Drink Up!

Practicing Traditional Chinese Medicine has been an eye-opener for me on many levels. My initial consultations with patients reveal lifestyles so varied that I think the word normal no longer has any relevance. People who don't exercise think that's normal. People who do an hour of cardio every day think that's normal. Normal is relative.

One thing that never fails to shock me in the clinic is people who don't drink water. I always ask people what they eat and drink. Most practitioners ask about diet, but learned early on that asking the open-ended question"What do you drink throughout the day?" yields a wider variety of results than you might think.

In my experience, 3 to 5 percent of people don't drink water. "I don't like the taste," they say. Or "I'm just not thirsty."

Okay. You may or may not like water, but it is the basis of life and you need to drink it. Soda causes a completely different series of chemical reactions in your body. Soda doesn't count. Neither does beer.

Don't believe me? I'll let the facts speak for themselves.

We've all heard the statistic that our bodies are 60-70 percent water on average. But did you know that your brain is 95 percent water? and your blood is 85 percent water? and your lungs 95 percent water?

A mere 2 percent drop in your body's water level can cause symptoms of mild dehydration, such as fuzzy thinking, trouble with basic math, daytime fatigue, headaches, aching joints and muscles... sound familiar? That's probably because and estimated 75 percent of American have mild, chronic dehydration.

How much water should you drink? A simple equation is to take your body weight and divide it in half. This will tell you how many ounces of water you should consume each day. For example, if you weigh 120 pounds, you should consume 60 ounces of water a day (approximately 1.8 liters).

You lose water through urination, respiration, and sweating. If you are active, you need to drink approximately a cup for every 20 minutes you exercise. If you consume diuretics that increase your urine output such as caffeine and alcohol, you need to replace the water you lose.It's recommended that you consume one extra glass of water for each alcoholic beverage you consume.

Stay tuned for more on the magical powers of water and other simple tricks that will keep you healthy naturally.

Sources:

http://nutrition.about.com/od/hydrationwater/a/waterarticle.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283
http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water-education/water-health.htm