All-Important Water
Water is perhaps the most important of the six essential nutrients. You may be able to survive for many days and even weeks without food, but not so with water. Drinking water because it is a vital nutrient is reason enough to consume it regularly. But water also has many specific jobs in the body, including transporting nutrients, gases, and waste products, regulating body heat, and soothing and moistening.
Water is found in food and fluids. The human body is approximately 60 to 70 percent water. It is one of the major ingredients of your anatomy and is necessary for an optimum physiological environment.
How do you know if you are getting enough water? Daily, you want to drink a minimum of 64 ounces (more than five 12-ounce glasses) of water, plus other hydrating fluids. Hydrating fluids are nonalcoholic, noncaffeinated, and don't have added sugar. If you drink 64 ounces of water daily and do not have any signs of dehydration, you probably are getting enough water.
But when you notice the signs that you're drinking too little, add some water to your diet. Water is a very simple remedy to some pretty unpleasant conditions.
Signs that you may not be drinking enough water include bad breath, a pasty mouth or tongue, dark colored or smelly urine, intestinal cramping, diarrhea or constipation, dry skin, and headaches. But don't worry: water isn't the only fluid that can hydrate you. Other options include herbal teas, juice, soy or rice beverages, and milk.
Even though they are made with water, alcoholic, caffeinated, and carbonated beverages dehydrate the body, or cause it to lose fluid. If you consume those beverages, compensate with a 1:1 ratio of water for each one of those you consume. If you consume those beverages habitually, you might consider replacing them with water and a variety of the other hydrating beverages.
One of the simplest actions you can take toward improving your nutrition is to drink plenty of fluids. Having a conscious plan will help you to drink the recommended amount. Start your day with a 12- to 20-ounce water wake-up call. If you are a coffee or tea drinker, have some water by itself first. The water sets you up to be hydrated from the beginning of the day, gently wakes up your body, and helps stimulate your bowels naturally.
Alcohol is a depressant, so even though it makes you loose for a while, in the long run it brings you down. Alcohol slows your reaction time, packs a caloric punch (7 calories per gram; fat has 9 calories per gram), and dehydrates you.
Buy (or pick from your cupboard) a nice water bottle and prefill it with water so that you have a visual reminder that you need to drink. Plan to drink the water in it before lunchtime or before you leave the office. Keep a full bottle in your car, on your bike, or in your backpack, and drink it before you reach your destination.
If you work in an office, keep refilling the bottle at the water cooler. Have a cutoff time when you stop drinking, typically a couple of hours prior to sleep, so your bladder will not be vying for your attention while you are trying to sleep.
