WATER, WATER, WATER… IT'S NOT JUST FOR BATHING!
I DO NOT Claim to prevent, treat, or cure any disease!
I DO Claim that your body is amazing and was created to heal itself!
I can not stress enough how important it is to drink enough of the right kind of WATER. As I said before, NOTHING is as important to your overall HEALTH as staying plenty hydrated. The RULE OF THUMB is to drink a GALLON of water a day. The guideline to go by is to drink half your body weight in ounces of water every single day. For example… a person who weighs 160 pounds should drink 80 ounces of water. I suggest carrying a Water Bottle with you everywhere you go and sip on it throughout the day. You know that you’re drinking enough when your urine is colorless to a light yellow.
You might say… but, but, but I don’t want to or have time to run to the bathroom all day. While you probably will need to urinate quite often initially when you up your water game, you’ll find that once your cells get saturated with water (as they should be) you won’t then have the need to urinate as often. Anyway, the benefits of adequate water intake far outweigh the inconvenience you’ll experience. And if you have a job where it is totally inconceivable or impossible to have unlimited bathroom access– Try your best to saturate your cells with water on your days off, weekends or evenings! Yeah you’ll probably need to get up several times a night, but drinking enough water IS THAT IMPORTANT!!!
ALWAYS REMEMBER… Coffee, Tea, Soda, and Alcohol are all dehydrating. Therefore, you’ll need to drink at least five times as much water after you drink any of the aforementioned drinks.
You can add cucumber slices, strawberries, or lemon (or whatever fruits or vegetables are to your liking) to your water for a little flavoring, plus for the added nutritional benefits.
11 HEALTH BENEFITS OF WATER…
Helps deliver oxygen throughout the body, thus more energy
Flushes out wastes and toxins
Helps with saliva production and digestion
Prevents constipation
Keeps skin glowing and hydrated
Minimizes wrinkles
Lubricates joints
Regulates body temperature
Prevents arthritis
Reduces fatigue
11) Weight loss
PLEASE TAKE NOTE: The government guidelines for safe drinking water haven't been updated for many, many years, therefore, there are contaminants in our municipalities water supplies at levels that are not safe nor conducive for Optimal Health. If interested you can visit… https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/ type in your zip code and see your own municipalities water quality report.
I would HIGHLY recommend NOT drinking water from the tap. Among containing fluoride (a neural toxin) tap water contains many contaminants (see above). I prefer Distilled Water, you can purchase an inexpensive water distiller on Amazon and glass bottles to store your water in… as the plastic can leach into your water when stored in plastic bottles.
Why Distilled Water?
Pure and contaminant free water
Detoxifies the body
Hydration
Nourishes the cells
MYTH… Distilled water is bad because it doesn’t have any minerals in it. While true– there are very few minerals in tap water either and the contaminants in tap water negates any benefit you’ll get from whatever minerals there might be.
Truth… You’re able to get all your daily essential minerals from your diet and supplementation.
Water is vital for many processes of the human body… body temperature regulation, transports oxygen to all different parts of the body, clears out body waste and improves complexion to name a few.
DON’T FORGET YOUR CHILDREN…
As a parent we stress on keeping our kids healthy… making sure they are eating properly, limiting the junk food, eating nutritious foods and of course drinking enough water.
NOTE: Commercial fruit juices aren’t the best choice for children, most have many additives and sugar in them, and CAN NOT take the place of water when it comes to your children's health. BIG FOOD is very clever in their marketing, as fruit juices might say 100% vitamin C, making us believe– OH that’s very good stuff (I fell for that when my children were small, always checking the juice to see if it said 100% Vit. C thinking I was doing good for my children), but that only means that synthetic (made in a lab) Vitamin C was added… IT’S NOT conducive for Barefoot Health!
IMPORTANT: You CAN NOT always limit, take away or stress about the foods and drinks your children are consuming, that’s not the Barefoot way either. That might sound contradictory but the thing you need to do is… just to be mindful and do the very best you can in improving yours and your children’s daily choices in this not so perfect world we live in. So don’t beat yourself up!
Fruit and vegetable juices are good for the body… the aforementioned I was talking about are the commercial juices (full of synthetic additives and sugar), so the best thing would be to juice your own fruits & veggies if desired. Or best to use the whole fruit and make a fruit smoothie (then you get the whole fruit and eliminate the waste/pulp).
See below for tips & tricks on ways to get your children to drink more water….
While I don’t condone drinking anything during a meal, if it will help your children drink more water… make it easily accessible by having a full water pitcher set out at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack times instead of giving them other drink options.
Make drinking water fun… Let your children select their own straws, cups, or glasses. “Dare” your youngster to drink a specific amount of water, make water consumption something your kids anticipate each day. Wacky straws, straws that feature all sorts of loops can make drinking water a lot more fascinating to kids. When playing board games or reading books, make it even more fun by refraining from changing book pages or tackling any board game moves until your kid has taken a sip or more of water. Have fun with it!
Include an abundance of fresh vegetables and fruits into your children’s diets… Vegetables and Fruits are primarily composed of water. If your kids are very reluctant to drink water, the next best thing is to feed them yummy carrot sticks, strawberries, blueberries, and apple slices galore.
Give your kids their own stainless steel water bottles to carry with them to sporting events or when they’re out and about.
Make it part of your family’s regimen… Establish designated water drinking times for all of your family members.
Add a bit of flavor to their water… Including pieces of an orange, berries, cucumbers or even fresh mint in their water will take its flavor up a notch.
Give incentives… Use a fun water tracker and have your child color in the water droplet when they have drunk an 8 oz glass of water. If they get all the droplets colored in a week, you could give them a prize.
Open communication… Have an in-depth discussion of all the advantages of drinking water. Tell them drinking enough water helps with their digestion and that it can make their skin look and feel a lot better too. If you’re serious about getting your children excited about drinking water, then telling them about urine color (urine will be clear to light yellow when enough water is consumed) may get them moving in the right direction.
Take it Slowly… Begin by trying to motivate them to drink just a tad more than they already do, then slowly but surely raise the amount that you want them to drink.
Be Prudent… As always, if your child has an existing problem with wetting the bed or to avoid creating a problem, refrain from motivating him or her to drink water within 60 minutes of turning in for the night.
Kids learn by example… If you want to motivate your kids to drink enough water, you should do so yourself. Drinking only water can even slash your calorie intake dramatically. Dining out in restaurants, refrain from ordering beverages that aren’t water, if at all possible.
Don’t force it… All people/children are different based on age, gender, body weight, activity or depending whether it’s a hot or cold day. Obviously teens involved in sports have different needs than toddlers. Sipping water throughout the day is better than chug-a-lugging. Too much of a good thing is bad as well, meaning drinking too much water too fast can be a detriment to health as well.
Try not to keep sugary juices & sodas in the house… If your children don’t see other unhealthy beverage choices around the house, they’ll be more apt to drink water.
DON’T FORGET THE BABIES…
Always have a bottle/sippy cup of water available at all times between meals and give your baby frequent sips of water during the day to prevent dehydration. Diarrhea, vomiting, or not drinking adequate fluids can result in dehydration in babies. Signs to look for are fatigue, lethargy, increased thirst, decreased urination, sunken eyes, or irritability. If you suspect your infant may be showing signs of severe dehydration call your Pediatrician immediately or visit your ER.
Please stay tuned for the rest of the articles in this series…