Water Yourself

January 13, 2020

To say that water is the most important nutrient to the body is an understatement. Without food a person might survive months, without water however, a person is lucky to survive a week. In fact most publications agree that the average person will only live for 3-4 days under favorable conditions. What makes water so important to us? Is all water equal? How can we step up our relationship with water?

Benefits of Water

Every single cell in our bodies from our hair follicles to toenails needs water. Our bodies are made up of anywhere between 50-80%. Water aids us in every bodily function from respiratory to digestion, even cognition.

Helps Regulate Body Temperature - We know that water helps regulate our body temperature by way of sweat. Sweat instantly cools by wetting the skin. Then the evaporation of the sweat causes further cooling by actually pulling heat from your body as it evaporates.
Aids in Digestion - Water helps the food we eat move through the intestines and also helps keep the intestines flexible and smooth. If you get dehydrated your intestines will draw whatever water it can from your food waste, leaving hard stools that are hard to pass.
Lubricates Joints - Synovial fluid, the thick liquid that helps cushion and lubricate joints, is made up of mostly water. Water also helps keep cartilage soft and smooth. If we get dehydrated the cartilage becomes stiff and dry, causing friction and joint pain.
Good for your brain - The brain is made up of up to 80% water. Staying properly hydrated improves cognition and concentration, and helps maintain memory function. It can also help balance your mood and emotions as well as reduce stress levels. Drinking water can also help prevent and reduce headaches that are often caused by the first signs of dehydration.
Breath Better - Water helps to thin out the mucus lining of your lungs and airways. If you get dehydrated the mucus can get thick and sticky and make you more susceptible to respiratory illnesses and allergies.
Hair, Nails and Skin - Drinking water keeps you moisturized from the inside out. Water helps regenerate skin cells, increase the elasticity and plumps up skin cells. Drinking water helps keep skin looking young and reduces wrinkles by plumping up skin cells. Proper water intake is also important for your hair and nails. When you get dehydrated your hair becomes dry and frizzy, and your nails become soft and brittle.
Manage Weight - Drinking water can help you manage your weight whether you want to gain, maintain or lose. If you want to gain weight drinking water helps build muscle by helping form the structures of protein. If you want to maintain your current weight drinking water can help prevent muscle loss, and keep your digestive tract regular. If you want to lose weight water can help curb cravings by keeping you feeling full so you eat less.

Types of Water

There are different types of water and all true water drinkers know that they are not created equally. The biggest difference in the types of water is the source, but there can also be different mineral contents which causes different tastes.

Tap Water - The most readily available potable water to most people is good old fashioned tap water. This is water that is typically regulated by a municipality and comes directly into the home from a municipal source. Tap water gets a bad reputation but in most situations bottled water is no safer than tap. The exception being if the water is traveling through old infrastructure and lead pipes. Tap water tends to be the cheapest most convenient water source for most. Tap water is also best for the environment especially when you drink from a reusable container.
Drinking Water - Drinking water is bottled water that is intended for human consumption. It may contain disinfectants consider to be safe by the EPA, such as flouride. Many times drinking water is just bottled tap water.
Purified Water - According to the EPA, Purified water is water from any source that has been treated to contain no more than 10 parts per million of total dissolved solids. It may labeled based on the purification process (ie spring, distilled, etc).
Spring Water - Spring water is water that is collected from underground sources. Pure spring water is naturally alkaline and has essential minerals the human body needs. Many consider spring water, water as nature intended it to be. Spring water is rain or snow that has percolated through the earth often times collected from mountains.
Alkaline Water - Water with a ph level of 8 or higher (pure water should have a neutral ph of 7). While some alkaline water sold on the market is natural and has a high ph due to high mineral content, some alkaline water is artificially alkaline. Water treated with an ionizer, undergone an electrochemical process to split the molecules of the water and the height more ionized water collected. While there is evidence that the minerals have healthy benefits, there is little evidence that ionized water has any additional benefits.
Distilled Water - To get distilled water, water is boiled and the steam is recondensed. As the steam rises it leaves behind any pollutants in the water (including the essential trace minerals).
Sparkling Water - Also called carbonated water, club soda, tonic or seltzer, sparkling water contains dissolved carbon dioxide gas. Sparkling water is actually considered soda/pop and is not regulated as bottled water.

How much water should we drink?

There is no universal scientifically agreed upon amount of water that a person should drink. Many sources say that you should strive for 8, 8 ounce glasses for a total of 64 ounces a day. A study published in the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine recommends up to 91 ounces for women, and 125 for men. My favorite recommendation is 1/2 an ounce to an ounce of water for every pound you weigh. So a person who is 150 pounds should drink about 75-150 ounces a day, depending on amount of physical exertion and environmental factors like temperature and humidity.

The foods that you eat can reduce the amount of additional water you need to actually drink. Foods that are high in water content such as broths, fruits, and vegetables, aid in our hydration so we can drink less.

It is important to note that some beverages, while high in water content also act as diuretics and increase the excretion of water by urination. Heavily caffeinated drinks like energy drinks, sodas,coffee, and some black teas, actually dehydrate us especially when consumed in high amounts. It is important to counteract this by drinking an ounce to ounce ratio of heavily caffeinated beverage and pure water.

Many people will be adequately hydrated by following thirst cues and drinking when they are thirsty, however studies have found that a lot of people actually mistake hunger cues and thirst cues. A good way to combat this is by drinking 8 ounces of water and the waiting about 30 minutes to see if you are still hungry.

A surefire way to ensure that you are hydrated is to look at the color of your urine. It should be light yellow and maybe even clear. If your urine is dark yellow and has a strong ammonium smell, that is a sign that you need to drink more water.

More than meets the eye.

There may be more to water than we can see on the surface. Dr. Masaru Emoto sought to explore the mysteries of water. He found that the frozen crystals changed form based on whether it was in a positive or negative environment. Water from natural streams formed beautiful ice crystals, while water from stagnat and polluted sources formed chaotic ice crystals. He took this a step further and did an experiment where he played classical music vs heavy metal and found more beautiful crystals with the classical music. You can find videos on youtube of the Emoto rice experiment where you take rice and put it in three jars of water. On one jar you write love, on one you write hate and you leave one blank; and over the next week you speak love or hate or ignore based on label. In video after video the rice labelled love out performs the jar labeled hate by far. The takeaway is that it may be possible to program your intent into water for additional benefits.

Homework

No matter what your relationship with water is like now, it can always get better. Here are a few tips to up your relationship with water for your physical, mental, and spiritual health.

Drink water first thing in the morning - this will help jump start your metabolism. Leave a bottle or covered glass of water next to your bed before you go to sleep and drink it as soon as you wake up before doing anything else. Bonus: Set your intentions for the day and speak them into your water prior to drinking.
Carry a water bottle that you feel drawn to or represents your personality or traits you wish to adopt. That way you'll feel good every time you sip your water. Bonus: Put rubber-bands around your water bottle to keep track of how many times you've filled it up. (For instance if you want to drink 5 bottles, put 5 rubber-bands around the bottle at night. As you refill the bottle remove the rubber-band. At then end of the night have you removed all the rubber-bands?)
Find your favorite type of water so that you crave it when you are thirsty. Do you prefer your water ice cold, cool, room temperature, or warm? If tap water turns you off is there a bottled water you might like? Bonus: Infuse different fruit, herbs or spices in your water overnight.

Extra extra credit: Holy water is simply water that has been prayed over by a priest or clergy members. Make your own Holy water by praying your intentions over your water. Maybe you ask the water to be overflowing and bring you abundance, maybe you ask the water to purify your heart and mind, maybe you ask the water to heal your body.

Shop Marie's Market to find a water bottle that you are drawn to, to help you reach your goals!

Stay in touch! Share your progress with me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Snap @Mariesmonologue use #MariesMonologue or #MMwaterme. I'll share my favorite post throughout the week so that we can all encourage and motivate each other