How to Live a Healthier Life with Hydration

The first area to examine for those  focused on living a healthier life is to examine their level of hydration. A person can survive 30-40 days without food but only 3-5 days without water.  Consider what you are drinking throughout the day and particularly  first thing in the morning.

Ideally, you are sleeping the recommended 7-9 hours a night. Living a healthier life certainly requires rest so your body can restore, regenerate and heal. Now, reflect on the last time you body has had water upon first waking. Even if you slept 8 hours, it may have been hours before that since you’ve drank water.  If you are getting the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep than you’ve likely gone all that time without anything to drink if not longer. Drink  about 6 ounces of purified water upon waking to replenish your body’s needs.

Can You Live a Healthier Life Drinking Coffee or Tea?

If you reach for coffee, black tea or a soft drink you are dehydrating your body along with pulling crucial calcium from the body, thanks to the caffeine. That is right, caffeine pulls calcium from the body or specifically from the bone. Plus, coffee and tea also drive iron out of the body. Iron deficiencies may include fatigue, brittle nails, depression and even allergies to foods such as oats. If you still insist on drinking coffee or tea you’ll need to double water intake to counteract the dehydrating effects of any caffeine you consume.

Coffee and tea are also acidic which disrupts the body’s natural pH balance which disrupts the digestive process. If digestion is disrupted you may over eating and literally still be starving to death. This creates the perfect environment to create sickness & disease as well as nutrient deficiencies. Caffeine also greatly stress the body which leads to further health issues.

Not sure if you have a hydration problem? Dehydration can impact brain function!

Hydration Tip : Grab a glass of water FIRST or instead of the caffeine!

  1. Try adding the juice of 1/2 lemon to aid in digestion and assist with weight-loss. Use warm or at least room temperature water.
  2. Consider drinking diluted organic juice mixed 50/50 (half juice and half water) to energize and give you a lift in the morning or anytime during the day. If it is extremely hot outside, add a pinch of pink Himalayan Pink Sea Salt.
  3. Add cayenne pepper and pure maple syrup to the lemon water for a great natural detox.

Water Quality and Living a Healthier Life:

The quality (or lack thereof) of your water is crucial to live a healthier life. Each time we use water (drink, wash foods, bathing) we are also exposed to the chemicals and contaminates in the household water. When you consider just how often we are exposed to household water, it is really no surprise that it could derail efforts to live a healthier life and to improve health.  Heavy metals such as aluminum, chlorine and fluoride are concerns as they create addition imbalances in the body.

  • Your body is over 70% water by volume, your brain and blood are each up to 90%.
  • Third party reports from sites like Homefacts.com link the contaminants present and legally allowed in your tap water to chronic diseases and even cancer.
  • Bottled water is a $60 Billion a year global industry with an average price of $10 per gallon!  It is less tested and regulated than your tap water.
  • Even if you don’t drink your water, you are still likely showering and cooking with it.  So the bottom line is that if it’s in your water, it’s in you!
  • Here are some additional water facts from www.LivingwaterLLC.com
Do you know what’s in your water? You should, as quality water is life sustaining!  I highly recommend taking a good look at the quality of your water and make the investment to improve it as soon as possible.  Poor quality water will always impact efforts to live a healthier life which is why water sources need to be addressed.
Many don’t realize that dehydration is actually more common in the winter months than in the summer months. During the winter months it can be difficult to get the appropriate amount of water and many people have no idea they AREN’T getting enough.

How Much Water is Enough Water?

Take your body weight and divide it by 2, that is how many ounces of water you need each day. So a 150 lb person/2 = 75 oz of water needed a day  or 9 glasses a day. Remember liquids from clean sources of broth, herbal (non caffeine) teas, juice from fruit, etc. all count too. Peppermint or spearmint herbal tea are two of my favorites. What are your favorite sources of hydration?

Improve you health through hydration by:
  1. Drinking water when you first wake up
  2. Ensuring you household water source is clean & healthy
  3. Consuming the proper amount of water per day

Remember implementing small changes will create lasting benefits for a lifetime!

More How to Live a Healthier Life Posts Include:

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Read more about How to Live a Healthier Life here.

6 replies
  1. Mike Stofleth
    Mike Stofleth says:

    I have a mutual friend who has implemented this. I will replace the morning coffee with some warm lemon water and see how this goes. Have a lemon in mind in the frig :)

  2. Nyra
    Nyra says:

    I want to get and be healthier. I don’t like the meds I am having to take. I have RA and am looking to beat it without taking a cancer fighting drug. I also want to lose a minimum of 30 pounds. I will start today with the lemon water!

  3. Vcatm
    Vcatm says:

    I love drinking water with fresh lemon in the morning. It’s refreshing and gives me am immediate feeling of waking up. I also like the taste of adding the cayenne and maple. Is it ok to drink that detox drink daily?

  4. mimi
    mimi says:

    Agree with your comments but Chinese Medicine Doctors are often highly opposed to asking people to drink alkaline water!!! ‘when your body is too alkaline it is smart and starts producing more acid to balance it. This can lead to more health problems. My holistic Dr. recommends a water at a neutral PH of 7 (Spring water). I buy mine from an eco friendly water company and it has improved my family’s health immensely. For a short detox, alkaline water might be ok for SOME but I think it is irresponsible to recommend alkaline water to people who may have imbalances in thier bodies!!

    • Dr. Bonnie Schnautz, ND, CNHP
      Dr. Bonnie Schnautz, ND, CNHP says:

      Mimi,
      I completely agree with you. The post was written at a time that I didn’t have the knowledge of the pH of the body that I do now. I provide 24 Hour Urinalysis testing and see the amount of people who are already too high in alkaline. I’ve removed the statement on alkaline water so thank you again for bringing this to my attention.

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