Water and Health

12.07.2012 | Author: admin | Posted in Nutrition
Water is the life blood of every living thing in the world. Most of the earths surface is covered by water. Plants,fruits,vegetables, Animals, and Mammals need water to survive. Humans are no different. Water should be the beverage of choice for all of us. Sadly it is not. As a result some people suffer the consequences of not making significant water drinking a daily priority.

water and your health

As I grew up my mother would always tell me to drink eight 8 ounce glasses of water a day. I’m assuming she heard this somewhere. Perhaps she heard it on Oprah or one of the talk radio shows she used to listen to. I can still here her telling me to drink lots of water till this very day. At times she would not let me drink anything else until I had met my water requirements for the day. Often I would tell her I had drank enough water at the water fountain at school so I could drink kool-aid or soda. That response never worked. Most of my meals as a child were occupied by a glass of water. I’m thankful that she created the habit in me to drink water regularly because it has afforded me good health. Currently experts actually say you should drink water with meals because it helps the body feel refreshed.

Seventy percent of our body is made up of water. Half of our weight is water weight. Water aids in our internal systems working properly. Our blood and cells are mostly made up of water as well. When we don’t drink enough water our bodies actually retain water. We can tell that this is happening because our urine will be dark yellow. This is the bodies way of telling us that we need to drink more water. On the contrary when our urine is light yellow or clear our body is getting rid of excess water because we are fully hydrated. You really want to stay on this end of the spectrum.

Some experts say we should drink half of our weight in ounces of water a day. If it is warm outside we should drink more water than usual. While exercising or doing strenuous activity that causes us to sweat we should drink water before during, and afterwards. If we do not do this we may become dehydrated. There are a lot of unhealthy consequences that come with dehydration such as fainting, headaches, strong smelling urine, and many more you don’t want to experience.

There are many ways we can get our daily dose of water. Foods we eat such as fruits, and vegetables contain lots of water. Natural fruits, and vegetables are the best source not those that are processed in a bag or can. Many of the drinks we drink daily have lots of water in them even coffee. However, be careful not to totally depend on juice, soda and kool-aid for your hydration sources as these drinks have high sugar and calories that aren’t good for the body in high doses. Pure H2O is always a pure and elite source of hydration. In addition for every serving of alcohol we drink we should drink a cup of water to subdue it because alcohol actually absorbs water.

I am aware that many people just don’t like the taste of water. There are many water supplements on the market that give water flavor as well as added vitamins and minerals that are actually good for you. Personally my water flavor enhancer of choice is twist tubes by a certified organic health and wellness company. They have several flavors that help enhance immunity, joint health, and fruit and vegetable servings the body needs. The flavors range from orange to kiwi strawberry. Personally I use the immunity Kiwi strawberry flavor in place of airborne. I have found that these twist tubes give my water a delicious flavor without all the added sugar, and calories that other competing water flavoring brands give.

Really there is no excuse for not staying hydrated and drinking enough water everyday. If you are not currently drinking water I suggest you start to make this a regular routine in your life. You will feel better, and it will help your health. Your body will thank you.

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