Water Water Everywhere - Get a Glass to Drink

You can keep almost all diseases at bay and keep yourself fit just by drinking enough water properly. Here are some ways:

• Have two glasses of lukewarm water after waking up. You can start with about half a glass and work up to two glasses. Do this before you brush your teeth. This will cleanse your body and clear toxins.
• Don’t drink water during meals. Wait for at least thirty minutes after meals. But it is best to have a glass of water thirty minutes before meals. This will help in digestion. It also helps in reducing weight.
• One glass of water before taking shower lowers blood pressure.
• One glass of water before going to bed helps decrease chances of heart attack or stroke.
• Sit when drinking water. According to Ayurveda, drinking water while standing causes greater accumulation of fluids in the joints, which in turn causes arthritis. Drinking water while sitting relaxes the muscles and nervous system and enables the kidneys to enhance the filtration process.
• Again, according to Ayurveda, drinking lukewarm water helps proper digestion, promotes weight loss, relieves bloating and pain, controls cholesterol levels and cleans arteries.
• Drink water, preferably, when you are thirsty ie. don’t drink a lot of water (but make sure you have about 8 glasses of water a day). Apart from checking the colour of urine, a simple way to check if you are dehydrated is to check if your lips are chapped.
• Have a glass of water with honey before going to sleep to improve digestion and fight constipation.
• After staying out in the sun or heavy exertion, wait for about 5–10 minutes before drinking water. This hampers digestion. But, if you are severely dehydrated, drink water as soon as you can to avoid sun stroke.
• Reduce acidity: Boil a cup of water. Add 1 teaspoon of Aniseed (Saunf) to the water and leave it overnight. Strain the water and add 1 teaspoon of honey. Divide into equal parts and drink thrice a day.
• Relieve symptoms of angina: Boil 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi dana) in one glass of water. Strain and add 2 teaspoon honey. Take twice daily.
• Fight anorexia or appetite loss: Cut a one-inch piece of ginger (adrak) into small pieces. Boil in a glass of water. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add milk and sugar to taste drink like tea everyday.
• Fight chest congestion: Boil half a litre of water with 1 teaspoon of carom seeds (ajwain) powder and 1 teaspoon of turmeric (haldi) powder. Take 1 tablespoon of this decoction along with 1 teaspoon honey twice every day.
• Fight depression and heart palpitation: Boil ? teaspoon of powdered cardamom (chhoti illaichi) seeds with a cup of water and drink everyday.
• Fight headache: Boil a glass of water with 10 basil (tulsi) leaves, half-an-inch piece of ginger (adrak), five to seven black pepper corns (kali mirch). Drink with milk and sugar.
• Reduce heartburn: Add 1 tablespoon mint (pudina) leaves to 1 cup water. Take twice or thrice a day.

Some other benefits of water:

• Shower in cool water to reduce dandruff.
• Jal neti or nasal irrigation (use clean water) improves symptoms of sinusitis, rhinitis, asthma, tinnitus, ear infections, migraine, tonsillitis and dry coughs. It also improves sense of smell and reduces anger.
• Add a few drops of rose water (gulab jal) and a tablespoon of water in an eye wash cup and put on your eyes for half a minute. This will improve your vision and decrease eye strain.
• Rinse mouth with water after every meal to prevent tooth decay.

Disclaimer: I'm not a health expert. My suggestions are not substitutes for medical remedies.