If you ever wanted to know one of the most simple and transforming tips for health and wellbeing, drinking lots of water would have to be right up there. Aside from water being the most necessary element for life next to air, it has a major influence on the quality of our health and strength, and can even improve the way we look!

Our body composition is approximately 2/3 water (between 55 and 75 percent) and water is essential to the cells in our bodies to function properly. I have read for example that even a 2 percent deficit of it in our bodies can mean a decline in strength by 20 percent.

The general advice is that we should be aiming to drink 8 glasses of water each day. Our bodies are unable to store it, and so we have to replenish what is lost through normal body functions such as perspiring and breathing even! This can be hard at first for people who really dislike it, but what I have found is that as you increase the amount of water you drink, the greater the craving for it becomes.

A great motivator is that regularly drinking more water is a fast track to feeling a whole lot better. Energy levels and mental alertness can be enhanced, as well as the function of our digestive and immune systems. It is an essential part of metabolising fat, it helps to keep our joints lubricated, and can even lessen the severity of cold and flu symptoms!

It’s also great for complexion and skin tone. The reason for this is believed to relate to the way that water acts as a purifier, removing toxins and wastes from the body.

So, with all this good news about water, if you’re looking for ideas about how to start integrating more of it into your diet, one simple way is to keep a bottle on the desk at work, and in the fridge at home. Every time you go to drink something (tea, coffee, diet coke) substitute it for your water most of the time.

My beautiful Grandma always tells me about the way that her Mum used to drink warm water with lemon every single morning first thing, and how good this is for our health. I love the way our mothers and grandmothers have all of this wonderful wisdom to pass on to us. What Grandma says is so true, lemon is a citrus fruit rich in vitamin C to boost immunity and as well as this, it enhances our digestive system and skin too. If you dislike water as it is, this also, might be a nice alternative to try.

~ by Birgit on April 25, 2007.

Posted in Health and Fitness