5 reasons hydration is vital for our body to work it’s best

Did you know our blood is made up of about 90% water and our muscles 70 %? That's 2/3 of our body and most of us aren't even getting close to what our body needs to be happy! You want to be hydrated so your body can remove waste, have that peachy, healthy glowing skin, clear mind, detoxify and a good digestion.

When our bodies aren't hydrated it can change the viscosity of our blood. Maybe you’ve been to a health practitioner before and seen them use an electron microscope, through this they can see if our blood is sticky and clumping together. When it clumps together it doesn't allow for good movement in the blood, for some that can even present as high blood pressure. 

Drink clean filtered water! The water that comes from our taps are full of toxins like aluminium, chlorine and fluoride, trust me you don't want these in your body.  The best water is spring water, its natural earth based and it’s already been mixed with the natural minerals. You might be thinking but I have rainwater I don’t need one. Remember whatever is in the air or run off to your tank will contaminate your water. If you are unsure contact your local plumber and get them to do a water sample and give you recommendation for a suitable water filter. Nothing like piece of mind!

Drink water throughout the day. The most important time is first thing in the morning, then you want to top up about one hour before  lunch, one hour after lunch and mid day. Sounds pretty easy right, but we still forget! You know that feeling mid arvo when you start thinking about that chocolate or left over corn chips from the weekend, that’s when you want to have some water! It will help curb that craving and snacking and tie you off until dinner.

And yes, herbal tea, vegetable juice, smoothies all count towards your daily recommendation. Just keep that water bottle handy, it will help you keep track.

1. When our bodies are dehydrated you can feel blah. When we wake up we feel more sluggish and tired because our body is fatigued from being dehydrated. Our body has essentially been without fluid for the past 10 - 12 hours. In our sleep we lose between half a litre to a litre of fluid, I know right groose! By the time you wake up your body is dehydrated. You want to be having water within 30 mins of getting up. Make yourself a warm water with a pinch of pink himalayan sea salt and a full lemon or lime mixed in it, your body will thank you for it! Those little cells inside your body will love you for it because they work on a sodium potassium pump. A bit of a moutful hey, Sodium and potassiun are so important for our energy.

2. We can get headaches and feel dizziness when our body is dehydrated. When you feel that headache sneaking in, reach for water first and relax for 20 - 30 minutes. Another tip is to add some lemon and salt to your water for electrolyte, remember the sodium and potassium?

3. When we don't drink enoughwater we can get constipated. I dont know about you but having those pebble poo’s is pretty uncomfortable. We need to draw water into our colon to create a formed stool. if you have hard to pass poo’s and it's got that pebble-like consistency it can be a sign of dehydration. 

4. We can experience muscle cramps when we are dehydrated, which is often a sign of lack of potassium. This is often why people recommend a banana, it has potassium but it also contains water! In these cases it can also beneficial to have the lemon and salt water as mentioned above. 

5. Hydrate when you're flying. You might have heard this a few times and the reason is so our bodies are able to build up the immune system to be able to fight off the viruses and toxins your breathing in. You can't build up your mucosa in your nose and you wont have enough of the natural mucosa on your skin if you're dehydrated. 

Out of all of this I want you take away one thing, Stay hydrated! How much? Roughly 8-12 glasses of water a day depending on our body weight and how much you are exercising. 

*Please note this is intended as health education, it does not treat, cure or prevent disease.