they ate. Her life had become a nightmare. After that, she never tried to change people. The only person to change, is yourself. As you change, all the conditions around you will change! People will change!

When you are undisturbed by a situation it falls away of its own weight. Your life is outpictured by the sum-total of your subconscious beliefs. Wherever you go, you take these conditions with you.

"I am strong in the Lord and the Power of His might."

"I am backed by unnumbered hosts of power." Power means dominion and dominion means control. Man controls conditions by a knowledge of Spiritual law. Suppose your problem is lack or limitation. Your urgent need is supply. Link with this God-power within, and give thanks for your immediate supply. If you are too close to the situation, if you are filled with doubts and fears, go to a Practitioner for help, someone to see clearly for you.

A man told me while at a Truth Centre at Pittsburgh he heard people talking about me and he said, "Who in heck is Florence Scovel Shinn?" Someone replied, "Oh, she wrote The Game of Life, if you write to her she'll get you a miracle." He said he promptly wrote to me and got a demonstration. Jesus Christ said, "When two of you agree, it shall be done." Do not hesitate to ask for help if you cannot see clearly your good. Jesus Christ saw clearly for the people he healed. He did not tell them to heal themselves. Of course, you can reach the state where you do not need any help, when you have the fixed idea that God's Power is the only Power and that God's Plan is the only Plan.

We cannot take blessings from Infinite Intelligence, they must be given us. Man's part is to be a grateful receiver. "Behold I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." "Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands and hath put all things under his feet. All sheep and oxen, yea and the beasts of the fields." This is God's idea of man, but man's idea of himself is one of limitation and failure. It is only in a big moment, that man seems to rise to his power and dominion.

It isn't until we face a situation of lack, that we suddenly express the power which has already been given us. I have known people who are usually nervous and anxious to become poised and powerful when confronted by a big situation.

"Hear, Oh! Israel! Ye have no need to fight, stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord." People often ask, "What does it mean to stand still, to do nothing at all?" "Standing still" means to keep your poise. I said to a man who was tense and anxious, "Take it easy and see the salvation of the Lord." He replied, "My; that has helped me a lot." Most people are trying too hard. They carry their burdens and fight their battles and are, therefore, always in a turmoil and never get, what we call, a demonstration. Stand aside, and see the salvation of the Lord. We might paraphrase the Scriptures and say, "Hear! 0! Israel, you will never win this battle by fighting—leave it entirely to Me, and it will be given you."

Following the magic path of intuition you escape all complications and friction, and make a beeline to your demonstration. Remember we are told not to despise the day of small things. It is a great mistake to think that anything is unimportant. I was going to a shop to buy two articles. In my vicinity are two shops, an expensive one and one where all the things are a little cheaper, but the articles are exactly the same. The reasoning mind said, "Go to the cheaper place" but intuition said, "Go to the expensive place." Of course, I followed that magic path. I told the clerk what I wanted. He said: "The two articles are today sold for the price of one, because they are advertising one of the products." So intuition led me to the right place and price. The difference in price was only about fifty cents but intuition always looks after our interests. If I had been trying to get something cheap, I would have gone to the other shop and paid twice as much. Learn from the little things, and you will be ready to handle the big things.

Studying closely the Scriptures, we find, God's gift to man is power. The things and conditions automatically follow. God gives man power to get well. He gives man power over the elements. He gives man power to heal sickness, and to cast out devils.

"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings and eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint."

Let us realize that this invincible power is within reach of all. "Whosoever calleth on the name of the Lord, shall be delivered!" So we find the Word links man with omnipotence. This Supreme Intelligence is more than equal to lifting every burden and fighting every battle.

All power is given unto me to bring my heaven upon my earth.

Stupendous Results #3

January 10, 2003

Dear Dr. Batmanghelidj,

Another friend this morning told me she just finished reading her copy of your wonderful book "Your Body's Many Cries for Water" , and shared the information with her young son who has bipolar and depression. He is drinking his water and also using light therapy and is no longer on any medication and feels wonderful.  My daughter used to get legs cramps at night while sleeping but for the last three or four weeks has not had any cramping.  I am feeling wonderful . No more wheezing and I sleep really well especially after I put a little salt on my tongue just before I fall asleep.

Sandra. Z. 

The sensory Effects of Aging and find out if you're at risk. - 5 .

Eyesight and Aging

Are you holding your newspaper at arm's length? 

Squinting at documents to see the fine print? 

Do you need more light to see clearly? 

Each passing decade brings changes that weaken eyesight, including the slow loss of ability to focus on close objects or small print.

Presbyopia, the most common reason why you and your peers need reading glasses, is characterized by decreasing ability to focus on nearby objects. This condition typically shows up around age 40 but often develops for decades before that.

Some of the age-related eye changes are obvious, while others go undetected until vision is limited in some way. For example, the tissues surrounding eyes lose their tone, and fat is lost, too, which results in droopy upper eyelids and the turning outward or inward of the lower lid.

On the other hand, cataracts, which cloud your vision by keeping the light from getting through the clear lens of the eye, are barely detectable because they form at a snail's pace, are painless, and don't result in any redness or tearing in the eye. Over the years, the iris, the colored part of your eyeball, loses flexibility.

Your pupils -- the black holes in the iris that respond to light -- get smaller, and the lenses start to accumulate yellow substances, possibly as a result of exposure to sunlight. These changes predispose you to glaucoma, the product of excessive pressure inside your eyeball, which can lead to vision loss and blindness. No one knows the cause of glaucoma, but it is more prevalent in older people, African-Americans, and in those with a family history of the disease.

Glaucoma is basically symptom-free, often until it is too late. Once glaucoma has damaged the optic nerve, which transmits visual information from the eye to the brain, you're past the point of treatment. That's why The Glaucoma Foundation recommends testing for glaucoma every four years until age 45 and every two years after that. Get tested every two years regardless of age if:

• you're of African-American descent
• glaucoma runs in your family
• you are nearsighted
• you have high blood pressure
• you've been using cortisone long-term

Decreased blood flow to the retina, the paper-thin tissue lining the back of your eyeball, can lead to macular degeneration. Macular degeneration destroys sharp, central vision.

Aging and Taste

You can thank your nose for your sense of taste, despite the thousands of taste buds populating your tongue: They can only detect a mere four out of thousands of possible flavors in foods.

The tongue recognizes only sweet, salty, bitter, and sour tastes. That's why enjoying food is limited without a healthy sense of smell. When you chew food and drink beverages, their aromas are released in your mouth.

Saliva dissolves flavor-producing substances in food and drink that make contact with your tongue's taste buds. More importantly, dissolved flavor compounds waft up the back of your throat, making their way to receptor cells in your nose. From there, nerves transmit flavor messages to the brain, allowing you to perceive and enjoy them.

If you're having trouble savoring the flavor of food, blame it on a lessened sense of smell. Time dulls your sense of smell, but not usually until you reach age 60, and then it varies from person to person. About half of adults over the age of 65 suffer from some diminished sense of smell. On the other hand, your sense of taste for sweet, salty, bitter, and sour foods may be remarkably intact until you're well into your seventies.

A zinc deficiency can also cause a decreased sense of taste. Zinc supplementation can help restore it if you do have a deficiency. Infections threaten sense of smell and, as a result, your ability to enjoy food. Some of the damage from the flu, colds, or hepatitis can be permanent. More often than not, acute illnesses, including sinus infections and seasonal allergies, block aromas from the receptor cells that relay flavor information to the brain.

As a result, you don't have as much capacity to savor the flavors of food. The pills you take every day to control medical conditions such as high blood pressure and arthritis can affect sense of taste, mainly by affecting the areas of the brain where you perceive flavors. Chemotherapy drugs and head and neck radiation also threaten flavor perception, sometimes permanently.

Bleeding Tongue healed:

Your book, Your Body's Many Cries for Water was mentioned to me several years ago by a co-worker, but I skeptically disregarded this recommendation, having suffered my entire life with a medically unrecognized problems. I was thoroughly disillusioned with all medical professionals. The problem I call "extreme dry mouth" with muscular/tissue hypertension, because I've never seen, heard of or read about a similar case in my 54 years. I now recognize it is a symptom of dehydration.

My tongue first manifested white patches of seemingly dead skin about 17 months of age. Until about 6 weeks ago,other signs of dehydration were obvious (but unrecognizable until I read your book ) - constant runny nose, watery eyes, puffed eyelids, susceptible to colds and flu.
These latter signs cleared almost immediately once I increased my water intake. By the time I was in school, my entire tongue was coated with a white layer that could be peeled off my tongue in strips often accompanied by skin (membrane), laying bare a raw, sometimes bleeding tongue.
No one suggested water - iodine perhaps or yeast medication, but never water. Wisely, I would not allow doctors to experiment with different drug remedies for something they couldn't identify. Aside from my apparent weakened immune system, I was healthy, so just accepted the condition as my lot in life and stopped searching for answers.

I followed the eating principles of Natural Hygiene as outlined in the book by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond "Fit for Life and Living Healthy." Great emphasis was placed upon eating high-water-content foods and omitting animal meat, dairy products and concentrated foods from the diet. However, personal circumstances made it impossible for me to adhere to this regimen, and signs of dehydration re-appeared again.
Within the past year my tongue has appeared reptilian, skinny, long, hard, shiny and thick at the apex. Living with this diseased state proved painful and embarrassing, especially the speech distortion caused by the swollen tip (apex0 and drooling caused by excessive saliva secretion. (Deficiency of salt in one;s daily diet can cause saliva to drooling during sleep)

Since June 2001, I have been enjoying eight 10-ounce glasses of water with sea salt each day and although the pain and drooling have gone, my tongue is still swollen in places in spite of daily local massage to increase circulation. The white membrane/dead skin apparently now is developing a healthy pink membranous layer underneath.

Dr. Batmanghelidj, thank you for your intelligent diligence in revealing that chronic dehydration is a causative agent in the production of disease conditions; you have shown great courage and perseverance in dealing with bureaucratic medical "authorities." I thank and admire you greatly.

Sincerely, R.E.N.
Ottawa, Canada

INDULGE

INDULGE.

In a city-state with a growing presence of boutique cafes, wine clubs and ‘elite goods’ stores, fashion and glamour promoters, a traveler sees “indulge” as the casting away of inhibitions that is marked by a heady, euphoric quality.

Urban-city culture is marked by impulses towards self-gratification and the fulfillment of desires without restraint. Ultimate indulgence by pairing sensuality with jewellery – the objects of enthrallment ,also objects of entrapment for many women. A bait often used by cunning ‘wolves’ womanizers.

Playful and tongue-in-cheek set of images captures ‘rare’ footage of media darlings and celebrities, actresses, actors, models all have often been presented and projected as elegant, immaculately turned out and self-possessed in media shots. Ideal glamour icons, styles in uninhibited mood, shots with crazed air, ravished by desire and reveling in pieces of jewellery, wines, substances and sex tones. Commercial projects indulge as creative edge of fashion and art of civilization.