Ah, the old adage never gets old… water water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. Where on Earth did that come from anyway?
Either way, I feel we are blessed. Blessed to have clean, pure, water that comes from the tap.
The source of life.
Water.
Now… I have counselled clients on this for ages.
I cannot stress the importance of water to our health.
It is what hydrates us.
It is what flushes the nasties out.
And yet, for some people, this is a challenge beyond words.
Last year I started up with 75 hard, a sort of mental toughness program, and part of that program includes drinking 1 US gallon of water every day (about 4L). For many people, this part is one of the harder parts (and the other stuff is not easy haha).
Now, I was trained to suggest half your body weight in ounces daily. This includes, and probably especially includes, those of us who are aiming to lose weight (the good news goes, as you weigh less, you will need to drink less). In addition, it is recommended that if you are in a hot climate, you add another 32oz of water each day, and another 32oz of water each day if you are exercising (you see how we landed at a gallon up there).
For most people, I highly recommend a gallon. It’s easy to measure, easy to track, and relatively easy (haha) to consume.
Now, it should not be news to anyone, but coffee is a diuretic, so it has a dehydrating effect. If you drink a lot of coffee (I may be guilty of this), additional water should probably be consumed.
There is good evidence to support better brain function when hydrated, better physical performance, generally improved health, and more.
The benefits outweigh the downsides (the most common and significant downside is many trips to the washroom – but this works out to more exercise, so it’s really a benefit haha).
Have freqent headaches? Try upping your water intake and/or decreasing your caffeine intake.
Now… what water to drink?
Good, clean water is best. If you have access to water sourced from an artesian well, consider yourself lucky. For the rest of us, what makes the most sense (financially and from an environmental point of view) is water from the tap.
I also recommend filtering your tap water (you might like it more) using one of the great products you can find at lifestraw:
They have some great water filters for home, which are both economical and effective at removing many of the contaminants you might find in water.
And it generally tastes better 🙂
Now many of my clients don’t love plain water, and while I think it is good to get used to drinking plain water, a really simple/decent way to drink more water is to add some flavour to your water, like lemon or lime. I strongly discourage the use of most of the squeeze bottles that include artificial sweeteners/colours/flavours – that makes it a little counterproductive in my personal opinion.
If you are looking for a convenient/natural way to add some extra to your water, check out https://www.truelemon.com/products/true-lemon – this is decent and convenient, and adds some flavour to your water without a bunch of expense.
Here’s a summary:
We are made up of around 60% water
Our brains and hearts are made up of about 70% water
Water is critical to our health, dehydration affects us negatively
Some believe that most chronic disease is a result of chronic dehydration
There is evidence to suggest hydration can help/resolve dementia
It is not hard to get/consume water
It is inexpensive/borderline free
Dehydration will show up as aging skin
This is where I start all my clients. If you want to feel better, look younger and likely have more energy… you should probably start by drinking more water.
I will talk more about the other pillars of health in separate posts, but start here.
With water.