5 Reasons You Should Be Drinking More Water
Staying Hydrated
Water is one of the consumables I encourage EVERY patient to ensure they get enough of. There are a lot of questions as to how much, how often, quality, etc. and in this write up we are going to discuss a few of those questions. In order to understand why we should be drinking water, lets “dive” into all the benefits water has to offer.
1. Water is used in every single chemical reaction in your body.
Making actual fuel out of food requires water. If you do not get enough water, you may feel fatigue, tiredness, sleepy, etc. Instead of that late night coffee, you may just need a nice tall glass of water!
2. Water is necessary in lubricating joints.
Synovial fluid is the lubrication or “oil” in between joints. Synovial fluid is comprised predominantly of water, 75% of the fluid between our joints to be precise. Much like the Tinman in The Wizard of Oz, without enough water coming in, the joints can lock up and become achy, sore, and degenerative. Unlike the Tinman, as HUMANs we simply need to drink water regularly and our body will do the rest! It puts the water where it is needed!
3. Water is used by the body to moisturize the skin.
If you are going through bottles and bottles of expensive and chemical containing moisturizers, you will be surprised to know that drinking water will allow your body to moisturize your skin from the inside. Much like the water finding our joints, it will be used by our glands to provide good and beneficial oils to our skin. If you aren’t drinking enough water, your skin can become taut, dry, and itchy.
4. Brain health is highly reliant on water intake.
Our brain is made up of over 75% water. It also represents the highest usage of sugar in our body. As we think and use higher processing brain activities, our motherboard uses tons of glucose as fuel. If you decide that you don’t need or want water, then your body will have no way of getting rid of the waste that accumulates. This WILL result in brain fog, energy deprivation, slower response times, less creativity, less brain power.
5. Water is our body’s primary vehicle of waste removal.
This may be the most overlooked aspect of water. I’m sure everyone has experienced waking up and doing a little dance in the middle of the night as they stumble into the bathroom… That process is actually the predominant way your body gets rid of waste. If you do not have enough water coming in, you will fill up with toxins and it will make any symptom or disorder you are dealing with truly worse. That goes for both #1 AND #2. What that means is that constipation many times can be fixed or helped by increasing your water intake. That type of waste removal also requires water.
How does this affect you?
Well, now you know why I am very pushy when it comes to drinking enough water. What is the correct amount?Since everyone is different, an EXACT amount is impossible to prescribe. The best advice is to drink roughly half of your body weight in ounces a day. So, if you are 150 pounds, that means 75 ounces of water per day. If you are active or are in the heat, drink more than that, especially in the hot sun of South Florida.
Is there a type of water I should drink?
I personally recommend alkalized Kangen Water. The machine itself can be costly, ranging from $1,800 to $5,200 dollars, but it will easily replace every bottle of water you will drink for the next 15 years. I encourage every one of you to bring in reusable water containers and fill up with Kangen Water from the office at NO COST to you. If you end up wanting a machine I can give you a discount on it because it WILL increase your health which is my goal. If you have questions about the “special water” please ask!
Tips and Tricks
Drink a LARGE glass of water immediately upon waking. If you are a 160 pound human and you are aiming for 80 ounces (my recommendation), starting the day with 20-30 ounces will give you a great head start. If you choose to use bottled water please do not leave it in direct light as it will degrade the plastic and you will then ingest that as well. Collect the caps as you go so that you can track how much water you are taking in, or there are smartphone apps that can help you record water intake as well.
By the way… Things like Coffee and Soda do NOT count as water. They actually count as negative water in my book. If you drink 12 oz of coffee, you should now aim for 92 to flush out the coffee.
