Water is a critical element of the body, and keeping the body adequately hydrated is a must to allow the body to function. Up to 60% of the body's weight is made up of water. Most of the water is found within the cells of the body (intracellular space). The rest is found in the extracellular space, which consists of the blood vessels (intravascular space) and the spaces between cells (interstitial space).
Dehydration occurs when the amount of water leaving the body is greater than the amount being taken in. The body is very dynamic and always changing. This is especially true with water in the body. We lose water routinely when we:
—breathe and humidified air leaves the body (this can be seen on a cold day when you can see your breath in the air, which is just water that has been exhaled);
—sweat to cool the body; and
—eliminate waste by urinating or having a bowel movement.
In a normal day, a person has to drink a significant amount of water to replace this routine loss.
See the chart for amount of hydration needed per body weight for a normal day for healthy people. Our need during treatment may be more and the need for elderly people is important.
Water probably won't cure CLL, but the body functions a whole lot better when it's properly hydrated. Many years ago I read a book that was written some years before by an Iranian doctor. It was titled, 'The Body's many cries for Water'. Not very well put together, but I think his basic premise is correct as he's not the only doctor who has voiced the problem of dehydration in the general populace.
I remember one doc saying that he estimated that they would not need to see 80% of their patients if only they drank sufficient water for their body's needs. The point that the author of the book makes is that feeling thirsty as a signal for water is not enough. The body needs more than just satisfying thirst signals. A thirst signal can already be a Code Red for the body
The other problem being that many people respond to the thirst signal by putting liquids into their body that dehydrate it even further. Coffee for example needs at least one glass of water to compensate for their dehydrating effect.
So let me move on to CLL. The body is made of a large % of water. The blood is made up of a similar % and so is the lymph. The ability of the white cells to move readily between the blood and the lymphatic system is via the interstitial fluid. When the body is dehydrated the transport between the two becomes sluggish. Ditto for the white cells' movement to all bodily sites when they are needed in an immune response.
Conclude : If we want our immune system to do its best, then we need to drink the required quantity of water. Body volume obviously comes into play, but for the average person 2 litres a day (about 4 pints in USA).
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Enlarged spleens and dehydration – A Cautionary Tale
