Water is vital to everything in the body and critical in helping our body detox. It is crucial for every cell in our bodies and helps keep our hormones balanced. Without water, our blood can become thick and harder to clean which leads to hormonal imbalances and toxic overload. Water moistens the mucus membranes of our respiratory and digestive track. This helps aid digestion and prevents constipation. Water helps slow down the signs of aging and prevents wrinkles. Water is the most important liquid nutrient you put into your body.
We all know we should drink plenty of water, yet studies consistently show that up to 75% of us are chronically dehydrated. Common symptoms of dehydration include: dark urine, dry mouth, chapped lips, thirst, headache, brain fog, fatigue, dry skin, premature aging, constipation and weight gain. Lesser known symptoms include depression, skin conditions, and even joint and back pain. Do any of these symptoms resonate with you? If so, here’s the fix:
Consume optimal water, lots of it. It’s so easy to get dehydrated (especially living on the equator), which ends up making you feel tired and depleted. Drinking water first thing in the morning gives the liver the tools it needs to do its job detoxifying the body. According to a study in Germany, drinking 500ml of water increased the metabolic rate by 30% which began to improve after 10 minutes and peaked at 30-40 minutes later. The conclusion? Maintaining proper hydration is key in maintaining a healthy metabolism and peak energy levels during the day.
Increasing your water intake may seem like a difficult task, but there are ways to make this health promoting habit more manageable. Start by securing a reusable (non-plastic) travel bottle to take with you to work (and with you throughout the day if you’re running errands), this easily supports more chances for water intake during your day. Making the habit of getting a drink of water along with every bathroom break during the day is also an effective way to create the habit of hydrating often. If you’re struggling with dehydration headaches, muscle pain, or joint pain, consider your water intake as a method of minimizing their intensity.
Are all forms of water equally beneficial to health? No. There are water sources that are significantly more beneficial to maintaining a healthy balance in your body and those that can actually throw your body out of balance. Here is a brief summary:
Most Optimal Water:
Spring water – full of naturally occurring minerals. Comes from an underground protected water source. Can be collected or tapped from where it rises or from the ground, so long as the flow of the spring is not disrupted by doing so.
Mineral water – comes from an underground source and contains at least 250 parts per mission (ppm) of dissolved solids, including minerals and trace elements. In order to retain its “mineral water” classification, the mineral water has to deliver a minimum mineral threshold of natural occurring minerals and trace elements. And the ionic form the minerals take in water make it easier for the body to absorb. Not all mineral water is the same. For example, Gerolsteiner Sparkling Mineral water contains 2,500 mg of minerals and trace elements, including 108ppm magnesium, 1,816ppm bicarbonate, 348ppm calcium, and 118ppm sodium, and you guessed it, has a similar taste to alka-seltzer.
Adequately filtered tap water – comes from a municipal source and is safe to drink but has additives like chlorine (linked to cancer), fluoride (linked to thyroid issues) which need to be filtered out through an additional filter like the Berkey filter (see below).
Non-Optimal Water:
Unfiltered or poorly filtered tap water – depending on where you live this water could contain lead, mercury, copper, pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals.
Reverse osmosis water – The opposite of tap water, RO water has been too stripped. Drinking this water can lead to deficiencies in magnesium and calcium and could leach out other important minerals leaving one very mineral deficient.
Distilled water – free of any minerals this water has the special property of being able to actively absorb toxic substances in the body and eliminate them. However it also quickly absorbs good minerals in your body like potassium and magnesium, sodium which can cause many more problems in the body. Cooking food in distilled water will lower the mineral content of your food.
For me the perfect solution has been to buy a good quality water filter, I personally love the Berkey filter.
Berkey water filters produce purified drinking water, surpassing standards set by the military, who set the bar so high that very few are able to achieve this classification. Berkey water filters not only meet all the military-required standards but it surpasses them, making it one of the most powerful water filtering systems in the world.
Whichever form of optimal water you choose, the most important priority is having a clean source of drinking water that works for you, tastes delicious, and keeps your body abundantly hydrated each day. When your body is well hydrated, you will experience more energy, mental clarity, improved digestion, youthful skin and metabolic rate.
To live your best vibrant life with optimal health it is important to do everything you can to support and nourish your body. Contact me at http://www.vitalynn.com to learn more about how to do this.
References:
Water – Induced Thermogenesis
Michael Boschmann, Jochen Steiniger, Uta Hille, Jens Tank, Frauke Adams, Arya M. Sharma, Susanne Klaus, Friedrich C. Luft, Jens Jordan
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 88, Issue 12, 1 December 2003, Pages 6015–6019
By Lynn Wood, Founder & Owner of VitaLynn, a Family Nurse Practitioner, focused on holistic healthcare and wellness programs. Lynn Wood’s can be contacted at www.vitalynn.com