Water is the basis of all life and that includes your body. Your muscles that move your body are 75% water; your blood that transport nutrients is 82% water; your lungs that provide your oxygen are 90% water; your brain that is the control center of your body is 76% water; even your bones are 25% water.
As the weather warms up, our requirement for water increases.
Thirst is the last sign of dehydration. Low urine volume and dark smelly urine, dryness, headaches, fatigue and creakiness of joints or muscle fatigue indicate you need to better hydrate.
Hydrate well by:
1. Reducing your dehydrating fluids such as caffeinated drinks such as energy and chocolate drinks, teas and coffee. Reduce your alcohol to weekends, special occasions or enjoy a glass with a meal.
2. Avoiding juices, unless they are freshly made and the whole fiber or pulp is added back in. Vegetable juices are better than fruit juices as they contain less natural sugars. Dilute your juices with water.
3. Avoid soft drinks and cordials. For the obvious reasons: they are high in sugar, sweeteners, additives and do not offer any nutrition.
4. Avoid processed electrolyte drinks, which are full of additives, colours, flavours, sugar and refined salt and synthetic nutrients.
5. Drink 30 minutes before and 1-2 hours after a meal. Drinking with meals dilutes your food and digestive enzymes. This leads to poor digestion and absorption resulting in bloating and low nutrient intake. If you are thirsty during your meal your food might be processed, full of refined salt or MSG. Drink small sips during a meal or a hydrating digestive herbal tea such as dandelion root, ginger root, cinnamon and chamomile.
6. Add a sprinkle of natural, unrefined salt such as Himalayan, sea or river salt to your drinking water if your water is taken from the tap. This helps re mineralize your water and aid hydration. These minerals are found naturally in Spring water. Add just enough so the water feels soft but not taste salty.
7. Drink filtered tap water. The Water Shop in Australia offer the best water filter service. Tap water contains chemical and natural pollutants and is best avoided for good health.
8. Carry your water in a stainless steel water bottle or glass bottle. Avoid buying plastic bottled water unless you absolutely need to. Plastic water bottles are not really recycled but down cycled, which means they are converted into another product only if they are put in the recycled bin. The true meaning of recycling is when plastic bottles can be reused as a water bottle. And why pay for water, right?
9. Drink herbal teas as these hydrate like water. Make sure they are organic and non-caffeinated. Other hydrating fluids include broths and soups.
10. Fresh fruit and vegetables also offer a high water content compared to dehydrated and dried packaged foods.
11. Drink 3% of body weight per day. Simply calculate, weight in kg X 0.033 equals the number of litres required per day. Drink more if you are exercising, it’s a hot day, have a fever or sitting in an air conditioned room.
