Hydration is the process of replacing the water in your body which has been lost. Our body, according to research by H.H. Mitchell, Journal of Biological Chemistry, holds up to 60% water. Broken down he says the brain and heart are 73% water while 83% for the lungs. The skin has 64%, muscles and kidneys at 79% and even our bones are 31% water. So why the need to hydrate?
Our body needs and uses water in different ways as directed by the brain to manufacture hormones and neurotransmitters. It forms the saliva that helps digestion, regulates the body temperature through sweating, helps convert food to different components, flushes garbage out of the system through urine and faecal matter, and it also keeps our joints from drying up and getting brittle. In other words, we use the water in our body a lot!
When our body uses its own water supplies, we need to replace it or we will become dehydrated. Even a measly 1% dehydration can be palpable, causing you to not function well.
There are different signs for dehydration like muscle cramps, getting confused, palpitation, headaches, dark yellow urine and with severe dehydration you can even experience fainting spells. So, how much do we need to hydrate to be ok?
Hydrating ourselves enough varies on who you are and your size. The percentage of body water varies from babies to kids, from adult men to adult women. A general rule of thumb is to make sure you drink at least eight 8 oz cups of water per day. Drinking a glass of water the moment you wake up and 30 mins before you eat helps activate your internal organs and digestion. Drinking a glass before you shower or bathe helps lower blood pressure. Drinking a glass before you go to sleep is known to have beneficial effects to help prevent stroke and heart attacks.
Whilst there is no real rule on how much water we need every day, as we all have different percentages of water in our bodies, experts and doctors stress that water is the very best way to hydrate ourselves.
Athletes will mostly choose water charged with electrons, to give back to their depleted sources faster. Water is naturally charged with electrons, and will as everything over time oxidize. We all know antioxidants are good for us, however, few know that negatively charged water is one of the best sources of antioxidants we can get. When thinking about the amount of water we consist of, this theory does make more sense the more we think about it. There are many ways to hydrate the body, all drinks are liquid, but not all necessarily contribute to your restoration. Whilst energy drinks and sodas have a high claim to fame and are drunk bountifully by the minute, these drinks are not considered very healthy. Just because its liquid, doesn’t mean it’s good for you and adds to your 8 cups per day rule. Many drinks like coffee, tea, energy drinks and alcohol may in fact dehydrate and deplete you more than they add back in. Sugar and caffeine loaded drinks open up to a whole new group of problems we can discuss more later. Your body needs pure clean water without sugars or additives for optimal hydration. If pure water is not your taste, try to instead find drinks with natural sweeteners to avoid the sugar crash syndrome.
Water sources with low electrons, and a so-called high negative ORP (Oxidation Reduction Potential, negative ORP written as -ORP) offers the best for cell regeneration and anti-ageing. A high or positive number of electrons (+ORP) will act as free radicals and damage your DNA and cell structure, whereas a negative number of electrons (-ORP) will act as a strong antioxidant and help regenerate and rebuild cell damage.
Think of it as the positive electrons as a taker of life, and the negative electrons as a giver of life. Water that has been ionized will have a negative ORP. Many believe ionization is only possible with a machine, but Mother Nature has supplied us with many wondrous mineral balls, allowing water filters requiring no electricity to do the same. Go Mama Gaia!
A friend’s daughter was brought to the hospital a few weeks back after collapsing on the ground while playing with her friends. It was a hot summers day and she was diagnosed with dehydration. Her parents were confused with this diagnose as she diligently drank the recommended water intake for kids. The thing is, water intake also depends on our daily activity, and our external environments. If we are outdoors running as this girl was, and the heat index is higher than your regular day, we will need to take more liquids to replenish our body.
Do you know that almost all the food we eat are also source of liquid/water for the body? All foods have natural juices that contribute to our bodies water supply. Vegetables and fruits are a natural water source, and when you eat them, the juices are converted to water in the body. This goes for fish or meat too.
The best and simplest way to hydrate will always be to drink water. Many households still drink water directly from the kitchen tap, but what some don’t know, or perhaps sometimes ignore, is the fact that there are many contaminants found in this direct water source, that are not safe for the body.
There is a plethora of bottled waters for sale, but thanks to many recent investigations we now know that bottled water is not only expensive and adds to the world’s growing plastic problem, it also often is much more acidic than tap water, which again leaves us with increased risk for inflammation in the gut and later disease. Science has stated all illness stems from the gut, meaning maintaining the delicate body pH balance of 7.32 is increasingly key.
While it may be liquid, consuming sugary, acidic, caffeine or alcohol filled drinks is not a good option to hydrate, as many will in fact dehydrate you further, and also accumulate acid causing an imbalance in your body. When the body pH sinks below its natural 7.32, illness may occur.
An easy way to eliminate the risk of contamination and illness, without the expensive cost and plastic waste, is to set up a water filter in your own home, or carry with you a bottle with filter. Invigorated Water offers solutions fit for home, office, travel and gym.
Our pH RESTORE, pH REFRESH and pH RECHARGE pitchers/countertop use our PH001 Alkaline Water Filter to filter out the taste, odors, chemicals and toxins used by the city’s water system and that are found in the environment around us and that seeps into our ground waters. In addition, if you want to filter out bacteria, virus and colloids, our PH002 UF Membrane Filter helps clean out down to 0.01um. This means all microbes with a pore size above 0.01um will be captured, leaving you with fresh clean water to drink.
Until next time – stay hydrated – live Invigorated.
