Everyone knows that water is vital to our bodies. After air, it is the one most essential component for life - without it we would die very quickly.
What most of us don't realise though is that we can die slowly and painfully from a constant lack of adequate water. Dehydration can cause or contribute to the development of many ills from painful muscles, digestive problems and headaches to kidney stones, cancer, autoimmune diseases and Alzheimer's disease just to name a few.
A chronic lack of water in the body causes stress which reduces the immune system and reduces the effectiveness of normal bodily functions. Over time, the body appears to get used to this constant "drought" but just like soil in drought-ravaged land produces fewer, weaker plants, so our bodies don't function as well as they should and after a time, disease sets in.
This can all happen even though you think you are drinking enough water each day. That's because your body is very good at using all the available water it has. The kidneys recycle as much as possible and the body makes sure vital organs have first priority.
That's fine if it's only sometimes and for short periods of time. The problems occur over a long period of time - just like they do in drought-ravished land. We've all seen images of salt-encrusted, eroded land and sick, stagnent river systems.
DO WE REALLY WANT THE SAME THING TO HAPPEN TO OUR BODIES?
The good news is that often most or all of the problems we have been experiencing can be completely cured by simply drinking enough water - regularly.
But what is enough and what sort of water should we drink?
There's so much conflicting information out there. I suggest you do your own research but I always recommend 2 litres of filtered water per day for optimal health.
I like to start the day with about half a litre of water before I get out of bed. I take a 750ml bottle of filtered water to bed each night and sip it if I feel thirsty during the night. Each morning I finish the bottle before I get up.
About half an hour later I have breakfast then fill my bottle again. During the morning I drink more water, finishing the second bottle about half an hour before lunch.
I then fill the bottle and get through some in the afternoon and the rest after dinner. I then start again with a full bottle at night. All this is in addition to any tea, coffee, alcohol, etc I might consume.
That way I get through 3 litres a day - more if I'm exercising or it's hot weather. I don't expect people who are used to much less water than that to drink that much - they could actually stress their kidneys if they drink too much too soon. Better to build up to a level where you don't feel thirsty (by then you are already dehydrated) and all your bodily functions such as digestion and bowels are working regularly and normally. So, if you usually only drink half a litre of water, try to drink 1 litre. When you get used to that, increase it to 1 and a half litres and so on.
It's also important to get adequate salt in your diet. Salt, together with adequate water, helps normal cell functioning. If you don't consume about half a teaspoon of salt per day, you could be losing too much salt if you drink lots of water. That can lead to cramps and other problems.
Obviously, healthy, nutritious food and exercise are also important and I will talk more about those in another post.
Meanwhile, happy drinking!
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