,

Optimal Hydration Strategies

,

Why it’s important to drink enough water

Recently someone asked me what my number one nutrition tip is. You might be surprised to know that my response was to ensure that you are drinking plenty of pure, filtered water. It is super simple and this one change can provide huge benefits to you and your families.

Believe it or not, water (hydration) is the most common nutritional deficiency in the U.S. today. Dehydration is a chronic problem today and many common ailments and health issues may just be your body’s way of telling you that you need to drink more! We can go for long periods of time without food, but this isn’t the case for water. We truly need water to survive and better yet, thrive.

Water plays a hugely important role in our body and how it functions – it is the primary substance and leading agent in the routine events that occur constantly in the human body and most of us do not get nearly the amount that we need to sustain proper functioning and a healthy environment.

Here are some of the roles water plays in the body:

  • Improves oxygen delivery to cells

  • Transports nutrients throughout the body

  • Enables cellular hydration

  • Moistens oxygen for easier breathing

  • Cushions our bones and joints

  • Absorbs shock to joints and organs

  • Regulates our body temperature

  • Removes wastes

  • Flushes toxins

  • Lubricates joints

  • Empowers the body’s natural healing process

Signs you might be dehydrated

The signs and symptoms of dehydration often come up after you are already dehydrated. This is why it is important to regularly consume water even if you don’t actually feel thirsty. Here are some of the signs:

  • Thirst (seems obvious, but I have to state it!)

  • Fatigue

  • Dry mouth

  • Irritability

  • Stomach cramps

  • Muscle cramps

  • Anxiety

  • Headaches

  • Dark urine

How much water should I drink?

A good general baseline is to drink about half your body weight in ounces per pound of body weight. So if you are 200 pounds, this would be about 100 ounces. and if you exercise, spend time in a sauna, and/or drink caffeine, alcohol, and other diuretics, if the weather is warm/hot, you should drink even more. I do think it is important to listen to your body. Notice how you feel and how your energy is. If you are an athlete or doing intense exercise for longer periods of time, check out the Galpin Equation to determine your additional hydration needs.

I usually recommend spreading most of your water intake across the first ten hours of your day after waking. This is because similar to many other organs and systems in our bodies, our kidneys run on the circadian rhythm and function best earlier in the day. It is fine to drink later in the day, but if you are well-hydrated in those first ten hours, you won’t need as much later on which will support your kidneys better and help your sleep better as well because you won’t need to get up as often to urinate in the middle of the night.

If you are drinking a healthy amount of water your urine will be light to transparent yellow. Though most people believe clear urine is the healthiest sign of hydration, having urine with no color to it at all may be a sign that you’re drinking too much water.

Water Blog Post

Here are some strategies to help incorporate more water into your diet:

  1. Drink eight to sixteen ounces of filtered water first thing in the morning. Try to avoid incorporating too much more water around mealtime as this may hinder digestion.

  2. Add a pinch of high-quality pink, Celtic, or other sea salts (here is my favorite!) or a squeeze or two of lemon to your water a couple of times per day for better assimilation of the water into your body’s cells.

  3. Get a nice-looking, high-quality, reusable water bottle to drink out of between meals and sip out of it all day long.

  4. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables that have high water content. Some examples include green leafy vegetables, cucumbers, zucchini, cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower and cabbage, melon, berries, and citrus fruits.

Why it’s important to drink filtered water

It is super important to drink water that is pure and clean. Even tap water can contain contaminants such as heavy metals (like lead), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pesticides, and pharmaceuticals. Many municipalities also add fluoride to tap water which impacts our thyroid hormones. All of these are harmful to human health and can have multiple adverse effects, especially when we consume them regularly over time. The containments in tap water have been linked to cancer, brain, and nervous system damage, developmental defects, fertility problems, and hormone disruption. Bottled water can sometimes have fewer contaminants, but can leech estrogens and other toxins from the plastic. Bottled water also comes at a higher cost to our wallets and to the environment. 

One would think that our federal and state agencies that regulate municipal water would make it safe for human consumption and it’s true that the majority of the nation's drinking water supplies get a passing grade. However, while many of the 250-plus contaminants detected through water sampling and testing are at levels that are perfectly legal under the Safe Drinking Water Act or state regulations, they are also above levels authoritative scientific studies have found to pose health risks. In addition, much like the personal care products industry, the criteria to be considered safe are pretty outdated. The Environmental Protection Agency hasn't added any new contaminants to the regulated drinking water pollutants list in more than 20 years. Basically, there are no legal limits for the more than 160 unregulated contaminants found in tap water throughout the U.S.

To learn about the quality of the tap water you are drinking, I recommend that you research your municipality’s tap water and find a filter solution that eliminates at least some of the problematic contaminants. I do realize this may not be accessible to everyone. It can definitely be an expense upfront, but purchasing some sort of filter that can filter out fluoride at minimum, would be great for your health. The health benefits from drinking pure, clean water and the potential for lower medical expenses, will more than makeup for the cost of your system. At a minimum, look for a filter that has been certified by the independent testing group NSF.

 There are a lot of different filters out there at different price points. Depending on your budget and importance to you, check out the following types of filters as any filter is better than no filter:

  • Pitcher: Removes some contaminants but not always heavy metals or chlorine. Here is my favorite option. I like this one too.

  • Faucet-mounted: Can remove most major contaminants. I recommend this brand.

  • Countertop:  Can remove most major contaminants. This is one I recommend.

  • Under the sink: These are usually reverse osmosis filter-based and typically remove the most contaminants. They can often remove the good minerals found in water, but some of them actually ADD minerals back in. I use this one in my home.

  • Shower/bath: Our skin absorbs contaminants too and these contaminants are even more volatile in hot, steamy environments. These types of filters are usually pretty affordable and easy to install. This is the one that I use, but there are many out there!

The Environmental Working Group has a great guide to filters at different price points as well. Check it out here.

Is sparkling water healthy?

I used to assume so, but unfortunately, even sparkling water can have some toxins and contaminants! Sad, I know. A study done in the fall of 2020 by Consumer Reports found that some carbonated water brands have measurable amounts of PFAS chemicals linked to adverse health effects. Researchers found that sparkling water was more likely to have higher levels of chemicals than still water. I realize that sparkling water can be a refreshing and welcome change from boring old water, but it might be best to drink these beverages occasionally instead of every day or multiple times a day. Another option is to purchase a Soda Stream or other sparkling water maker and make your own from your filtered water at home.

Sources/resources:

Stephanie Selinger