10 Nov Let Water be the Staff of Life

It is pretty likely that most of us are not drinking anywhere near enough water and even though we are regularly advised to drink 6-8 glasses a day, more if it’s hot, most people favour tea, coffee, soft drinks and alcohol over a refreshing glass of water.

I personally love a glass of fresh, filtered, unadulterated water but some people just don’t like water or find it boring and unappealing and believe that as long as they’re drinking enough liquid in general that it will be ok, but this is not really the case.

Our bodies are mostly made up of water so it is incredibly important to keep that content replenished especially after exercise or when it is hot, it helps keep everything moving and working properly.

Drinks like tea, coffee and alcohol are diuretics which means they make you go to the loo more often, this actually dehydrates you and if you are already a bit dehydrated, the body will take water from other areas of the body like the joints, muscles, brain etc which will make you feel tired, stiff and lethargic.

Soft drinks, loaded with sugar, (sometimes over 20 teaspoons per drink) create a whole heap of work for your liver amongst other things, so whilst they might provide liquid they will ultimately do more harm than good.

The benefits of water
Helps the kidneys to clear out toxins
Aids concentration and enables us to think more clearly
Helps cure a hangover
Alleviates constipation
Cures headaches (dehydration often causes headaches)
Helps fight infection, especially bladder and urine infections.
Great for the skin, natural wrinkle buster and beauty elixir.
Transports water soluble nutrients to where they are needed.
Regulates temperature.
Keeps joints lubricated (cartilage is mostly made up of water)
Energises muscles (including the heart muscle!)
Makes you feel full so can aid weight loss, there are no calories in water.
And lastly IT IS FREE!!

What more could you ask for?

So if you want to start drinking more water why not set an alarm on your phone and drink a glass of water every hour or two. Try to re-hydrate with high water content fruit and veg like lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, watermelon, carrots and broccoli. Drink out of a beautiful glass so it feels more decadent. Liven up your water with fresh mint or basil, citrus juice and/or zest, sliced cucumber, strawberries, kiwi, fresh ginger or a combination, you will never look back.
Try starting your day with the juice of half a lemon in warm water to kick-start your metabolism and aid digestions, delicious.

And a couple of final notes…. once you feel thirsty you are already dehydrated, so keep hydrated throughout the day and you should never actually feel thirsty. If your wee is pale you’re doing OK, if it is dark yellow you are definitely dehydrated