Seventy to 75 percent of us are chronically dehydrated
Published in the July 8-21, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Tracee Gluhaich
California might be in the middle of the fourth year of drought, but that doesn’t mean your body has to be. Yet, 70 to 75 percent of us are chronically dehydrated.
The problem is, we don’t drink enough water because we fill up on so much other stuff. Soda, coffee, beer and milk are some popular beverages, and people think this satisfies their thirst. Those drinks simply are not the same. Water trumps all of them. You must drink more of this life-giving liquid.
The health benefits of drinking water are many. Because 60 percent of our body composition is water, H-2-O must be pretty important for bodily functions. These include:
• Satisfies thirst
• Increases energy
• Boosts strength – muscles are full of water
• Improves joint health
• Flushes out toxins
• Plumps up skin, make you look less wrinkly
• Helps you poop
• Fills up your belly so you eat less
• Keeps your kidneys healthy
• Regulates body temperature
Some people think the average person should guzzle eight eight-ounce glasses a day, for a total of 64 ounces. Many fitness experts say a person should consume a minimum half-ounce per pound of body weight. So unless you only weigh 128 pounds, then you must drink more.
I drink a gallon or more of filtered water every day. Every morning, I brush my teeth and head down the hall for my delicious cup of coffee and while the coffee is brewing, I down a glass of water with a squeeze of fresh lemon. Lemon water not only hydrates your body, it flushes out toxins and balances your PH. It also helps your immune system, decreases inflammation and aids digestion. If you add cayenne, it will give you a metabolism boost as well.
So how do I get in that whole gallon? Well, every morning, I fill up my favorite one-liter water bottle and put four hair ties around the top. Each time I refill the water bottle, I take one off. By the end of the day, all the hair ties are gone.
If you drink one liter by 9 a.m., another by noon, one by 3 p.m., and the last by 6 p.m., then you will sleep well and not be up all night going to the bathroom.
Now don’t go thinking that if you are not thirsty, you don’t need to drink water. Once you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Many factors increase your need for more water such as strenuous exercise, living in a hot climate, illness, drinking caffeinated beverages or alcohol. The rule of thumb is to add two glasses of water for every serving of the above.
Please don’t drink from those plastic bottles you get at the grocery store. You would be better off drinking from the hose. There are many issues with those plastic water bottles: How long has that water been stored in the warehouse? Where did they procure the water in the first place? Is it just tap water? Was it exposed to extreme heat or cold where the plastic chemicals would be more apt to leach into the water?
All those factors add up to yucky water. I much prefer drinking out of my own container. Besides, it’s way better for our environment.
When I was growing up, we never had plastic water bottles. It was the drinking fountain or the hose. So many kids today bring those water bottles in their lunches. Wouldn’t it be better for their health and the environment, if we banned that plastic junk? We can install refillable water stations such as those at Morgan Hill’s Centennial Recreation Center.
The other thing to be careful of is fluoride and other chemicals in your water. Check the city water report to determine if your tap water is pure.
If not, then you might consider getting a reverse osmosis or a charcoal filter (such as a the Brita brand). I love my reverse osmosis machine – and it even pipes into my fridge, so my ice is clean, too.
Make a commitment to yourself today: Drink more water, stop buying plastic, and decrease your soda consumption.
Tracee Gluhaich is a local health coach and personal trainer. Check out her website at www.highenergygirl.com. She wrote this for Morgan Hill Life.
