My youngest son, the fitness guru; my sister, the overly concerned family member; Dr. Oz, the television show medical host, and several talk show hosts and doctors, featured in television commercials, all seem to echo the same sentiments. We Americans, and probably people everywhere, need to drink more water—or at least more liquids!
I hear it often: “I decided I needed to do something to become healthier, if not for me then for my family! So, one thing I decided to do was to drink more water— and that decision has helped me to lose weight, lower my cholesterol, gain more stamina, cut down on unhealthy drinks, and even seems to have helped reduce my need for acid reflux medications.”
One recommendation I have read is to drink at least “half your weight (pounds) in ounces per 24-hour period, or more if you go without sleeping for longer periods of time.” So, I weigh a little under 180 pounds at this time and should, therefore, drink a minimum of 90 ounces of water. Actually, most recommendations say that men should drink about 20 to 30 ounces more than women, but that depends upon body weight, activity levels, and climactic conditions.
An “Institute of Medicine” study recommended that on the average, men in general should drink 125 ounces or more per day, and women generally need 90 ounces.
Now, water is the best beverage. (I know; I know! Sports drinks are the miracle liquids, but many experts will disagree!) And my buddy would say that beer is “the answer,” but you already know what doctors are going to answer to that suggestion!
However, other liquids are not to be disregarded. Milk, plus some re-hydration drinks, teas, coffees, and carbonated drinks can all serve the purpose, but alcoholic drinks are dehydrating, and some experts think diet drinks are, also! Many sodas, juices, and sports drinks are hydrating, but they are also loaded with sugars, which may be just what you don’t need!
And, hard as it may be to believe, the older you get, the more you probably need to add more liquids to your diet, because older folks generally have fewer reserves and generally do not feel the “thirst sensation” as readily as youngsters!
Let’s close by looking at what water can do for YOU. It is magic, because it has no sugar and no calories and gives you a “full” sensation, thus helping with weight control. It helps regulate blood pressure and keep muscles working properly and skin smooth and “supple.” It provides energy and greater direct focus and helps ward off kidney stones.
It keeps airways open, helps form the needed mucous, keeps kidneys functioning, lubricates joints, helps deliver food nutrients and oxygen, gets rid of toxic wastes, aids digestion and intestinal elimination, helps ward off allergies—just what does it not help in some way or the other?
So, how can you get more water into your system when you just don’t feel thirsty often enough? Add a few ounces each time you take medications; drink the “swirl” water when you are rinsing your “everyday” cups or glasses; start the day with an 8-ounce glass of water, and end your day the same way! Drink 8 ounces of water before you sit down to watch television with your soda and popcorn! There are endless ways to add 20 or 30 ounces to your daily intake. My “fitness son” fills a gallon jug with water each morning and paces himself so that it is gone a while before he retires for the night! Whatever works for you is FINE! And the more I read, the more I find that many doctors believe black coffee is a really good source of anti-oxidants and is not a diuretic as was once thought!
When I played Jackrabbit high school football, and we had “true” “two-a-day” workouts in the blazing August sun, we had to weigh before practice one year and then weigh again after. I can remember losing more than ten pounds during some sessions and then drinking water from the 23 ounces Coke bottles in the racks outside the dressing rooms, until my stomach looked like my Grandpa’s after he had attended ice cream socials! And, believe it or not, without “using the restroom” very much the rest of the evening before going to bed, my stomach would go back to “regular size.” (absorption, as Coach Barry would say!)
And I will close with the memory of working out in a farm field with my Uncle and Cousins in Oklahoma and every two or three hours going to the spring-fed creek and pulling the ‘burlap bag covered” one gallon glass jugs up by their connecting cords from beneath the clear, flowing water—and then “HEAVEN,” or so it seemed as we took turns swigging the ice-cold water that had come from the pump back at the farmhouse! Don’t tell my Mom that we all drank from the same jugs with no cups and never, ever became ill.
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.