Friday, April 17, 2009

Hydration: Day 2

Why Water?

Water consumption is important for 100 reasons. I'm only going to list the 10 that matter most to me.

10) Reduce my risk of heart attack

Research has shown that drinking a proper amount of water could lower your risk of a heart attack. A six-year study published in the May 1, 2002 American Journal of Epidemiology found that those who drink more than 5 glasses of water a day were 41% less likely to die from a heart attack during the study period than those who drank less than two glasses.

Now, the science:

When you have too little water in your body, it tries to adjust for the loss of water by constricting blood vessels so that the rate of loss of water (due to sweating and respiration) is reduced. This, in turn, is one of the causes of a higher blood pressure. Increased blood pressure is a sign of a heart that’s working harder than it should. Making your heart work harder than it should is never a good idea.

9) Cushion my joints and make running more comfortable.

Water makes up a large part of the fluid that lubricates and cushions your joints and muscles. And although not the only element associated with muscle cramps, athletes have long recognized that even mild dehydration can produce cramps. So drinking water before, during and after exercise can also help reduce muscle cramping and premature fatigue.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, adequate fluid replacement helps to maintain hydration therefore optimizing and enhancing performance of those participating in regular exercise.

8) My skin will improve.

Water removes impurities in the skin and cleanses it, through sweat, leaving you with a healthy and younger looking skin. Dehydrated skin cells lose their elasticity and 'plumpness' and can cause your skin to appear wrinkled or sagging.

7) Drinking enough water improves digestion.

The human digestive system needs plenty of water to digest food properly. If you are getting adequate amounts of fiber in your diet, adding more water may help prevent gassiness.

6) I will be more alert and have more energy

Even mild dehydration can sap your energy and make you feel tired. Dehydration can lead to fatigue, muscle weakness, dizziness and other symptoms. If you're thirsty, it's your body's way of telling you you're already a little dehydrated and you should do something about it.

5) I will better be able to regulate my body temperature, which is fairly vital here in the desert in the summer.

Water is the single most important factor in the highly critical function of regulating your body temperature. On sunny days, we sweat (in other words - excrete water) more and the evaporation of the sweat has a cooling effect on the body. In the absence of sufficient water (when dehydration occurs) in your body, this temperature regulation breaks down and body temperature increases - and this leads to sunstroke. Severe sunstroke has the potential to damage your vital organs.

I've had sunstroke before. Not doing it again.

4) If I don't get enough water, my milk production falls, and my Little One doesn't get enough to eat.

During nursing, a mother needs to drink much more liquid to replace the water provided in the breast milk. A woman who nurses her child should drink 5-6 pints (40 - 48 oz) per day; preferably mineral water, fruit or vegetable juices, herbal tea and milk. healthandage.com

What does the nursing mother have to do to go on a healthy diet? She has to increase her water consumption by one quart per day, so that she is drinking a total of 2.5 to 3 quarts. Nursing women tend to be thirstier, especially during feeding sessions, because part of their water consumption goes directly to producing milk for their infants. pregnancy-period.com

3) I will be less likely to get sick.

Water helps carry metabolic wastes away from the body through urine and sweat. This is one of the most important functions of water in our body. In addition, sufficient water helps our nasal passages work the way they should, snot is mostly water, and serves an actual purpose. It captures the stuff in the air we don't want in our lungs, and then leaves our body. Therefore, we get sick less.

2) I will lose weight

Water is one of the best tools for weight loss for two reasons It often replaces high-calorie drinks like soda and juice and alcohol with a drink that doesn't have any calories. And it's also a great appetite suppressant, and often when we think we're hungry, we're actually just thirsty.

Water has no fat, no calories, no carbs, no sugar. It fills your belly and makes you feel full sooner, which in turn decreases your appetite.

1) Every organ in my body needs water to function properly.

The human body is made up of about 43% to 75% of water - depending on age, body fat, etc. You could probably survive for 4 to 8 weeks without food (though no happily), but it is estimated that lack of water could cause death in about 10 days, at room temperature.

This is clearly a very important habit for my health in general, as well as the health of my Little One.

**DAILY REPORT FOR YESTERDAY

First day of focusing on water went well, though not as expected. I did get my nine glasses of water, and in fact I figure I drank about 13 before the day was out. After by 'obligatory' water, I didn't bother to count the extras. I was thirsty all day, which is odd for me, so either I was dehydrated to begin with (which is likely the case) or actually being close to the right amount of water made my thirst response kick back in.

It's worth noting that other than water, I only had 2 glasses of milk all day.

Overall, I consider yesterday a success. If I continue like yesterday though, I may up the amount of fluid I require per day.

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