Drink to Your Health!
The Power of H20
The Power of H20Water is life. We can survive for weeks without food, but only three days without water. Dehydration can cause everything from headaches, to brain fog, to heart palpitations, and eventually death. Many of us are walking around chronically dehydrated. The bad news is that much of what we drink including alcohol and caffeine laden drinks such as coffee, contributes to dehydration. Not drinking enough H20? Join the club. No, really join the club! We are holding a hydration challenge to motivate us to drink more of the good stuff! If you need more convincing, read on to learn about why proper hydration matters, and the importance of water.
Why Water?
Water is important and vital to your cells. If you’re having difficulty staying motivated to drink water throughout the day here are some facts that might entice you to guzzle down mother nature’s hydrator.
Albert Einstein drank Water
I mean, we’re sure he did because drinking water makes your brain perform tasks better which essentially makes you smarter. Water accounts for 75% of brain mass, and H20 is one of the few substances with a free pass to cross the blood brain barrier. Brand new data reveals that even minor dehydration impairs brain function and when test subjects were properly hydrated their short-term memory, focus and reaction times improved! Another study showed that a mere 2 percent drop in hydration levels led to impairment in tasks requiring attention, motor coordination and executive function which includes proofreading and mental math. Drink water to uncover your inner genius.
Drink up to Shrink Down
If you want to shrink your waist line, drinking water may help. It’s often difficult to tell the difference between hunger and thirst signals, which can lead to overeating and cravings. Proper hydration can help you determine when you’re hungry so you don’t overeat. Water acts as a natural metabolism booster and can help with weight loss.
The Fountain of Youth
Drinking water, hydrates you from within plumping your skin and making you look younger! Think of it as nature’s filler. It’s a heck of a lot cheaper too.
The Best Energy Drink
Daytime fatigue is a battle many of us face. To combat it, it’s easy to reach for a caffeinated pick me up. Yet, did you know that dehydration is the number one nutritive trigger to fatigue? And since caffeine acts as a diuretic moving fluid out of the body, that coffee you’re downing to get more energy may actually be making you more tired. If you’re feeling sluggish try a glass of water to perk you up.
Mood Altering Substance
Looking to improve your mood? Stay hydrated. According to studies being dehydrated can negatively impact mood, so drinking water can make us feel sunnier. You may have heard of being hangry, when the brain doesn’t have enough fuel, but ‘thanger’, when the brain doesn’t have enough water, is also a thing and can leave us irritable as well. The brain’s stress hormones response is elevated when it’s dehydrated, especially when physically active contributing to a poor mood.
H20-101
Now that you know why you should drink water, let’s talk about which type of water is best to drink and how much water you need per day.
Is distilled water healthy?
In short, not really. Well drinking any water might seem like a good idea, the type of water you choose is just as important. Remember how water gets a free pass to cross the blood brain barrier? It also carries nutrients with it and delivers oxygen. Electrolytes from minerals such as sodium, magnesium and potassium work with water to keep your brain in tip top shape. If water is completely devoid of these minerals (such as in distilled and reverse osmosis water) then your body will leach them from your bones or other areas of the body.
Which is better filtered tap water or bottled water?
Which is better filtered tap water or bottled water?Again, it depends. Filtered water from reverse osmosis filters may seem ideal, but it also removes all of the minerals, which again means they are taken from elsewhere in the body. Some studies show this is more dangerous to the body than tap water! There are newer alkaline reverse osmosis water filters which take out contaminants and add minerals back in which may be a better bet. The other thing to keep in mind is that filters need to be changed regularly. Bottled water is often just tap water that’s been filtered, and if it comes in a plastic bottle, it may absorb some chemicals from the plastic. Glass bottled water that comes from a spring is ideal as nature has the right balance of what your body needs. As long as your water is properly filtered and has the minerals your body needs it is safe to drink.
Here is a product (Aussie Trace Minerals) for introducing the much needed minerals back into your body! And, you get a discount just by using this link! We love this product because they source minerals from a cleaner part of the sea side…Australia
How much water should you drink each day?
The Mayo Clinic estimates about 11.5 cups per day for women and 15.5 for men. That includes all beverages and doesn’t account for differences in body mass or exercise levels though.
How to Calculate how Much Water to Drink
There are many formulas that factor in your weight and activity level or you can use a water calculator.
Should you talk to your water?
Uh, maybe. Not only is water essential to life, but some people believe that it is living. The Emoto water experiment conducted by Dr. Masuro Emoto, author of the NYT bestseller, The Hidden Messages in Water, showed water responds to certain vibrations and emotions that can alter it’s molecular structure. Captured through high-speed photographs, the structure of the water appeared as beautiful crystal formations such as diamond or flower shapes when exposed to works like Mozart or phrases of love and gratitude, and dark unattractive images when exposed to negative words or elements. It can’t hurt to be grateful for water, and if you want to whisper sweet nothings to it before you drink it, we won’t judge.
Stay motivated
Now that you’re motivated to stay hydrated by the amazing benefits of water listed above don’t forget to join our hydration challenge!