Growing up, any ailment I had must have been solved by the question "when's the last time you had a drink of water.". I would roll my eyes in annoyance and walk away. Now as a mother and nutrition educator, I find myself asking the same question.
Belly ache? go drink some water
Headache? must be dehydrated, drink some water
Starving? probably haven't had enough water, go drink and then decided if you're hungry
Tired? When's the last time you had water?
And the list goes on and on.
The past couple of weeks I have dove deep into experimenting just how much the intake of fluids really does affect my body. I have kept track on an app Waterllama, that reminds me every 2 hours if I haven't logged to drink up. I have learned that, just like food, not all drink is created equal. Some hold more and some hold less hydration. Every body is different, therefore, everybody's hydration intact is different.
Because it's not enough to know that you need to drink water, we need to know WHY it's so important. Take a look at this list and mentally take note of ailments you might be experiencing that keeping track of your daily hydration could improve your situation.
Carrying nutrients and oxygen to all of the cells in our body. 90% of our blood is made of water, making water essential for proper bodily function
Helping to regulate our body temperature
Cushioning our joints
Stabilizing our heartbeat
Normalizing our blood pressure
Aiding digestion
Protecting our organs and tissue
Helping to prevent constipation
Flushing bacteria from our bladder
Maintaining the electrolyte (sodium) balance in our body
Helping to maximize physical performance
Helping us to have enough energy
Promoting healthy brain function
Preventing and treating headaches
Boosting skin health
Helping with weight loss
Something I recently had an ‘ah ha’ moment on was water retention. Just like food is stored in our bodies if we don’t give it enough in fear that it won’t receive any in the near future ,water is retained in the body for the same reason. It’s called hibernation mode. Until you give your body more of what it needs, it will hold on, retain, therefore giving the feeling of fullness and bloating or puffiness. The brain tells us, “you already feel full or bloated, don’t add to it”, when in actuality that’s what will help to release and utilize what is being given.
The takeaway is exactly what we feel inclined to teach our children.
When in doubt, drink some water!