How much water do you drink each day?
Did you know we can go up to 8 weeks without food- but only days without water??
Did you know that our body is 55-60% water?
That is a lot of water per day- which is why most of us are dehydrated and why we recommend as a part of “The WHOLESTIC Method” to consume two times your body weight in clean water in ounces per day!
How much water have you consumed so far today? And how many diuretic drinks as coffee, tea or soda?
Dehydrated is a major issue for most people- especially when you think of a small drop of 2% in our water levels will cause fatigue and a decrease of 10% of body water levels will cause health problems including digestion, immune, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal. (source- www.nutritionaltherapyassociation). Even more frightening is a loss of more than 10% of our water levels can cause death- which I did hear of a friend’s cousin dying from hiking one very hot day in Arizona last summer! It is a fact.
Another fact- our body can produce only 8% of its daily requirements via metabolic processes but we must get the remaining 92% of our water needs via the food and beverages that we consume each day.
So obviously water and hydration plays many important roles in our body including roles in our blood, lymph, digestive juices, urine, tears and sweat! (source: Staying Healthy with Nutrition)
Specific roles of water include:
- Improves oxygen delivery to cells
- Transports nutrients
- Enables cellular hydration
- Moistens oxygen for easier breathing
- Cushions bones and joints
- Absorbs shocks to joints and organs
- Regulates body temperature
- Removes wastes
- Flushes toxins
- Prevents tissues from sticking
- Lubricates joints
- Improves cell‐to‐cell communications
(source: Nutritional Therapy Association):
Which beverages or types of water keeps us hydrate… and how do we become dehydrated? We know we need to drink water to be hydrated – but which “type” of water is ideal? Let’s talk about the idea that drinking distilled water may not be a good choice for some people. I know I love my sparkling water and filtered water- and perhaps we purchase distilled water sometimes as well. Is all water equal?
We know we need to stay hydrated to stay alive but should we drink tap water? Most of our tap water is contaminated from bacteria, chlorine, fluoride, bacteria, parasites, pesticides, solvents, and heavy metals. Everyone should probably test their own tap water for what level of contamination- bacteria count, mineral content, and amount of chemical pollutants. Ideally, we install a filtration or another type of purification system in our houses- or find another source of drinking water than from the tap. Our skin is a mouth- so be aware of contaminated water in your shower.
Distilled water is from a process of turning water into steam and removing most minerals, organisms, and chemicals from the water. Thus, we don’t have any minerals in distilled water so when consumed the distilled water may attract other minerals in the body, as well as any toxins, to balance with other body fluids. Distilled water would not be ideal for someone who may already be slightly deficient in minerals as the distilled water may cause more mineral deficiency. Some chemicals are still left after the distillation process of water.
On the flip side- the best time to drink distilled water is when you are heating it up for herbal teas as the medicinal properties in the water will be pulled out more than regular water.
Also, when doing a detox program to remove excess toxins from your body- drinking distilled water may be suggested as it will attract the toxins, and the minerals as mentioned previously, will be pulled out of the body and eliminated via the kidneys.
Ideally, we can have a reverse osmosis filtration system in our homes, schools, and workplaces to protect us from containment water- or even a solid carbon block. If we drink filtered water then we can clear up most of the bacteria, chlorine and major chemical pollutants lingering in our water system. We need to have the correct minerals in our body for multiple health reasons but we also don’t want the bacteria and other toxins- which will also overload our own filtration system- the liver and the kidneys.
More on electrolytes to stay hydrated next…
Learn more about The WHOLESTIC Method
