Dehydration is one of the most overlooked treatments for many health conditions. Most of us walk around dehydrated including myself. What is worse, we put a lot of liquids in our body that makes us lose water and continues to deydrate us. With most of us either drinking coffee in the morning, or drinking soft drinks during the day and or alcohol in the evenings, you never can catch up. We then need to drink even more water to offset all of these other poor choices we are making. The human body contains 2/3 water by weight. Blood, muscles, brain and bones are also composed between 22%-90% water.
I find that I have to really be consicous about getting water into my body consistently and let me tell you it is hard. But what I found when I was consistent with my water intake over a 10 day period, I felt so much better. My energy levels increased, my joints felt better, I had better temperature regulation for myself (not having huge swings of being cold or hot) and my skin looked so much better. With all these great results it should be easy for me to stay consistent, but it is not. It is a work in progress for me.
How much water do you need? well your pee should be clear. You should get around 80-120 ounces a day and more if you exercise and sweat a lot.
So what are my top 5 benefits for drinking water?
1. Joint Pain and Stiffness- without getting to technical, we have a shock absorbers in our joints, much like a sponge. This sponge needs to be filled with water. As we age, this sponge gets broken down and our ability to keep our joints hydrated gets harder. The more consistent fluid you drink, the better your joints will feel.
2. Natural Headache Relief – There are many causes to getting a headache. One reason we get headaches is due to constriction. Keep our bodies hydrated, keeps the constriction to a minimum and can help with headaches. Give this a try and be consistent day after day. Did you know that 90% of our brain is actually water?
3. Improves your Skin appearance – Okay, maybe you will drink more water for vanity reasons. Dehydration makes the skin feel duller and can show wrinkles. Water keeps skins cells plump, making the skin look less wrinkled and having more of a glow.
4. Increases Energy and Reduces Fatigue- Often when people start eating cleaner you can really notice how fatigued you can get. This is due to the body really detoxing, making sure you keep the body well hydrated will really help to move the toxins and pick up your energy levels.
5. Helps to Get Rid of Toxins- Kidneys eliminate toxins and waste. If you don’t drink enough water, your kidneys won’t have enough fluid to function properly. Instead of flushing metabolic waste out through the bladder, your body holds on to toxins.
Hopefully you read this and it will make you want to get a water bottle to keep around you to measure how much water you are getting. Keep track of it over a week and you might be surprised how hard it is to do. As you are consistently getting enough water, you also will be surprised how much better you feel.
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