Date: September 1st, 2011
Category: Health
Are you often tired and fatigued? Do you feel like you may be holding on to some extra pounds that just won’t come off no matter what you do? Do you suffer from joint pain, headaches, insomnia, or bloating? Do you feel like it’s difficult to concentrate and stay motivated? If you answered yes to any of these questions you may not be drinking enough water!
Lets take a quick look at how some of these symptoms can lead to weight-gain….
- Not sleeping enough disrupts the 2 critical hormones that regulate hunger: Ghrelin, which stimulates appetite, and Leptin which suppresses appetite. Not drinking enough water may cause sleep deprivation, which in turn creates weight gain from imbalanced hormones.
- Bloating is water retention which can come from a high sodium intake not balanced by the detoxifying flush of water absorption. It may sound strange but if you’re not drinking enough water your body starts retaining or storing water to compensate.
- If you’re not feeling motivated due solely to dehydration or because of joint pain or headaches, you’re most likely going to slack on exercise. According to the American College of Sports Medicine for general health and disease prevention the average American under the age of 65 should do moderately intense cardio exercise 30 minutes per day, five days per week or do vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes per day, 3 days per week. Plus 8-10 strength-training exercises, 8-12 repetitions of each exercise, twice a week. This is hard to do without motivation!
Aside from weight-loss purposes, the body needs enough water to function properly. If you reduce your water intake by just 2% you may experience fatigue. A 10% reduction can cause more significant health problems. Dehydration weakens your immune system by lowering oxygen in your body and creating an acidic environment which in turn creates an excellent environment for cancer cell development. Water also flushes toxins from the body before the toxins can cause damage or be re-absorbed.
The signs and attributes of dehydration are as followed (from The Power of 4, by Paula Owens):
- Allergies and asthma
- Arthritic pain and low back pain
- Constipation
- Dark colored urine with a strong odor
- Elevated cholesterol and high blood pressure
- Excessive weight
- Headaches
- Inability to concentrate
- Increased acidic environment (prime for development of cancer cells)
- Insomnia
- Kidney stones
- Lower abdominal bloating
- Reduced motivation and performance
Also, as a rule of thumb, if you’re feeling thirsty you’re probably already dehydrated. So keep drinking water all day long! Keep it at your desk, in your purse, or in your car (in a a BPA free or glass bottle, not plastic, plastic when heated can dispense harmful cancer-causing chemicals into your water). The recommendation of water intake tends to vary from different sources, 8-10 for inactive individuals and 11-13 for active individuals seems to be about standard.
Water functions (taken from The Power of 4, by Paula Owens):
- Carry oxygen and nutrients to cells
- Cushion organs and tissues
- Empower your body’s natural healing process
- Flush out toxins through kidneys and liver
- Help maintain weight
- Hydrate your spine and muscles
- Lower cholesterol
- Lubricate joints and protect your spinal cord
- Promote digestion and helps prevent constipation
- Regulate body temperature
- Serve as the medium for all energy reactions in your body
- Transport minerals throughout cells of the body