What if I told you that drinking water alone does NOT hydrate you?
With all the hype about drinking water, I beg to differ. Based on my personal experience, I’ve come to the reality that water is completely dead when consumed on its own.
Does this sound like you?
- You chug a gallon of water everyday because you think it’s a healthy thing to do.
- You drink a gallon of water whenever you are home, however you refuse to drink any water while traveling away from home because you fear urinating on yourself.
- You don’t drink water away from home because you will have the urge to urinate and you hate using public bathrooms.
- You drink 8 glasses of water each day because that is what you are told to do.
- Your urine is yellow or brown
- You brag about how clear your urine is and swear that you are doing an excellent job at flushing toxins from your body.
- You are constantly thirsty OR you only drink whenever you are thirsty
If this is you, you may be dehydrated.
Focus on Fluid intake
If you have been a recent or a long time fan of Angeluscious Authentic Dishes on social media, you should know by now that I juice religiously. Doing so fuels and nourishes my body on a cellular level.
Juices, smoothies, herbal teas and soups is my thing. I also prefer to “eat my water” via greens or fruits. Instead of focusing on just water, I focus on FLUID INTAKE. Why, because my goal is to hydrate on a cellular level. Drinking water isn’t a bad thing. For me, drinking water helps to move all the fiber along which aids in regular bowel movements and believe me, I pride myself on regularity.
Drink half of your body’s weight in ounces
I have never ever been one to encourage others to drink gallons and gallons of water each day. It’s just not my thing.
If you drink a gallon of water each day or 8 glasses of water each day, you may be drinking too much or too little water. A gallon or 8 glasses of water each day isn’t suitable for everyone. What is recommended is drinking half of your body’s weight in ounces. Hold on. Wait a minute. Angie, what does that mean?
Let’s do the math: if you weigh 140 pounds, you should be drinking 70 ounces of water.
FYI: I drink water from a 32 ounce mason jar and based on my weight, I need a tad bit over 2 mason jars. Psst. I even pour my teas in mason jars sometimes. Remember tea also counts as FLUID INTAKE.
Never chug your water
This is not a water contest. You don’t have to prove how fast you drink your water. Drinking too much water at once will overload your kidneys. We are not trying to drown out the kidneys. Our goal is to hydrate. Take it easy and SIP. Yes, just sip throughout the day.
Don’t wait until you are thirsty to drink your water
If you have to wait until you are thirsty to drink water or constantly licking your lips because they are dry, you may be dehydrated. This might just be the right time to increase your fluid intake and I’m not talking about drinking sodas or beer.
Pay attention to your urine
Believe it or not, the color of your urine can reveal if your kidneys are functioning at an optimal level. You do not want your urine to be as clear as water OR yellow to brown. If your urine is yellow, you may be dehydrated. If it is brown, you may be extremely dehydrated.
Mineralize your water
If your urine is as clear as the water that you drink, then you are probably leaching minerals and your kidneys are not filtering. Your urine should have a bit of color (an indication of filtering). Try mineralizing your water by infusing it with fruits or better yet, eat your water via fruits and vegetables.
FYI: Whenever I do drink plain water, I mineralize my water by adding ¼ tsp of himalayan pink salt or celtic sea salt AND ¼ tsp ionic magnesium.
Do you think you need to re-evaluate your fluid intake?
If so, why?
