The holidays bring with them many opportunities to eat and drink ourselves into jolly states of cheer. While enjoying everything to its fullest make sure you don’t run yourself down to the effect of getting sick or to dehydrated through constant socializing. Give yourself a gift that costs no money this season, and will reap benefits, value and rewards for years and years to come. Water.

70% of your body is water. Water supports all your nutritive processes, from digestion to absorption and utilization or excretion. Water holds nutrients and transports all food necessary for life to the various parts of your body. Water holds wastes and toxins that it picks up from the cells and carries them to the organs of elimination (bowels, bladder, lungs, and skin).

Water is an essential constituent of all cells, tissues and body fluids. Without water you would have no saliva. Has your mouth ever been dry? Fact: When your mouth is dry, your body is already dehydrated.

Gastric juices are practically all water, without them; the food you eat would not be able to be properly digested. Water acts as a lubricant in your body that keeps various mucous membranes of your body soft and prevents friction between tissue surfaces, and is also the chief agent that regulates your body’s temperature, like the radiator of a car.

How much water should I drink in a day?

Remember whenever you are thirsty you are already dehydrated. Whoever invented the theory that everyone should drink only 8 cups of water a day, in my opinion is somewhat off base. My recommendation is that all human beings should be drinking at least 8 cups of water a day, although this will vary with the individual. It makes sense that a 280-pound construction worker working outside in Florida heat will have to drink more water than a 100-pound office worker in an air-conditioned environment.

You have to take responsibility for your health and be a scientist. Be aware how thirsty you are when you wake up in the morning. Be aware of when you are thirsty during the day. Be aware of how thirsty you become after eating a holiday meal complete with all the trimmings. Remember if you are thirsty you are already dehydrated which means you need to increase your daily water consumption.

When is the best time to drink water?

Drink at least 4 cups of water first thing when you wake up in the morning. Drink 1-2 cups of water 5-10 minutes before each meal. Why? Water leaves the stomach in approximately 5 minutes which means it will not interfere with digestion.

Why avoid drinking water during or within 2 hours after a meal?

Water dilutes digestive juices and slows down digestion, plus heavy water drinking logs tissues, dilutes fluids, and impairs cellular function. This can lead to heavy sweating, which in turn drains your energy.

What do I do if I am thirsty after a meal?

Eat celery; because of its high water content, it is a great thirst quencher.

Lemon Water: The Miracle Drink

Lemons are excellent as a blood purifier. Upon rising in the morning, drink the juice of one lemon in 1-2 cups of warm water. Lemons help detoxify your body, regenerate your liver and promotes peristalsis: the movement in the bowels that keeps waste moving along the digestive tract and of your body for elimination.

How do I take my lemon water?

I personally buy 8 lemons every time I go grocery shopping. When I get home I juice them (rind and all) in a juicer and store the juice in a water bottle in the fridge. Every morning when I wake up I add 2 tablespoons of fresh (not concentrate) lemon juice to my water and drink it with my multivitamins.

“Knowledge Only Becomes Wisdom Through Personal Experience”

Kita Forever

Sources:

The Juiceman’s Power of Juicing, Jay Kordich

The Fat Flush Plan, Ann Louse Gittleman, M.S., C.N.S.

Fit For Life II, Harvey & Marilyn Diamond