Did you know that 60% of your body is water?
That is a lot.
Fluids in the body transport nutrients, work to regulate temp, and help digestion, among other things. Who knew, right?
How good are you at drinking water throughout the day?
Let’s talk about what water does for us.
Staying hydrated keeps our energy levels high. Got the afternoon lulls? Drink a glass or two of water. And, hydration also affects our brain function. Another good reason to have a glass or two of water. A study was completed on young women to see how fluid loss from exercise and exertion affected the body. They found that the fluid loss had a direct impact on decreased concentration and it can absolutely affect mood. You can see the study here if you are interested. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-health-benefits-of-water#section2
Water also help to improve our physical performance. If you aren’t drinking enough water during exercise it can affect your body temperature, our motivation and your level of fatigue.
Oh, and this is important. Staying hydrated can also help to reduce the oxidative stress in the body. Oxidative stresses prematurely age us. Want to help you stay younger, drink more water!!
As a matter of fact, you should be drinking ½ of your body weight in ounces throughout the day. For example, if you are 120lbs, you should be drinking 60 oz of water per day. We will talk about the kind of water you should be drinking in a bit.
What else can water do?
Whenever a client complains of constipation, I always inquire about their intake of water. Increasing fluids definitely work to help offer some relief.
It can improve help to prevent hangovers. Now, you know that one of the items I ask clients to eliminate is alcohol but again, we are about the progression, not perfection. So, I don’t expect all of my clients have given up their wine, especially in social situations. Why does water help? Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning that it moves water out of the body. Therefore, why you have to pee so much when you drink. A good rule of thumb is to have a glass of water between drinks and definitely before you go to bed to help relieve you of the next day hangover blues.
Can water contribute to weightloss? Well duh. Yes, it can. It can boost your metabolism but better yet. It makes you feel full. Isn’t that a bonus.
It also helps to flush toxins from the body. Why is that good for you? It improves skin clarity and helps to improve that nasty acne.
Bottled water vs tap water
Bottled water isn’t held to the same reporting standards as tap water. Of course not, why would it be? Tap water is regulated by the EPA in the US (Environmental Protection Agency, in case you didn’t know what EPA meant). Bottled water is regulated as a food product by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). Under FDA rules, bottlers don’t usually have to state the water source or how it was treated. The FDA does monitor and inspect bottling plants, but it is the government and not well regulated.
So, how do you guarantee your water is clean and good for you?
Filter your water.
Berkey has a great countertop water system and you can buy it off of Amazon at this link.
Just as a side note. More than 80% of plastic recyclable bottles end up in landfills each year. Another good reason to ditch the plastic water bottles. There are many more reasons that aren’t really good for us but this is a pretty good reason. We aren’t treating mother earth too good right now. Anything we can do to help would be awesome. So get yourself one of those awesome stainless steel, double insulated water bottles and bring your filtered water with you wherever you go.
Photo by Erda Estremera on Unsplash
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