Water is it.
- Your body is designed to be healthy.
- Proper hydration is required being healthy.
- Starbucks, Monster Energy drinks, and sodas, although they may contain water, they actually increase your hydration needs.
If you provide the elements that cells require for function and avoid those elements that are toxic by nature, you have the best chance of experiencing your true health potential. Water is at the top of that list; water is one of those essential elements.
Water is critical in almost all of our bodies’ functions, including:
- Digestion
- Circulation
- Respiration
- Healing
Symptoms of dehydration include:
- Constipation
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Skin, hair and nail problems
As with all essential elements, water should not be thought of as a ‘treatment’ for dehydration or a way to avoid constipation; rather, hydration is a critical component of a healthy lifestyle. Air is no more a ‘treatment for suffocation’ than water is a treatment for thirst. Ideally, we should rarely, if ever, experience thirst. We should simply drink water – and drink often.
Hydration is critical. Got it?
Your daily requirement for water will vary according to your body weight, activity level, the types of food you eat – for example, if you eat lots of fresh vegetables and healthy proteins, you’ll need less water than if you eat cereals, bread, fried foods, soda pop, etc..
A good rule of thumb or Best Practice is to consume at least 50% of your body weight (pounds) in fluid ounces of water. For example, if you weigh 150 lbs, drink 75 oz. of water each day.
Optimally, we should drink pure spring water from a clean creek or our own well. A good alternative water source for the modern city dweller is reverse osmosis. An effective nudge for having and consistently (and easily) consuming clean water is to install an in-home reverse osmosis filtration system. This makes is far easier for you to make better choices and have the cleanest water source – on tap!
The trend in healthier water consciousness today has led to an unfortunate trade-off for the environment – plastic pollution. Every day millions of plastic bottles end up in landfills and ultimately in the ocean.
We have a solution to this ever-growing plastic pollution problem: buy a cool canteen. One of our favorite Best Practices in the Bonfire Program is to invest in a reusable stainless steel canteen. We found that when patients purchase a non-disposable canteen that they love, they keep it (and their water) with them at all times. This increases water intake substantially. You get all the health benefits – saving yourself and the planet, all at once.
Now go do it.