The first thing most new clients ask me is what can I do to lose weight and feel better fast. It’s really as simple as look at your water. It’s not just about intake.
How Much Water Should You Drink?
I will be sharing 12 steps with you over the next few months. These tips are to help you have better health and invest in your wellness for the future. When I suggest you ‘invest’ in your wellness, I’m not talking money but habits of a healthier lifestyle.
As a baby boomer myself, I know the time to start thinking about living a higher-quality life should begin when we hit about 35 or younger! I’m here to share that I started much later and so have many of my clients. It’s okay, just start.
I love it when I have a new client wanting to be part of the ripple effect of good health decisions and pass them on to family and friends – regardless of your age. My oldest client as I write this is 88 years old, and my youngest is a family of twenty-something’s with an 18-month-old. They want to ensure their child has a healthy upbringing and my senior clients wish to regain health or maintain it.
I am not going to recommend some expensive treatment system for your home.
What Is The Best Water For Me?
Everyone has heard that you should drink more water at some time in your life. But how much, what kind is best, and doesn’t my coffee or tea have water in it, many people wonder.
Everyone needs two liters or 8 – 8 oz. glasses daily. If you exercise, you need more. If you are nursing or sick, you need more, if you are in a dry climate you likely need more. So how much is more?
I live in a dry area and exercise. I try for 3 liters daily when I exercise and in summer months.
Water varies from tap, to spring , to filtered, and reserve osmosis or RO. My nephew works for a city municipality. He would be the first to tell you his “out of the faucet product” is excellent; they have the perfect mix of chemicals to keep bacteria from growing. You have to choose if you want the chemicals.
While visiting one of the most famous spring waters in the USA, I notice that spring was recycled to water the local wine vintage. The water also washed the pesticides sprayed on the plants back into the water system. They boasted that they removed the chemicals through ‘a treatment’ of adding iron and other minerals. The tour guide felt this made the water ‘spring’ water once again.
Filtering your H2O is necessary for some cities like Los Angeles and Houston I am told. A noteworthy system is Britta that you replace the filters on every month or so. There are whole house systems too.
My personal favorite is RO or reserves osmosis. This process is over 40 years old. It creates a mineral free drinking beverage. My feeling is you should add minerals you need to your eating. You don’t need a bottled water company deciding what minerals you should have or make the choice that their spring water is healthy for you.
If you use RO water, eat healthily and use only the supplements you personally need you reduce inflammation, sickness, and possible other problems. On the topics of losing weight, water is needed for weight loss. It helps you detox and shed pounds of unwanted fat stores. Remember RO is acidic however so adding an enzyme and some say calcium to your diet is important.
The best choice many feel is distilled water. This is pure without anything added and has a pH balance. It also only comes in plastic gallon jugs. You can purchase 5 gallon container from certain companies that deliver to your home for a luxury price.
Adding Minerals To Water
Let’s quickly talk about iron. When you see drinking water enhanced with minerals or spring with minerals, it often means iron.
Iron is essential for good health. The balance in our body is vital. Too much and you experience inflammation of the joints and digestive tract. If you continue, it can cause a disease called Hemochromatosis[1].
Too little iron promotes Anemia, which is also a disease. Both have inflammation, pain, and low energy as symptoms. Don’t leave your mineral levels up to bottle water.
Some places or types of RO are Aquafina. There are other brands, but you will need to read the labels. Many have in small print that they enhance with minerals, be a wise consumer.
If you live near Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, they offer RO water in bulk! We purchased a clean water system tank at Costco and then fill our 5-gal PBA free containers for pennies having free, clean water to drink and cook.
Do you need a full home system? We don’t have one but if you can afford it, do it. Do change out your showerheads to shower filter systems. You find these at hardware stores, online, or health food stores.
What about the water in our beverages, or foods, doesn’t this count? It doesn’t. Our body considers coffee, tea, and soda drinks to be food. Our digestion has two settings. It’s either food or water and only real water is all our body recognizes, not flavored.
I believe if tap is your only source use it. If you drink tap, know how your city’s water is doing. This report about over-treatment highlights some problems[2].
Also, if you drink tap, consider the pipes. How old are they and the materials. Lead is the leading problem with older homes and pipes.
So can you still have coffee and tea for instance? You bet! I drink tea daily, it’s just not part of my water consumption. If you do drink caffeine or alcohol, it is important to increase your H2O intake. This is because these are astringents[3].
This constricts body tissues and leads to dehydration. This adds to inflammation or heat in the body especially joints.
Here are a few quick facts about bottled water.
The first documented case of selling bottled water was in Boston in the 1760’s. Global consumption of bottled water goes up 10% each year. America drinks more H2O than milk or beer. Some government studies say 47% of bottled water is derived from tap water. These studies don’t mention that bottled H2O labeled for ‘drinking’ is from the tap but is ran through reverse osmosis systems to remove the chemicals found in tap. Aquafina [Pepsi] is one brand doing this.
The bottom line the first step in the 12 steps to better health is adding more water. You decided the best water for you.
Other resources for drinking water.
Lead Pipes and Safe Drinking Water: http://www.webmd.com/women/home-health-and-safety-9/safe-drinking-water
Reverse Osmosis Water http://www.allaboutwater.org/reverse-osmosis.html
[1] http://www.hemochromatosis.org/
[2] http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2015/01/flint_water_has_high_disinfect.html
I don’t like the taste of water but realize I need more. I am going to try to drink more I know I will feel better because when I use to drink it I had more energy I like pop mostly at work its easy water tasts bad at work but will bring it.
I hated the taste too at my work. I think it smelled to. I bring water now and did what dr deb said tried until I found a place I like for it. A bit costly but I do feel better.
Why all the yak about water its good for you. I cycle and you gotta have it. Living in Boulder there’s plenty of places to buy it. I like her article because she is trying to get you to do something for yourself.