The Importance Of Water

Water is one of our most important nutrients (and it might seem kind of boring, but it's actually my favourite drink!)

I know it seems like such a simple thing, but drinking enough water can easily become overlooked for people who aren’t used to drinking water regularly, and they can be easily become dehydrated.

Paying attention to daily water intake is important and might take some pre-planning if it’s not something you’re used to doing.

Try to prevent even mild levels of dehydration as even being slightly under-hydrated can impede our daily performance.

​The following symptoms may indicate even just a mild hydration: 

• headaches 
• dizziness
• fuzzy thinking
• dry skin/dry mouth
• fatigue
• muscle cramping 

Here are just a few of water’s many benefits and functions:

• Regulates your body temperature so that it stays constant under various environmental conditions 
• Boosts energy 
• Aids detoxification 
• Helps with soft, clear skin 
• Aiding digestion 
• Weight loss
• Protecting important tissues and lubricating your joints

Urine output and sweating make up your greatest fluid loss, but other ways fluid is lost is
in feces, through exposure to humid or warm air and when you exhale.

Don’t rely on thirst alone as an indicator to drink water because you are already
slightly dehydrated by that time. A good tip is to aim to drink on a schedule of 1 cup every hour.

An easy way to monitor your hydration levels is to check the colour of your urine.
Great news if your urine is clear or pale yellow! That means you are adequately hydrated, but if your urine is darker like apple juice, you need to increase your water intake.

If you are eating A LOT of fresh fruit and veggies then that also counts towards your water intake, but if you’re eating a lot of processed, boxed foods or eating out at restaurants often, then you need to increase your water intake to help flush the extra toxins out of your system.

If you find plain water too bland or boring, here are a few helpful ways of upping your water intake:

• Squeeze some lemon or lime into your water 
• Brew some ‘herbal’ (non-caffeinated) tea and then chill it in the fridge. Add some honey if needed. 
• Add cucumber slices to your water
• Add berries to your water

Personally, I take my water canteen with me everywhere I go and sip water all throughout the day.

Comment below - are you currently a water drinker? Yay or Nay? If 'Yay,' what are your best ways of remembering to drink enough?

Until next time,

​May Anne 

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