Are you drinking enough water?

The following is an excerpt from my book 25 Easy Habits to Live Longer, Healthier, and Happier:

Drink enough water

Water is life. Almost 80% of your body mass is comprised of water. A guideline for how much water you need to drink each day is .5 ounces per each pound of body weight. If you are active, increase that to .75 ounces.

What are the key function of water in the body?

·                Blood fluidity and circulation

·                Food digestion

·                Food absorption into your bloodstream

·                Chemical processes that lead to secretion of hormones that balance the various metabolic activities in your body

·                Toxin removal

·                Improved mobility

·                Elasticity of your skin and muscles

Are there water substitutes?

The short answer is no. Nothing counts as water but water. Often people hydrate with other beverages and call it “good enough”. Some of these drinks include:

·                Sodas

·                Coffee

·                Tea

·                Fruit juice

Soda dehydrates and pollutes the system. Sodas contain chemicals and sugar concentrates. These chemicals and sugar concentrates need water to break them down into manageable substances in the body. Many of these chemicals are toxins and must be removed from the blood stream, requiring even more water to dilute and remove them and finally cleanse the body. The sugars are highly concentrated. Scientific studies have found out that concentrated sugar in sodas is over 10 times more than that which you put into a single cup. It is estimated that when you take 300ml of soda, you would need about 3 to 4 liters of water just to cleanse its toxins from your body.  The net result is that your body becomes more dehydrated, cells become more aged and you become more fatigued and weakened.

Coffee and tea are better for hydration, but still not water. Recently, experts have flip-flopped over whether the caffeine in coffee is a diuretic, and the current prevailing wisdom is that it isn’t the big deal it was once thought to be. Black tea has less caffeine than coffee, green tea has less than black tea, and herbal tea has no caffeine at all, so tea isn’t a bad choice for hydration. When we start adding sugar to our coffee and tea, though, it requires more water to be broken down into manageable elements, such as glucose, and the beneficial effects are reduced.

Fruit juice is another drink that is often substituted for water.
Most fruit juices are comprised of over 95% water. However, some fruit juices, once extracted, have as high of a concentration of fructose (fruit sugar) as the sugar concentration in sodas. These sugars need more water to be broken down into manageable sugar compounds within the body. The best way to take fruit is to eat it raw. Pulp and fiber within the fruit helps to regulate sugar breakdown and release it into the body.

Easy ways to drink more water:

·                Take a glass in the morning, immediately when you wake up – this helps diffuse excessive overnight build-up of acid. It also helps to relax your nerves and make you more awake and alert. Adding some lemon to it makes it even better as the lemon helps in the cleansing process and fights unnecessary bacteria.

·                Drink water with each meal. It helps to improve digestion and absorption.

·                Keep a big glass on your desk and a jug of cold water in the fridge to fill it frequently. You’ll find you eat less when your belly is always full.

·                Take plenty of water when exercising or doing manual labor. This helps to replenish lost water due to sweat and also helps in perspiration which is essential in releasing waste matter from your body.

What are the benefits of drinking water?

·                Water slows down your ageing process. Water is essential for your cells’ vitality and regeneration. Your skin becomes the greatest culprit of dehydration due to its large surface area and exposure to agents of weather such as sun, heat and wind. When your skin gets moisturized it becomes elastic and vibrant. If it gets dehydrated, it becomes inelastic (showing wrinkles), aged, broken, pale, easily wounded and in extreme cases infected.

·                Water is important to your weight management.  Water (especially warm water) is important in the breakdown of lipids in your intestines. Without adequate water, most fats from food are absorbed into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, these fats are stored in various parts of your body as cellulite deposits thus adding extra pounds. You need water not just to digest fat and eject it from your intestines, but also to burn fat in your body.

How can you make your water taste more appealing?

Many people struggle even to take a glass of water in a week! If you are one of them, you need to make your water taste more appealing so that you can boost your consumption of it. How?

·                Squeeze a bit of lemon or orange juice into it.

·                Add fruit slices. The best slices are lemon slices because of lemon’s antimicrobial properties. Cucumber, orange, and strawberry slices also work well.

·                Add fruit chops. Freeze pineapple or watermelon cubes and use them as ice.

·                Add herbs. Common herbs you can add include fresh grated ginger, fresh rosemary leaves and fresh mint.