WHY WATER?

As I mentioned earlier, my massage therapist Andre told me I needed to drink more water. Admittedly, I'm not responsible in this department. I do drink atleast 32oz. a day with Zipfizz, but apparently that's just not enough. This whole water exchange got me to thinking.

I read an article published in May of this year in CNN's Health Library. It basically says that the average adult male of good health should drink 3 liters per day (101 fluid oz.) and the average woman of good health should drink 2.2 liters (74 fluid oz.).

But why? What does water do for our bodies? According to the article, 60% of our body weight is water. It is essential for a healthy body for several reason, " water flushes toxins out of vital organs, carries nutrients to your cells and provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues". Not to mention, when you drink water it thins out your blood by bulking it up with lymphatic fluids. This helps your body circulate the blood and deliver nutrients to all areas of your body.

You already know all of this, right? Well, here are some things you may not know about water.
1. If you wait until you are already thirsty to intake water, you are likely already becoming dehydrated.

2. When you start to feel hungry, drink water. Not to suppress your appetite, but to give your body what it needs. Many times our body communicates hunger when it is actually just thirsty.

3. You should NEVER drink with your meals. I've heard this numerous times over the last few weeks. Let me explain. When you eat food, your stomach begins to create the perfect acidic levels to break everything down. If you drink (water or soda or anything) the acids will get diluted and make it difficult if not impossible for your stomach to digest. The best possible time to drink is approximately 2 hours after eating. By this time your stomach has digested the food and by drinking water you will healthily flush what's left into your intestines. Ahhhh, regularity.

If you are lucky enough to work somewhere with a water cooler, take advantage of it. I've decided to bring three 32 oz. Nalgene bottles to work. I will fill each of them up in the morning. Two will get zipfizz and one will be naked water. If I can drink all three during my eight hours on the job I will have consumed 96 fluid oz, way over the recommended 74 oz.


Drink up my friends. It's time to take the bull by the horns. And look at all the pretty colored bottles you can get.