Lets talk hydration…
Almost daily I have a discussion with a client or family member about water. Everyone seems to think they drink enough water but in reality, no one does. We are a chronically dehydrated society. Most people are like dried out sponges on the inside, walking raisins, and with this comes a host of issues in the body that can be easily fixed by just upping your water intake.
Staying properly hydrated means clean, purified water goes into your body in large enough volumes to benefit the cells and organs. The body is made up of 75% water and the brain 85% water. The body needs 1 litre alone just for proper organ function. So if you are drinking 1.5litres a day, you are effectively only drinking an additional 500mls of clean water. Tea, coffee, and juices do not count. You don’t bath in coffee to get clean, how can you expect your body to clean itself out with coffee or tea. It’s just not the same.
Inflammation in the body is the root cause of many illnesses and chronic pain levels and is easily kept under control by proper hydration and nutrition.
Water is responsible for hydrating the tissues, regulating our body temperature, cleaning out toxins, preventing constipation, flushing the liver and kidneys, and supplying oxygen so it’s understandable that without enough water in our body a chain reaction of nastiness occurs.
When we reach dehydration point, the cells shut down to prevent themselves from losing more water. This shuts down the metabolism and removal of toxins, it also slows down the fat-burning rate. This slow down means toxins build up and the body exhibits symptoms like pain and discomfort as a result. Even something as basic as ankles and hands swelling is a symptom of your body asking for water.
A symptom is basically your body asking for help and in modern society, we have sadly been taught to just stick a plaster over the symptom (just take a pain pill or an anti-inflammatory) instead of figuring out what is wrong, like dehydration.
Headaches, inflammation, muscle cramps, blood pressure, fatigue, arthritis, constipation, fibromyalgia are all manifestations of toxin build up and malfunction in the body.
When you start consistently drinking more water your body can flush these toxins and chemical build-up, especially from the colon. When the colon works properly, you are able to allow fresh blood to move around throughout the body and this gets all the junk out. Less junk plus more movement throughout the blood network and voila, less pain.
Dehydration places strain on the kidneys and liver. When there is less clean water, the kidneys have a much tougher job to do. They keep doing their job but with less water to use. Less water means the urine is more concentrated which puts the kidneys under more stress. It’s like pouring juice through a strainer or pouring sludge through a strainer. The juice is less work. Over time the kidneys get tired. When kidneys are under strain the liver has to step in and help and the liver has the most functions in the body so it already has a full plate, now it is expected to add more. You end up with a cranky liver, which can’t do its job properly (like breaking down fat).
Skin and muscles shrink. The spine is affected by the cushions between the vertebrae shrinking and leaving the weight directly on the outer cushions. Leading to swelling, ruptured discs, and compressed nerves.
When people get a headache and reach for the pain pills, they aren’t fixing the headache they are merely numbing the pain. The water that they use to drink the tablets is doing more good to fight the headache, which is often caused by excess toxin build-up or muscle spasms, both of which are hydration related.
See, its a chain reaction. All due to one simple task you can remedy at home at no cost! Just fill up your glass. Your body is like a car engine that needs oil and our oil is water.
Now comes the next question I usually get asked, how much water is enough water? There are many different versions of what is enough. In my book, cover the 1 litre for your organs without thinking and then add another 1.5 litres. The best way to get it in is throughout the day in 100ml sips for optimum absorption. This way you don’t flood your body and flush minerals. If you want to be scientific about it, the ratio is 250ml per 9kilograms of bodyweight or 8 ounces to 20pounds of bodyweight. Minimum.
Drinking when you are thirsty is TOO LATE! By then you are dehydrated. Waiting to drink water until you are thirsty is a huge mistake. Starting the day off with a glass of water is the best thing you can do for your body after a night of no fluids, breathing, and sweating, all of which dehydrate the body. From then on sipping water from glass bottles throughout the day is your best bet.
You know that the colour of your urine is a basic indicator of what is going on with hydration. Clear urine means you are in the clear, yellow urine means you need more water and dark coloured urine means you need water ASAP and it may take up to two days of consistent water drinking to rehydrate you. The same applies to kids. We feed them juice and tea and cooldrinks (heaven helps us) and expect that to be ok, its not folks. Their bodies NEED clear water. Insist on it!
Water is a simple, free solution to alleviating many issues in the body. Combine that with proper nutrition geared at reducing inflammation in the body and many symptoms, aches, and pains disappear (or at least reduce).
Drink up
Live Wholesome.
