If you ask super models how they keep their glorious look, they will say “we hydrate our body by drinking plenty of water, eat fresh healthy foods, and get a good night sleep.”
Water for our body and mind
Water is not only essential for our look, it is also important for all of our organs to run smoothly and keep us fit and healthy.
As you see in the figure below, water is the main component of the human body, notably main component of the brain, kidneys, muscles, skin, blood, liver, lungs, spleen, and heart.
How we look and feel is based on how well our body runs and water provides us that most vital source of energy.
Adverse effects from not drinking enough water
Not only is water essential to our existence, it’s also an important key to achieving our optimum weight and health. How so? If you don’t drink enough water, your body holds onto waste, toxins, and fat, increasing your overall weight and toxic level in the body.
–From the book “Lose Stubborn Weight: Become Fit and Super Healthy” by Mimi Shekoski, PhD
If you don’t drink enough water, what happens? Aging occurs in the body AND the mind! As you saw in the above figure, our body tissues and organs are largely composed of water. Well, when the main component of these organs are lacking, we experience adverse effects such as:
- High blood pressure – The blood plasma normally contains 92% water (8% blood plasma proteins, and trace amounts of other materials) when the body is optimally hydrated. When the body is dehydrated, the blood becomes thicker, which constricts the blood flow resulting in high blood pressure.
- High cholesterol – When dehydrated, the body produces more cholesterol to prevent water loss from the cells.
- Blood sugar problem – For people with high blood sugar levels, the risk of dehydration is greater. It’s because the higher your blood glucose, the more the kidneys spend its water to pass the glucose out in the urine. So higher your blood glucose, the more water you need to drink, which is the reason why thirst is one of the main symptoms of diabetes.
- Fatigue and dizziness – When we are dehydrated, the body’s enzymatic activity slows down, resulting in fatigue, tiredness, dizziness and even headache.
- Joint pain and discomfort – Cartilage which pads all joints is composed mostly of water. The dehydrated body results in weakened cartilage, slow joint repair and joint pain.
- Weight gain due to elimination problem from our digestive tract – Without adequate water, the food waste and toxins cannot be eliminated from the colon, resulting in constipation and additional weight dodging in the colon as well as toxicity in the body.
- Kidney or bladder problems – With lack of water in the body, the toxins and acid waste are not eliminated properly from the kidneys, creating a toxin environment where bacteria thrive in them. This causes your body to become more prone to infection, pain, and inflammation.
- Premature wrinkles and other skin disorders due to impaired elimination of toxins through the skin.
- Accelerated aging in the body and mind – The water lubricates all body cells including brain cells. It also cleanses internal organs and eliminates toxins from the bloodstream and the brain. Without adequate water, our organs get old and we get old.
How much water to drink?
The amount of water to drink depends on each individual and environment. A basic rule is:
A person should drink half of their weight (in pounds) in ounces of water per day. The formula to calculate is: (your weight in pounds) divide by 16, which gives you the number of cups of water you want to drink per day, For example:
- If you weigh 120 pounds, you need to drink 60 ounces of water per day, which is equivalent to 7.5 cups of water. (One cup of water is eight ounces.)
- If you weigh 160 pounds, you need to drink 10 cups of water per day.
- If you weigh 200 pounds, you need to drink 12.5 cups of water.
Note: The water in coffee, tea, or sugar-added juices doesn’t count towards your water requirement.
Yes, you need to consume more water if…
- You exercise strenuously
- You work outside
- You live in hot humid climate (or in summer time when we perspire more)
- You are pregnant or breastfeeding
- You experience chronic pain
- You experience diarrhea or vomiting
- You sat in the sauna and sweated profusely
- You drink alcohol, tea, or coffee
Daily water routine
- Drink two big glasses of water first thing in the morning! While we sleep, our bodies use water to cleanse and rejuvenate; so our tissues and cells are dehydrated when we wake up. As a result, it’s important to re-hydrate upon rising. If you have to drink coffee, do so after drinking water. Coffee and tea are dehydrating, so drink an extra glass of water for every cup of coffee or tea you have.
- When you feel thirsty, your body tissues and cells are already dehydrated. Therefore, rather than waiting to feel thirsty, carry a bottle and sip water throughout the day.
- Drink two cups of water before lunch and dinner. (Did you know drinking water before meal will cut your appetite if you want to lose weight?)
What type of water to drink? 
There are many types of water these days we can buy or make at home. I think most of us know not to drink tap water as chlorine is known to be a toxin and could cause health issues.
Drink only filtered, spring, reverse osmosis, distilled, or pure water.
Drink up water and stay fit and healthy!
To your lavish health,
Mimi Shekoski, PhD, Natural Health & Holistic Nutrition Doctor | Natural Vision Teacher
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