July 28, 2017
Water, we drink it, bathe in it, use it to cook, swim in it and use it in religious ceremonies. Our bodies are on average made up of 60% water; it is essential to life. But why is water is so underrated in this day in age? When most people think of quenching a thirst, they go for the sparkling cool looking bottle of pop or juice from which they saw on a commercial. We have put coffee and smoothies on a pedestal but what happened to water?
Sure we have our plastic bottles of water polluting the earth, Evian and Nestle have snagged the authenticity from what water is really about. We forgot about the roots of water and how important it is for our mind, body and soul. Water serves such a big purpose in our lives. Let’s bring back water into the equation and let’s talk about the missing vitality it brings to us humans.
Let’s Talk About Water….
Of course first thing, water is thirst quenching.
Most people sometimes forget to drink water. I have asked many people prior to writing this blog if they drink water and that was a common answer. Can you believe, we ‘forget’!? Is that how busy and mindless we have become that we get stuck on autopilot and drink the coffee and pop the commercials tell us to drink but we forget about the source of life? Sure juice and pop contains water but so little and with other chemicals that dehydrate us so in turn, the water is not being absorbed.
There is nothing that can quench thirst more than pure cool water. It replenishes and nourishes the body when on the go or exercising. Water can also give you a burst of energy. Next time you yawn and are feeling fatigued, drink a tall glass of cool water and watch how it will revitalize you.
Water cleanses your mind body and soul.
There is a fundamental significance that links water with purity. As mentioned above, water is used in religious ceremonies to purify and cleanse. “In many religions, water is considered to symbolize purity. Water is used in ritual washing – “purification” – in Christianity, Muslims believe that “We made from water every living thing.” In other words, it is believed that life is made from water”. 1 There are of course scientific reasons that correlate to this symbolism.
Drinking lots of water flushes out the toxins lurking in the body.
A way to visualize this process is like clearing out your pipes so to speak. Not only does this nourish your cells and cleanse your insides but drinking water throughout the day will treat and prevent boating. If you have skin breakouts, your skin will clear up when you drink water throughout the day. You will notice your skin will plump and look more youthful. Many people are dehydrated without even realizing it. Drinking sufficient amounts of water will clear up headaches from dehydration and even prevent them from starting.
Water can prevent bacterial infections.
I have a friend who would complain about reoccurring UTI’s and felt another one coming on. I asked her to give me a list of what she would drink and eat in a day. She would have many cups of coffee and nowhere did I see water in the equation. I hypothesized that she was probably dehydrated and drinking coffee as her main beverage was probably supplying a breeding ground for the bacteria in the urinary tract. She was basically feeding the infection by not drinking any water which would normally flush out toxins and by drinking coffee which is dehydrating. I suggested to her that she drink water first thing in the morning instead of coffee and keep drinking water throughout the day. She did so and the next day she said the feeling had subsided and the infection never blew up. She continued drinking water throughout the day and at the end of the week, she felt more energetic, clear and actually lost a couple of pounds.
Losing weight is another great advantage of drinking lots of water.
As previously mentioned, many of us are dehydrated without realizing it. We tend to reach for a bite to eat thinking that we are hungry but really we are thirsty and in need of water. According to Registered Dietician Mattes, people often mistake hunger for thirst because the adult thirst mechanism is weak. ‘Misdiagnosing the sensation of thirst can easily mislead the body into thinking it needs food when what it’s really asking for is water.’2
Drinking water instead of food will decrease the needless snacking and instead nourish the issue at hand. Next time you feel you need to snack on something, try drinking a tall glass of water first and see if your hunger remains. Usually your body just wants to be hydrated.
Drink filtered water preferably and try to avoid buying water in plastic bottles which are damaging to the environment. When we hydrate and nourish the body, we nourish our minds and souls. When our bodies are at peace, our minds can be at rest. We need to give our body what it needs to give our minds the space to be still. We cannot deny our body of what is essential to our health, to life. Water is the bearer of life and we must honour its significance by making water our main source of hydration.
References:
1 http://www.all-water.org/Religion.html
2 http://www.strauss-water.com/are-you-hungry-or-thirsty-its-hard-tell
