Water ~ One of the building blocks of Nutrition
Understanding the Basic Building Blocks of Nutrition
Water, Carbohydrates, Proteins and fats are the basics of good solid nutrition. The key to benefiting from these is to better understand how to choose their healthiest forms. We also need to know what works best for each unique body. I want to spend the next few blogs on these basics. Today, I want to share my thoughts on water.
Water ~ Did you know that your body is 2/3 water? We may be able to survive without food for 30-40 days, but without water, we would only make it for 3 – 5 days. Water is an essential nutrient that is involved in every function of the body. It helps transport nutrients, and waste products in and out of your cells. It is necessary for digestion, absorption, and the circulatory system. It is necessary for the maintenance of proper body temperature and so much more!
But how much water is best for you ? The way I like to figure it is to divide your body weight in half and that equals how many ounces you need each day.
Just to give you an example, if you weighed 150 lbs, you would need 75 ounces of purified water each day.
Now that you have an idea of how much you need, let’s talk about what kind of water to drink. Must of us are blessed to live in a country where pure water is easy to come by. I personally do not like to use the water that comes from my well system at my house, so we purchase our drinking and cooking water in large bottles from a local company that does a great job of purifying water.
What type of water is best…? That depends…. I have used a water distiller, years ago, during my personal health crisis ~ when I felt that distilled water was necessary to help in the healing process. Now, I like to use purified water ~ similar to a reverse osmosis system. Some ingredients that I don’t want in my tap water is the chlorine and fluoride that is added to many city’s water systems. But that too can easily be remedied by quality water filters. So do your own homework and drink pure or distilled, filtered water based on your own health situation!
A common concern I see talked about in the news recently is the overuse of bottled water for personal use. I agree that we seem to have gone to the extreme, especially when you see how many bottles are used each day. I recommend that we use our own containers ~ safe BPA free ~ whenever possible and save on all that waste.
In recent articles from holistic minded doctors such as Dr. Mercola, it is mentioned that we can hydrate our bodies just as well when we add herbal, Tulsi, Black or Green Tea. The thinking is that these teas be included in our daily fluid intake based on their health benefits. Some people just can’t imagine drinking so much water during the day, so this would be a great alternative. NOT sodas, sports or energy drinks.
The next time you feel a headache coming on ~ drink a glass of water, when you realize that you are thirsty, you are already late ~ grab that glass of water! Ladies ~ Water improves the look of your skin and so much more !
I hope this helped you to understand our need for water and next time, I am going to blog about carbohydrates.