Water Facts

So, you might remember I attempted the grueling #75Hard challenge and holy hell - it was a beautiful kind of scary challenge. In short, for 75 days you drink a gallon of water a day, can’t drink any alcohol, must follow a diet, need to work out for two 45 minute sessions and one of those sessions must be outside, read 10 pages from a nonfiction self help book and take a progress picture everyday.

Yeah, I made it like 50 something days. I was walking around the block at like 8:30 PM on a Friday night int he fall when the sun was setting way earlier and I consciously made a left turn instead of going straight to march right into the shower. The challenge wasn’t for me. However, a few of the positive habits stuck and the water was one of them.

No, I don’t drink a gallon of water everyday anymore. I really try to, but I usually fall about 20 or so ounces short and that’s just fine with me. When I participated in #75Hard, my skin was so plush, hydrated and full. My eyes weren’t crepey, I didn’t have dark circles or bags under them, my skin wasn’t really dry or itchy, my skin loved the added hydration. Not to mention, I was drinking so much water I didn’t really have time to drink sugary sodas, sweet teas or alcoholic beverages.

Since the fall, I have incorporated a few differences than what I was doing previously. Hydration is essential for proper body function but without the right amount of electrolytes, you run the risk of diluting them and that could lead to hyponatremia or, water poisoning. You’ve probably heard of this in the media from some super hot sweaty football practice and a coach suggesting the athletes “go home and drink a gallon of water.” The little 8th graders do just that, because their coach told them to, and then they end up dying because their little bodies couldn’t filter and absorb the water quick enough because they didn’t have the salts/electrolytes.

Well, what are electrolytes? Electrolytes are essential for basic life functioning, such as maintaining electrical neutrality in cells, generating and conducting action potentials in the nerves and muscles. Sodium, potassium, and chloride are the significant electrolytes along with magnesium, calcium, phosphate, and bicarbonates. Electrolytes come from our food and fluids. These electrolytes can have an imbalance, leading to either high or low levels. High or low levels of electrolytes disrupt normal bodily functions and can lead to even life-threatening complications.

As a rule of thumb, I have always suggested that drinking half of your body weight in ounces is a pretty good baseline goal for water intake. If you weigh 140 pounds, then you should be drinking about 70 ounces of water a day on an average, non-sweaty day. If you are a profuse sweater or go to hot yoga every single day, you water intake should increase to compensate for the sweaty water loss. If you are a heavy sweater, it’s a good idea to supplement with electrolytes. An easy way are these electrolyte pills - they’re tasteless and will maintain a good salt balance.

If you are well hydrated, meaning, your urine is a light yellow/lemonade color, and you are experiencing cramps in your hands, feet or calves, you probably do have an electrolyte imbalance and we can look to magnesium for the culprit. Magnesium is an intracellular cation mainly involved in ATP metabolism, contraction and relaxation of muscles, proper neurological functioning, and neurotransmitter release. When muscle contracts, calcium re-uptake by the calcium-activated of the sarcoplasmic reticulum is brought about by magnesium. It is also countered by potassium and sodium. What’s interesting about magnesium is that it is effectively absorbed through the skin! There are some topical magnesium treatments and I recommend this spray.

A classic after school snack that I have always recommended for my athletes is a banana or orange with a bag of pretzels. The pretzels are not only replenishing some of the carbohydrates and providing the simple sugars we need, but the salt is replenishing the sodium. The citruses and bananas are dense with many nutrients, one of note is potassium.

Here are some great positive benefits to increasing your water intake safely:

1. Helps with weight loss and digestion Drinking 2 glasses of water before a meal makes you feel fuller. It also offsets the food to water ratio in your gut to aid in digestion. The water boosts your metabolism and over time, this helps break up fat cells. Not to mention, the more water you drink, the less Coke you drink.

2. Removes toxins Drinking water can help you remove waste and flush our your kidneys and exocrine system. It keeps with infection control too! Proper function of the kidneys is essential and drinking adequate water helps prevent kidney stones.

3. Improves brain functionDrinking more water helps you to concentrate and not be so distracted. When you are well hydrated, your brain signals a calm state but if you are dehydrated, you will be distracted - your body is searching for water! This lowers productivity and we can’t have that. Drink some water to boost your brain power and stamina.

4. Makes skin healthy and glowing Proper hydration is inevitable seen in the blood and in the face, blood flow is crucial. The collagen and elastin in the face are happiest when optimally hydrated.

5. Boosts Immunity Doctors have suggested that no only does more intake of water prevent heart attacks and cancer, it improves your immunity towards viral infections like colds, coughs and the flu.

6. Aids during headaches and migraines The problem here is that dehydration exacerbates a headache - you can imagine your brain like a wet sponge and when your dehydrated it’s more like a dry sponge. Yikes. The brain is a fatty organ, believe it or not and adipocytes are storage centers for water [READ: when you are dehydrated your fat cells get lumpy and this is when cellulite is most visible]. The brain doesn’t store water per say, but sure does need a lot of it to properly work. Increasing your water intake on days that you start with a headache could decrease the intensity or the longevity of your headache.

7. Removes Feelings of fatigue Feeling sleepy is a huge indicator that you are dehydrated. You should always hydrate before you caffeinated anyways! If there isn’t enough water in your system, then the blood volume level will drop and this makes you feel dizzy, tired and sluggish. Drink more water in the beginning of the day to step into work on time with the right mindset.