We constantly hear that a person needs to drink about 8 glasses of water per day. Doctors, nutritionists, and “detox specialists” insist on maintaining the water balance. But does this mean that we really need to pour in two liters of water without feeling thirsty? And what should be the very water that we need?
Firstly, on the basis of various data that take into account the person’s body constitution and health complaints, as well as the activity level, everyone needs a different amount of water per day. If a person drinks a lot of water without feeling thirsty and not allowing sweating/peeing it out, then this can have a bad effect on well-being and appearance. For example, some people are prone to retaining water due to a number of factors. Have you experienced swelling in the morning?
So, how much water do you need to drink?
- Divide your weight in pounds by 2 and drink that amount of water in ounces per day if you have a sedentary lifestyle.
- For every cup of coffee, caffeinated tea or soda (please, stop drinking soda right now!) you need to add a cup of water. Caffeine makes you lose water, so if you think 5 cups of tea and coffee will make you hydrated you are very wrong!
- Add more electrolytes into your water before, during, and after an intense workout.
- Watch the color of your urine – if it is dark yellow and even orange, it means you are dehydrated and need to increase fluids!
So, apparently at times I do drink too much based on all the above-mentioned factors, because at least 3 days out of 7, I hardly move, working at the computer. Of course, I do not urge you to reduce your daily intake of water, but it’s worth considering. Look at your health state, evaluate.
The second, no less important question relates to the quality of the water that you choose. I think everyone knows that it is worth consuming only purified filtered water. In Arizona, water is especially not good for drinking without filtering. Some good filter devices are Reverse Osmosis water, Berkey water filter, and more. They all have their advantages and disadvantages, so pick wisely.
But what temperature should this water be? Imagine a beautiful glass with lemonade and pieces of ice that we reach for when it is hot or after a workout. Unfortunately, drinking a glass of cold water, you will not help yourself, but rather harm yourself. Cold or iced water negatively affects digestion. Cold or iced water causes the following issue: the body needs to spend energy to warm the cold liquid to body temperature to start the digestion process. And this energy could be useful for the digestive system and metabolism. In addition, some studies report problems with the digestion of fats after drinking cold drinks.
So, let’s compare European countries and the United States! It is hard to find cold water in Europe. It is IMPOSSIBLE to find iced water in Europe! You are also not offered automatically iced or cold water when you sit down at the restaurant. Well, partially it may be due to the lack of enthusiasm on the part of European waiters, but why would they be blamed if they do not work for tips and there is nothing to incentivize them to work better or harder? Have you been to some European countries? Have you noticed the difference in customer service? 🙂 The other reason is that Europeans follow the wisdom of their ancestors and do not invent new rules. Somehow in both Western and Eastern Europe (including Ukraine), everyone knows that drinking cold water impairs digestion and promotes heartburn, food stagnation, and digestive unease. Europeans also drink water between meals, not during meals. Because by drinking water during meals, your stomach acid gets diluted and causes impaired digestion of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, so when the undigested food goes into your small intestine, there will be decreased absorption of vitamins and minerals!
What kind of water is better to drink? Everything is simple: warm or room temperature. You just try – immediately notice the improvement in condition. Add lemon, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon or other spices to your drink. Do not be afraid to experiment! Do not use Gatorade for electrolytes after your workouts, but instead use coconut water or Seeking Health Berry or Orange Electrolyte drinks that have NO Sugar and taste sweet with the addition of D-Ribose that supports out mitochondria – our energy powerhouse!
What kind of water do YOU drink?