Do you really know how much water you need?
We’ve all heard that our bodies are about 70% water but sometimes we forget how important drinking enough water really is. Your body needs water to get nutrients to your cells and function properly! Drinking enough water makes sure your system keeps cleansed and is detoxing the way it’s supposed to on a regular basis. It can also be an aide for weight loss. Hunger is many times mistaken for thirst.
Yes, we might be drinking other fluids throughout the day but it doesn’t count towards getting the water your body needs. Coke, coffee, tea, store bought juices and even crystal light can actually further dehydrate you because they usually contain caffeine or sweeteners like aspartame in them.
Signs you may need to drink more water that may surprise you:
- Bad Breath: Bad breath, if not having recently had a meal with garlic and onions can be a possible warning sign you are dehydrated. It’s possible your body may not be making enough saliva which has anti-bacterial properties.
- Dry or Flushed Skin:
It’s a misconception that people tend to be dehydrated who sweat more. The opposite can actually be the case. As you go through stages of dehydration, you get more and more dry skin and it may add a flushed appearance as well. - A Sweet Tooth: It can be difficult for organs like the liver to use water to release glycogen or stored glucose and other energy components when you’re dehydrated so you may get food cravings. A sweet tooth or food cravings in general may be due to dehydration. This is because your body may be having difficulty breaking down glycogen to release glucose into the bloodstream.
- Headaches: While there can be many causes for headaches, dehydration certainly can trigger one.If that’s the case, sipping water throughout the day may help relieve your pain.
- Fever and Chills Due to Heat Illness:
While these symptoms may be a sign of dehydration it could also be a symptom of something else. Please see a doctor if symptoms persist. There are several ways to tell if you’re hydrated enough. Try a skin test:
- Using two fingers pinch the skin on the back of your hand. When you let go, it should spring back to normal right away. If it seems to take it’s time to go back into position you likely need to drink more water!
- Check your urine. If are not cleansing your system well enough with water, your urine will be a darker color or orange as a warning sign of dehydration. If you are hydrated enough the urine will be a light yellow, almost clear.
Drinking enough water can have HUGE benefits on health. I’ve covered some of them in an earlier post on lemon water here. Early morning water treatment originates in ancient Ayurvedic Medicine as a cleansing therapy. (b) It’s long been known that drinking water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach purifies the digestive system making it easier for the body to absorb nutrients. (b)
So how much water should we really drink?
I’m a big believer that each person is unique and therefore so are their health needs. There’s an easy formula I have learned. We should be drinking about ½ our body weight in ounces of water every day. So, a little math can help us figure it out. For example, if you’re a woman that weighs 130 lbs. divide your weight in half and you get the number 65 which is how many ounces (not lbs.) of water you should drink a day.
Another big water tip: Our bodies can only absorb 4-6 ounces of water at a time. So, it’s really best to drink it throughout the day as opposed to chugging a bunch at once.
I know water isn’t always the most fun thing to drink, not everyone loves the taste of it so stay posted for some tasty infused water recipes on the blog coming up!
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