Planning Series Medical Doctor Professor Lee Kyu-jae's 'Senior Water Care': The Era of Functional Water (水) for Elderly Health Has Arrived (#2)

- Seniors remain in chronic dehydration due to 'thirst center paralysis' that prevents them from sensing their dry bodies

- From thickened blood to false dementia 'delirium'... Warning of domino collapse of the entire body

- Must defend with mineral functional water instead of plain water to prevent silent life-threatening dangers

[News S=Reporter Kim Jin-ho] "Water deficiency in elderly years is not simply a matter of thirst. It means a 'domino collapse of full-body functions' that is directly connected to life itself."

Medical Doctor Professor Lee Kyu-jae (Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine) identified 'chronic dehydration' as the most vulnerable link in senior health and raised his voice in warning throughout the interview.

While statistics show that water consumption decreases with age, its impact on the body is beyond imagination. We investigated the medical reality of water deficiency that quietly threatens seniors.

■ Brain's Thirst Signal Paralysis, Falling into the Trap of 'Chronic Dehydration' Without Realizing It

The reporter first asked Professor Lee about the fundamental reason why the senior generation is so vulnerable to water deficiency. Professor Lee clearly diagnosed that the medical reason seniors do not drink water is not a simple matter of will or habit, but rather 'sensory paralysis.'

"As we age, the function of the thirst center in the hypothalamus of the brain, which acts as a sensor for our body, rapidly deteriorates. In other words, cells in the body are drying up and screaming, but the brain fails to recognize it and does not seek water. This is the terrifying nature of 'chronic dehydration' that threatens the senior generation."

According to Professor Lee's medical perspective, water deficiency that progresses unbeknownst to oneself transforms into a 'silent assassin' that destroys the entire body. Its fatal impact triggers simultaneous domino collapses in three major organs.

■ From Thickened Blood to False Dementia 'Delirium'... Three Fatal Organ Malfunctions

⊙ Blood becomes as sticky as corn syrup, delivering a direct hit to cardiovascular disease

When body water becomes insufficient, the absolute volume of blood decreases and viscosity rapidly increases. Professor Lee stated, "When blood becomes thick and sticky, blood flow speed drops and blood clots (thrombi) become more likely to form," and warned, "For seniors with underlying conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes, thickened blood can block blood vessels, leading directly to fatal cardiovascular accidents such as cerebral infarction (stroke) or myocardial infarction, which can trigger sudden death."

⊙ Brain Water Deficiency Brings Acute Cognitive Disorder 'Delirium'

Our brain is approximately 80% water and is extremely sensitive to changes in water content. Cognitive ability and concentration decline significantly even with just 1-2% water deficiency in the body. Professor Lee shared a regrettable case he frequently encounters.

"In the case of seniors, as dehydration becomes severe, memory rapidly deteriorates and symptoms of 'delirium' appear, characterized by severe confusion. Many caregivers mistake this for the beginning of dementia and urgently bring elderly parents to the hospital, but in fact, in many cases the cause is simply water deficiency."

⊙ Malfunction of the Body's Water Treatment Plant 'Kidney' and Vicious Cycle of Systemic Inflammation

The kidney is a water treatment plant in the body that filters waste from the blood and excretes it as urine. However, when water is insufficient, it is as if there is no water to wash away waste inside the body, and uremia accumulates entirely within the body. According to Professor Lee's explanation, this ultimately becomes the cause leading to acute kidney failure, urinary tract infection, and further to systemic inflammatory disease.

■ Preventive Medicine Solutions: Awakening Cells According to Schedule Even Without Thirst

In conclusion, dehydration for the senior generation is the most dangerous factor that accelerates aging and threatens life. To overcome this, Professor Lee prescribed that "even without feeling thirsty, the habit of consciously drinking water at set times is absolutely necessary."

In particular, the key is to consistently consume high-quality functional water with essential minerals that are alive in it, rather than plain water from ordinary water purifiers without minerals.

Mineral functional water dissolved in water has a fast absorption rate in the body and delivers moisture deep into cells, thus serving as the finest preventive medical prescription that goes beyond water supplementation to restore the body's diminished vitality, according to his theory.

So how far has the global trend in functional water research that saves the body progressed?

In the third installment next week, we will conduct intensive coverage of the 'Global Functional Water Research Trends in Developed Countries,' which marks a paradigm shift from clean water to water that treats and prevents disease.