Suffering From Thirst

I can remember as a kid waking up in the middle of the night so thirsty. I would be dreaming about a huge glass of water, and I would whisper, “Mom, please bring me some water.” Then, I would wait and wait (because who could hear someone whispering three doors down in the middle of the night). Eventually, I would get up and take the longest, best tasting drink straight from the faucet (we had fresh spring water back home; it was the very best). So what is my point in this nostalgic rerun? My point is that many of us forget how important water is to feeling our best. Indeed, we often think that any drink will do in place of water, and that just isn’t the case.

Water is essential for your body. Making up to 80 percent of your composition, it is necessary for converting sugar into energy, essential for healthy digestion, feeling full, keeping your discs in your spine hydrated, and it provides the primary way for your body to dispose of pain chemicals. Dehydration is often chronic in nature; we get out of the habit of drinking what our body needs most. I agree it isn’t the most fun thing to have with dinner, but it is certainly the best choice we can make.

The reason that tea, coffee and soda don’t work is that most of them actually cause dehydration because they contain caffeine (which blocks the “anti-diuretic hormone” in your body, which in turn causes the body to accidentally flush out any storage of water it had retained). The tea/coffee/soda also required water to be processed out of your body. Just in case you think you have my system hacked by adding decaf instead, hold up just a second. There is a big difference between something that is caffeine free and decaf. Caffeine-free products never contained caffeine and probably won’t cause as much of an issue. Decaf products naturally contain caffeine, but they are stripped of that in the decaffeination process. The process uses residual wood-grain alcohol, which is toxic to your body. It really doesn’t re-hydrate your body either.

Let’s think about how to make water a little more exciting, shall we? First off, if you aren’t a “water person,” I wouldn’t expect you to start carrying around a water bottle like it was the best thing on earth. When you do stop to take a drink, however, chug as much water as you can. As you practice this, you will increase your ounces of water per day, and your body will actually begin to crave water as well.

For those of you who are seasoned water drinkers, you already know the benefits of adding some lemon and lime to your drink. It is great to slice up fruits (lemon, lime, orange, pineapple etc.) and add them to a pitcher of water. Don’t squeeze them, and leave the rind on the citrus fruits. Let these soak in the pitcher overnight, and enjoy the water the next day. This is a delightful summer treat, and cucumbers will even add a little pizzazz to a normal glass of H2O.

Overall, keep in mind you could use more water if you want to: have more energy, lose weight, have less pain, have healthier joint spaces, clearer skin, better memory, healthier digestion and urination. We recommend drinking roughly 1/2 of your body weight in ounces of water daily. So, a 100-pound person would benefit from 50 ounces of water per day. I hope you are all inspired to drink up!