Almond milk latte, right?! But for today, let’s give back the spotlight to water a bit here. Why should we be making efforts to drink so much of it again? What does it do for our bodies? Let’s talk a little about water, and remind ourselves why it should get some love in our daily lives (too). This is not a post about how you have to eliminate the joy of coffee… promise.
Being the first month of the year, there’s an abundance of health tips and recommendations going around. It can be overwhelming knowing where to start, and what to invest in. So let’s start small, and take one huge step towards better health… not an original thought, but worth repeating…. Drink WATER!
It seems overly simplistic, … and not nearly as tasty and delicious as coffee, but the benefits are more than worth the conscious effort. Small changes allow us to feel incremental shifts, that spark the motivation we need to make bigger changes. So, start small… the small changes ARE enough!
Benefits:
Energy and mood. Dehydration is associated with fatigue, poor memory, and low mood.
Metabolism. Water is the medium required for all metabolic reactions including digestion (activation of enzymes), absorption (transport into cells), and excretion (through kidneys and the intestines).
Beauty. Hydrated skin makes you look more youthful. It helps in rejuvenation of collagen and restores elasticity to your skin. Dehydration, on the other hand, will cause the skin to age prematurely, look dry, leathery, lead to under-eye circles, and wrinkles.
Prevent headaches. Dehydration is a known trigger for headaches and migraines.
Regulate bowel function. When your body is dehydrated, it will reabsorb more water from the colon. Less water in the colon leads to constipation.
Breathing! The lungs are comprised of tissue that needs to be moist in order to properly absorb oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide.
Physical endurance. Dehydration hinders cardiovascular, thermoregulatory, metabolic, and central nervous system function. Water helps lubricate joints and prevent muscle soreness. Water carries nutrients to muscles for building strength and carries away lactic acid to decrease DOMS.
Weight loss. Water may increase metabolic rate and therefore increase your energy expenditure. It also stops you from misinterpreting thirst signals for hunger.
Nutrient exchange. Water transports nutrients towards cells in need and carries wastes & toxins away from tissues for detoxification. Water-soluble vitamins need water for transport into cells. Think vitamin C and all the amazing Bs!
Detoxification. The kidneys are one of the main organs of elimination, and they require adequate water to function properly. The kidneys remove waste products (uric acid, urea, lactic acid) that need to be dissolved in water. Without adequate water, these wastes can cause kidney damage.
Symptoms of dehydration:
Fatigue and weakness
Brain fog and low mood
Constipation
Dry or flushed skin, mouth, and lips
Rapid heartbeat
Muscle cramps
Dizziness
Things that can affect our hydration status:
Impaired absorption/digestion… food sensitivities, IBS, IBD
Dehydrating beverages…. coffee, alcohol, and sugary beverages.
Increased metabolic rate… exercise, heat, and excessive sweating
Stress… digestion is your body’s last concern in a stressful state!
How much hydration is enough? This depends entirely on your lifestyle! Diet + activity level + climate dictate your need for water. Different people will require different levels of hydration based on their lifestyle, and potential barriers mentioned above. Increased activity level, dry or hot weather, high protein/fiber/salt diet, and insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables will require more fluids to maintain balance.
Our sense of thirst dulls as we age, which means that we become less in tune with our need for hydration. On top of this, the percentage of water reserves in the body also decreases. Our hydration and all that it benefits becomes more vulnerable with age. So drink water, even if you don't necessarily feel thirsty!
Limit your intake to ½ hour before meals, or 1 hour afterward. Drinking water with meals dilutes your digestive enzymes and will impair digestion, slow elimination, and contribute to the buildup of wastes and toxicity in the body.
Lastly, is all water created equal? Luckily, here in Vancouver, our water comes from remote mountain reservoirs in the Northshore, located upstream/away from human activities that normally introduce contaminants (pharmaceuticals, pesticides, fertilizers, industrial chemicals). Metro Vancouver is required to provide ‘microbiologically safe’ water to our drinking tap, which is achieved through the use of chlorine, UV light, and ozone. So although we are fortunate to have an incredibly clean water source, the processing used to ensure that it’s free from bacterial or microbial/parasitic infection, causes its own set of problems. Chlorine and its by-products are known to be harmful, and in some cases, carcinogenic. Purchase a quality filter that specifically neutralizes chlorine (our main issue here). Also, something that's good to know is that not all taps in your home go through the same filtration. Your shower/bath water is meant for external use only, and is more likely to carry bacteria!
Take Aways:
Aim to drink about 2-3L for females, or 3- 4L of water for males, per day
Drink water even if you don't FEEL thirsty!
Drink water between your meals, not WITH meals.
Drink pure filtered water when possible.
Increasing your fruit and vegetable intake improves hydration status.
Drinking water is one small priceless change, thats’ benefits go a LONG way :)