Water is Life
Have you ever heard that water is life? It is a sentence that couldn’t be more true.
Our bodies are made up of around 60 percent water. Earth is made up of about 71 percent water. All living systems on earth are living because of the abundance of water that we have.
Without water, we wouldn’t be able to survive. On average, humans can go up to a few weeks without food and survive. Without water, we could only survive up to a few days. It is a necessity for our body to function and for everything to operate at it highest potential.
After being chronically dehydrated most of my life to being chronically hydrated, I can tell you that the difference is astronomical. You notice, rather quickly, what the signs are that you’re dehydrated and that your body is begging you for hydration.
Some signs of dehydration include dry and cracked skin/lips, dark yellow urine, fatigue, brain fog, mood swings, nausea, headaches, and feeling thirsty or even hungry. Not only is drinking more water going to help with these symptoms, it’ll also help your body move waste through, transport nutrients, lubricate your joints, regulate body temperature, and much more. It is essential and a non-negotiable for optimal health and performance.
It serves as an important reminder to always be listening to your body. Its cues are telling you important information. Many times, we don’t put two and two together. If we feel depressed or angry, we may feel it is because of our circumstances, but it could simply be that your body is in need of some serious hydration.
The most fascinating and eye-opening research on hydration is that if our bodies are only 1-3% dehydrated, we can begin to notice some negative effects. That isn’t that much at all. And considering that around 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated, 3 out of 4 people are living day-to-day with many unpleasant symptoms that could be mitigated through drinking more water.
So how do we drink more water? Because honestly, it doesn’t taste that good, right? Well, first thing to note is that our taste buds change and adapt to the food and liquids we intake. If water sounds miserable to you right now, give it a few days or so of drinking lots of it and you might begin to like it, or at least be able to handle it.
My other favorite thing to do is to squeeze some fresh lemon or lime juice into it as a quick and easy way to improve the taste and also the nutrient profile. You can get as creative as you want. I like to add frozen fruit into my water to flavor it and then it’s usually soft enough to eat the fruit after I drink the water.
We can also drink more water by filling a reusable water bottle each morning to bring with us for our day. This means that we will always have access to it and it serves as a reminder when you see the water bottle sitting next to you. You can also set a timer on your phone for every hour or so to drink water.
You want to make sure that you are hitting about half of your body weight in ounces. So if you weigh 180 pounds, you would need on average 90 ounces of water. You can get plenty of water through fruits and vegetables as well. If you are very active, you would want to increase the amount you drink.
So be sure to listen to your body and understand what it is telling you. Most often than not, we will notice that we start to feel much better when we increase our water intake. It is often the number one most important area to start when you want to be healthier.
Water is life and in order to live your best life, you’ll need to be fully hydrated.
Be well…be hydrated!
Jake