Let's Grab a Drink …

I can’t even begin to tell you how often I have to tell people to drink water. So many of you (this time I’m not sharing the label) are dehydrated and you don’t even know it. You just feel off or hungry or tired or foggy and it’s a chronic feeling that could very easily be remedied.

Personally I drink five 16-ounce glasses of water per day, at the minimum.

I have had clients tell me they do drink water. We then monitor and determine that yes, they have bottled water and they have it with them. However, they nurse a 16-ounce bottle all day long and rarely finish it. Guess what folks? You need water for every bit of your biology, including thought processes. When you are dehydrated you can run into all sorts of problems.

Are you experiencing any of these discomforts?

1. Fatigue, Energy Loss: Dehydration of the tissues causes enzymatic activity to slow down.

2. Constipation: When chewed food enters the colon, it contains too much liquid to allow stools to form properly, and the wall of the colon reduces it. In chronic dehydration, the colon takes too much water to give to other parts of the body.

3. Digestive Disorders: In chronic dehydration, the secretion of digestive juices are lessened.

4. High and Low Blood Pressure: The body’s blood volume is not enough to completely fill the entire set of arteries, veins, and capillaries.

5. Gastritis, Stomach Ulcers: To protect its mucous membranes from being destroyed by the acidic digestive fluid it produces, the stomach secretes a layer of mucus.

6. Respiratory Troubles: The mucous membranes of the respiratory region are slightly moist to protect the respiratory tract from substances that might be present in inhaled air.

7. Acid-Alkaline Imbalance: Dehydration activates an enzymatic slowdown producing acidification.

8. Excess Weight and Obesity: We may overeat because we crave foods rich in water. Thirst is often confused with hunger.

9. Eczema: Your body needs enough moisture to sweat 20 to 24 ounces of water, the amount necessary to dilute toxins so they do not irritate the skin.

10. High Cholesterol: When dehydration causes too much liquid to be removed from inside the cells, the body tries to stop this loss by producing more cholesterol.

11. Cystitis, Urinary Infections: If toxins contained in urine are insufficiently diluted, they attack the urinary mucous membranes.

12. Rheumatism: Dehydration abnormally increases the concentration of toxins in the blood and cellular fluids, and the pains increase in proportion to the concentration of the toxins.

13. Premature Aging: The body of a newborn child is composed of 80 percent liquid, but this percentage declines to no more than 70 percent in an adult and continues to decline with age.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, cold drinks disrupt the proper flow of energy in the body and “shock” the body. Stick to warm or room temperature fluids

• Fruit juice, soda, ice tea all have calories that add up.
• Caffeinated beverages, such as coffee, tea, and green tea, count for ½ of the water you need.
• More water is needed during exercise and in hot weather. A rough guideline—for every hour of exercise, drink an extra quart of water.

So, let’s grab a drink and see if you don’t feel better.