I’ve found some interesting facts about water. Maybe you knew all of this but I didn’t.
Most of us don’t feel thirsty until we’re already dehydrated. That’s why it’s important to drink water even when we’re not thirsty. I’m definitely one of those people whose “thirst” mechanism doesn’t seem to work like everyone else’s. I have to remind myself to drink water.
But did you know you can drink too much water? A friend of mine who sees a kidney specialist was told that we can drink too much water. So that’s something to check out with your family physician.
Something else I learned was that pain can be a symptom of dehydration and dehydration makes all pain worse. One report I read said that any time you experience pain, especially a headache, drink a glass of water before you reach for a pill. Low fluid levels can also cause brain fog.
Interesting, huh?
I also didn’t know that staying hydrated can reduce blood pressure. When our water intake isn’t adequate, our blood gets thicker and harder to pump.
Many times we confuse hunger with dehydration. If we drink some water before we eat, we might find our hunger pains were not hunger pains at all.
Dehydration can also exacerbate depression, anxiety, and our moods in general. This is something I certainly didn’t know. And apparently dehydration effects women’s moods more than men. This is according to the Journal of Nutrition.
Finally, do you suffer from back pain? Water can help. Michael Perry, co-founder of the Laser Spine Institute, says this, “Even mild dehydration can make the back muscles susceptible to stiffness, cramping, and spasms. Discs that act like shock absorbers in the spine are made up of 80% water, so when you are not hydrated, neither are they—and resulting pressure on nerves may trigger pain.”
So what to do? The obvious answer is to drink more water. But unless you’re really keeping track, how do you know?
Here’s some ideas.
Drink a big glass (or two smaller ones) of water every morning. Your body is dehydrated from having had no water during the night. I’m one of those people who have to have coffee in the morning before anything else but even I have learned to drink my water first.
Drink a glass of water before every meal. This also prevents over-eating.
Another approach is to buy a container and fill it with about six to eight cups of water. Leave it out so you can see it. When you get through it all, you’ve met your quota.
Eat more fruit. Almost all fruit has high concentrates of liquid.
God has given us an amazing body and we need to treat it with respect. I think it’s hard to do that in these days because there are so many choices. We don’t have to peel, shred, or cook anything if we don’t have to. We only have to open a box.
So for the next week or so, monitor your fluid intake so you know for sure how much water you are drinking for sure.
We all want to feel good and drinking enough water is an important part of feeling good.
God bless and have a good day.
