Water of life.medical studies have a way of messing with my mind. Long-held beliefs crumble under the relentless pounding of freshly proven facts. Such was the case when I read a recent report out of Loma Linda University Founded in 1905, Loma Linda University (LLU) is a private, Christian, coeducational, health sciences university located in Southern California 60 miles east of Los Angeles close to San Bernardino and near beaches, mountains, and the desert. , a Seventh-day Adventist Sev·enth-day Adventist n. A member of a sect of Adventism distinguished chiefly for its observance of the Sabbath on Saturday. medical school in southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . It had to do with water. It's common knowledge that not drinking enough water has been linked to such ailments as constipation, kidney stones Kidney Stones Definition Kidney stones are solid accumulations of material that form in the tubal system of the kidney. Kidney stones cause problems when they block the flow of urine through or out of the kidney. , overeating overeating eating too much food too quickly; leads to acute gastric dilatation in dogs and horses, acute carbohydrate engorgement in ruminants, dietetic (dietary) diarrhea in young calves and foals, abomasal tympany in bottle fed lambs and calves. , and dry eyes A condition in which the eyes feel dry or have a burning or stinging sensation due to an insufficient amount of tears. Dry eyes can be caused by the lack of blinking, which often occurs when users stare at a computer screen. , mouth, and skin. This new study, published in the America, Journal of Epidemiology (Vol. 155, No. 9) showed that drinking high amounts of plain water is as important as exercise, diet, or not smoking in preventing coronary heart disease coronary heart disease: see coronary artery disease. coronary heart disease or ischemic heart disease Progressive reduction of blood supply to the heart muscle due to narrowing or blocking of a coronary artery (see atherosclerosis). . While that bit of information was surprising enough, what caught my eye was the word "plain" next to water. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the study, neither total fluid intake, nor intake of other fluids combined showed this reduced risk. Coffee, soda, milk, and caffeinated sodas showed no significant heart benefits. In fact, these types of fluids draw water from the blood because they can't be digested until their concentration is reduced to be similar to that of blood. Plain water, however, is absorbed immediately and quickly hydrates the system, thinning the blood and thus reducing the risk of clots that can lead to heart attack. The study concluded with these words: Because drinking more plain water is a simple lifestyle change that anybody can do, this practice has the potential of saving tens of thousands of lives each year with minimal cost. After reading the report, a dark thought crossed my mind. How often do I dilute my Heavenly Father? How often do I accept the God of my church or the God of my favorite sermon tape or the God of the latest best seller at the Christian bookstore as my Savior? How often do I add a little extra ingredient to my relationship with Him that actually does nothing to enhance His power in my life? All that does is make God "taste" better in my mind or makes Him "blend" more unobtrusively with my appetite for sin. I determined right then and there to rebuild my relationship with the "plain" God I find when I close my eyes in prayer or walk in the shaded solitude of the woods behind my house. Say, if enough of you will join me, we'll create our own study that will end with these words: Because worshiping the "plain" God is a simple lifestyle change that anybody can do, figs practice has the potential of saving tens of thousands of souls each year with minimal cost. Let's begin today. Charles Mills EDITOR |
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