When you drink more water you have better concentration, look healthier, feel better and function at your best.
Every cell in your body needs water from head to toe. That is why it is so important to drink enough fluid. Take for example, the brain consists of 90% water, if you do not supply enough water to your body, your brain cannot function well, and you will get a headache or migraine. So the next time if you feel fatigued with a headache, it may be the sign of dehydration.
To be at your best you will have to drink enough pure water to stay well hydrated. Remember to drink fresh pure water and not sugary soft drinks or cordials because all they will do is make you get fatter by adding extra sugar and calories to your diet, and rot your teeth from all of the sugar and sweeteners.
If any one tells you different, for example that you can drink soft drinks and other sugary drinks instead of pure water all day, ask them to show you their abs and their teeth. Most times they will have a fat stomach and bad teeth. It’s said that back in the slave days of the Roman Empire, when the masters were at the markets to buy slaves, they would look at the slave’s teeth to get an indication of what his bones were like. If the slave had weak rotten teeth, they viewed it as a sign of bad health and weak bones.
A lot of people ask us about sports drinks. If you’ve just been training and sweating a lot – a good sport’s drink can replace your sodium levels and give your body beneficial electrolytes. We personally never drink sports drinks, only pure water or a home made, amino acid sports drink when we are training OR if we are really dehydrated we opt for a coconut water drink which is full of electrolites (there are heaps of coconut water drinks on the market that are pure or buy a young coconut from health shop and cut it open and drink that.
My amino acid sports drink is made up of 600 ml of water or a with a splash of grape juice, 1 teaspoon of L-glutamine and 1 teaspoon of essential and 1 teaspoon of branched chain amino acids.
To be in great shape, radiate health, strength and well being you need to drink pure water every day to keep your body functioning at its ultimate level. Some people might need more and some people might need less. This is where you will need to keep track of how much water you are drinking on a daily basis and see how you’re feeling.
The human body is anywhere from 55% to 78% water, depending on the body size. As a rule of thumb, 2/3 of the body consists of water, and it is the main component of human body.
- Muscle consists of 75% water
- Brain consists of 90% water
- Bone consists of 22% water
- Blood consists of 83% water
The functions of water in human body are vital. Water:
- Transports nutrients and oxygen into the cells
- Moisturizes the air in lungs
- Helps with the metabolism
- Protects our vital organs
- Helps our organs to absorb nutrients better
- Regulates body temperature
- Detoxifies
- Protects and moisturizes our joints
Some of the harmful effects that results from dehydration are tiredness, migraines, constipation, muscle cramps, irregular blood-pressure, kidney problems, dry skin, and if you are 20% dehydrated – risk of death!
Some of the symptoms that you need more water include dark urine, dry skin, thirst, hunger and fatigue.
Thirst is the most obvious sign that you’re already dehydrated. It is always a good practice to drink more water when you’re not thirsty, don’t wait until you’re thirsty.
Most people mistaken feeling hungry as the indication to eat more, whereas in actual fact, you may be dehydrated. So before you have your meal, grab a glass of water.
Water is used by the body to help flush out toxins and waste products from the body. If your body lacks water, your heart, for instance, needs to work harder to pump out the oxygenated blood to all cells, so do the rest of the vital organs, your organs will be exhausted and so are you.
You will be amazed of the benefits of drinking water.
Drinking water helps you lose weight because it flushes down the by-products of fat breakdown.
Drinking water reduces hunger, and it is a natural appetite suppressant. Insufficient fluid can lead to over eating. You brain does not differentiate between hunger and thirst. If there is a slight dehydration the thirst mechanism may be mistaken for hunger and one may eat when the body is actually craving for water. In other words, when you think you are hungry, your body may in fact be telling you that you are thirsty!
To give you an example I have listed how much water I drink a day. I weigh around 80kg and I drink 2-3+ liters of pure water every day.
I drink about ½ to 1 litre when I first wake up to flush, clean my system and to hydrate my body ready for the day. I have a glass bottle that holds a litre of water and I refill it at least twice a day. Glass is better than plastic because some plastic containers have been known to leach toxins into the water from the bottle. I also drink an extra litre of water for very hour when I’m exercising and sweating a lot.
Most recommendations are a general rule that can vary because someone in a cold climate won’t drink as much as someone who is a hot climate where they sweat all the time. You just have to use your common sense and aim for about 2+ liters a day. I have some clients who drink 5+ liters a day because they work outside in the sun and sweat all day.
The main thing you need to do is test and measure how you feel with the amount of water you’re drinking. Feel how much more vibrant and energetic you feel after a few days of drinking ½ to 1 liter first thing in the morning and then at least 2 liters more throughout the day.
Enjoy Drinking More Water and Feeling Better Today!!!
If you love delicious, fresh, nutritious leafy greens in your salads and green smoothies, there is nothing more rewarding then growing your own ‘leafy green’ garden to pick from each day!
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