Add only about one glass of water per day to the amount of water you usually drink and check whether urination increases. If it does, drink another 1-2 glasses per day. If not, reduce the additional amount to a third or half glass of water per day. It is of principal importance that your kidneys begin to filter more water when you drink more water. You don’t want to create a ‘dam’ in your kidneys, which could end up flooding even your lungs. In time, the kidneys will recognize that water is no longer a scarcity in the body and will make the necessary adjustments to increase urination. At the same time, the body will naturally decrease its salt production and salt retention. When this occurs, the urge to eat a lot of salt or salty foods will also lessen. This response is caused by the water’s own natural diuretic effects.

If you are on diuretic drugs, it is important for you to know that water is a much more efficient diuretic than any drug can possibly be, and it has no harmful side effects. Diuretic drugs should be decreased gradually and under the supervision of a health practitioner.

Once the kidneys have no more difficulties with eliminating urine, you can increase your water intake to the natural minimum daily requirement of 6-8 glasses per day. This will drastically reduce the health risks imposed by an illness. To undo years of dehydration and to be completely hydrated again, however, may take up to a year, and sometimes even longer.

A note of caution: When the body is dehydrated, it tries to retain its salt in order to hold on to water. Once urination increases following improved hydration, these salts are gradually passed out with the urine. If the hydration attempts are implemented too quickly, those areas with the most salt retention may develop lymph edema. Any emerging puffiness of or around the eyes or swelling of the ankles indicates that the hydration process should be done more gradually. As the swellings decrease, you may resume drinking normal quantities of water. With increased water intake, your body will also be able to remove any excessive salt. However, you do not want to become salt-deficient. You should, therefore, be certain to include some unrefined salt^[1] as an important part of your diet. If don’t use your muscles enough and they start to cramp, particularly during the night, your body is most likely not getting enough salt (or it is getting the wrong type of salt, which is commercially produced table salt).

Both water and salt are absolutely essential for keeping the water metabolism balanced and for generating enough hydroelectric energy to maintain cellular activities. Drinking water is the most important therapy of all therapies because absolutely nothing in the body does not depend on it. Drinking water and cutting out any energy-depleting (overstimulating) influences should be the very first treatment in the case of an illness, before attempting to do anything else. In most cases, the problem will disappear naturally when the body is properly hydrated and allowed to rest.