The H2O Factor

The H2O Factor

By: Sue Meredith

September 23, 2011

Did you know that the adult human body is made up of approximately 70% of water?

You need to be sure to hydrate your body adequately to ensure proper bodily functions like elimination, breathing, skin rejuvenation / regeneration, and transportation of required nutrients.  The daily-recommended intake per the Mayo Clinic is 8 to 9 cups per day. Visit: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283 for more water facts from the Mayo Clinic.

You not only get water from drinking water but from fruits and vegetables in your daily diet.  

A healthy person can drink up to 3 gallons or 48 cups of water a day. Be careful though. Drinking too much water too quickly can lead to intoxication. Intoxication incurs when the water dilutes the sodium in your blood stream and causes imbalances in the brain. So drink plenty of water but stretch it out throughout the day, don’t guzzle it all at once.

Water helps the transportation of vitamins, minerals and nutrients through the body to vital organs to keep normal function of lungs, heart, ears, eyes etc… to keep the body moving and living.  Here is an example: think about when a doctor prescribes a medication and you read the instructions for taking the meds. A lot of them say take this medication with a full glass of water. This is to help transport the meds through the body fully.

Water is also a transportation device for toxins we intake from the foods we eat that contain small amounts of fertilizers, pesticides, hormones, preservatives and antibiotics. These toxins are eliminated through urination and bowel movements. Your kidneys filter out these poisons so you want to be sure to get enough water to clean the kidneys out all the way!

Another function of water for the body is to transport oxygen through out the body to organs and the brain. This will help increase energy levels and clarity of thinking and memory.  Water also keeps the skin hydrated helping to prevent or reduce wrinkles, acne, and blemishes and may also help to reduce the appearance of that UGLY FAT we all know as Cellulite!

A little about exercise and water: be sure to drink plenty of water during exercise, outdoor activities and any other activity that will bring the body temperature up. When you get hot, your body creates perspiration to keep itself cool; therefore you need to replace the water you are sweating out. If you are thirsty or your mouth is dry and sticky, you are already becoming dehydrated. When this occurs, the average person’s body will have lost 1% of its total water content.

A lot of clients ask me: “what about soda, coffee, tea or juice? These contain water. Can’t I just drink these?”  The problem with this theory, all these drinks contain caffeine and caffeine acts as a diuretic and prevents the flow of water to the necessary parts of the body.   

My suggestion for increased water intake…

Carry a bottle everywhere you go. If you have a water cooler at work, just keep refilling!  No water cooler access? Purchase one of those 1 or 2 gallon jugs in the sporting goods section at you local department store and fill it up before you leave home in the morning and keep it with you at all times. This should be plenty to keep you supplied with water for the day until you get home.

Switching from Coffee, Tea, Soda or Juices to water may take a couple of weeks to get used to. You may also experience “caffeine headaches” until it gets eliminated from the body and the body gets detoxified.  In the long run you will notice many positive changes from your new love for water like:

Increased Energy

Skin Clarity and Smoothness

Weight Loss

Fat Reduction

Better Sleep

Good Health and happy Mind & Body.