Water, source of life; Do you drink enough?
It is possible to live without light, like few organisms do deep down into the sea, but no living entity can live without water.
Water is the strength behind creation of life, according to Masaru Emoto, Japanese author known for his researches on the powerful effect of thoughts and emotions on water molecules. For instance, if you have 2 identical glasses of water and you place one under classical music or words of love, and the other under very aggressive music, the esthetics of the water molecules’ crystals change drastically in 2 different ways. It is actually a proven fascinating theory that I strongly suggest you read about, if it’s not done already. It is therefore possible that water has a healing effect on us if we put the right intention to it, by drinking it or bathe in it, as incredible as this may seem!
Let’s not forget that our body is composed with 70% of water. Water carries substances to maintain life, it keeps our body temperature viable and allows chemical reactions within our cells. Drinking enough water will keep your muscles supple, maintain an efficient blood circulation and a good functioning of the cells, including the neurologic activity in the brain. Water is necessary for all organs to allow an effective evacuation of toxins and other wastes. Being well hydrated will also keep the necessary amount of liquid in the synovial fluids, which is an efficient way to help prevent arthritis. Overall, drinking enough water is a true aspect of disease prevention, and we need more when we’re fighting most diseases. We eliminate daily about 2.5 liters of water through urine, stool, saliva, sweat, and vapor from lungs. People who have to talk a lot or sing, moms who breast-feed and of course athletes, lose more, so they have to drink more. When the body lacks water, it has to provide itself in extracellular fluids and we want to avoid that to stay healthy!
How to know if we drink enough water? First, know that if you feel thirsty you are already dehydrated. It is essential to drink at least 1.5 liters of water daily, or 6 to 8 glasses. During a training session, you have to add ½ to 1 extra liter of water per hour of exercise. The best indicator of a good hydration remains to keep track of your urine color; if it’s dark you need to drink more, it’s as simple as that!
If you don’t drink water or you claim to not like the taste, it’s really a question of habit. Water has no taste so you can’t realistically not like the taste. Knowing all the benefits and essential roles of water in the body, you’ll understand that it’s definitely worth it to force yourself a bit to drink it at first if you’ve never been used to it. Your body might react by urinating frequently but kidneys get used to the change and it goes back to normal after 2 to 6 weeks. It’s almost impossible to drink too much water unless you have a kidneys’ condition, in which case it is preferable to ask your doctor which quantity of water is optimal for your body.
If you are dehydrated after a big sweat or diarrhea, that automatically results with a loss of salt in the body and extracellular dehydration. To bring back the equilibrium without lowering the concentration of salt remaining in the body, you must drink water slowly and add salt to it.
It’s always better to drink water that’s at room temperature to avoid shocking the system. And no, even if some will say otherwise, water that’s contained in food, juice, coffee and herbal tea is already saturated and will not replace pure drinking water, it does not have the same effect in the body.
When is the best time to drink water? Right away as you get up in the morning is a perfect time because the body didn’t refuel in water in many hours and lost some in the first morning urine (night detoxification). Then, drinking water half an hour before meals will prepare your digestive system and stabilize you appetite so you won’t eat as much. Rehydrating one or 2 hours after the last bite will also equilibrate intra and extracellular fluids. It is better not to drink during meals or just a bit because it will dilute gastric juices and make the digestion and nutrients absorption much less efficient. Of course, keeping water by you and easy to access many times in the day is the best way to keep you well hydrated.
Water is a source to life, vital for our health and wellbeing, please don’t avoid it, there shouldn’t be no excuses when it comes to health!
Cheers to your health!
Annie Cap
Photo credit : http://www.earthfuture.com/
