PROPER HYDRATION IN THE MODERN WORLD
Have you ever wondered why you could be drinking 5 water bottles a day and still feel dehydrated? Let’s talk about how our ancestors drank water, what true hydration is, how we should properly hydrate, and some common errors in water loss and retention.
Most of us need to focus on retaining water, rather than losing it. Stress, sugar, fall, winter, summer, exercise, raising a family, school/work, all require a ton of water. Water is the insulation in our body that keeps our digestive system from burning our organs, keeps our bones from breaking, allows our emotions to flow, and provides our body with structure and lubrication. Water is what keeps us looking and feeling youthful. When we are dehydrated, we are unable to properly digest food, feel fatigued and weak, may experience anxiety, feel dizzy or have headaches, or maybe have body aches or cracking joints. In our society, most people are over hydrated extra-cellularly and dehydrated intra-cellularly. This is because we are drinking water in a way that doesn’t match our human design. Our ancestors drank water that bounced off rocks from streams and rivers. They boiled water to remove impurities, making it more digestible. This is what we are looking to recreate, even in this modern world. The solution is simple, it just takes a bit of a mental chip change on our end.
Hydrating properly is one of the first steps we can take when we are looking to improve our health. It is very, very simple: 1) drink when thirsty 2) drink in a way your body can process. If you follow these two steps, you are well on your way. Let’s break them down:
1) In Ayurveda, it is very important to drink when thirsty and eat when hungry. No need to chug water when you don’t feel thirsty.
2) Proper Drinking Habits: our ancestors drank water much differently than we do today. There were no ice makers, no Stanley’s, and no tap water. They got their water from streams and other running water sources. In this process, the water bounced off rocks and absorbed minerals and electrolytes. And of course, there were no added chemicals. After collecting water, the water was boiled to be purified of any germs. Today, we live in a different situation, but we can still mimic this way of consuming water.
Filter your water: please do not drink tap water. Tap water is highly dehydrating and toxic (think about a chlorine pool and what this does to your skin). Research a good water filter. Distilled water is a good option, as this removes all chemicals and minerals.
Boil your water: boil a large pot or fill your water heater in the night and you will wake up to room temp, boiled water ready for the day. Boiling water breaks down the molecules of water. The water we find today has very large molecules that are hard for our digestive system to break down. Undigested water leads to bloating, lack of appetite, and sluggish digestion. All of these situations create Ama (toxicity) in the body. Boiling your water will make it more digestible, and therefore, more absorbable.
Add minerals (electrolytes): since we filter and remove all minerals from our water, it is important to add a clean version back in. Why? Minerals in water tell our cells to open and to absorb water. When we drink water without electrolytes, we only hydrate extra-cellularly. This can actually lead to further dehydration, as the water then acts as a diuretic. We want our organs and cells to intra-cellularly hydrate. Adding electrolytes does not mean add a pack of electrolytes to your water every time you drink it. Reserve this only for cases of extreme dehydration or sweat loss, as these packs have a lot of sugar. Just a pinch of Himalayan pink salt will do the trick. Add a dash of lime if you like the flavor. Lime has a cooling effect on the body and stimulates peristalsis.
Drink water warm: this is the one that gets everybody. “How can I give up my ice?!” I’ve been there. Ice water is a killer of Agni (digestive fire). When we put out our precious fire, we lose the ability to properly digest. When we can’t digest, our food turns into Ama (toxicity) and begins to clog channels and initiate the disease process. If you are attached to your ice, go slowly. Try starting your day with warm water. This will get your Agni going and help create a healthy bowel movement. Don’t drink ice water during meal times. Gradually transition out of ice at a pace that you can stick with.
Drink Away from Meals: while we can drink a little bit at meal times to help wash our food down, we should never take big gulps or drink more than a cup. The easiest way to ensure proper hydration is to drink 8 oz of warm water 15-20 minutes before a meal. This gives our Agni time to digest the water. When we drink a lot of liquid with food, we put out our Agni and can’t digest. This leads to… you guessed it! Ama.
I know this might sound like a lot of information, but with a little bit of discipline, you will get used to it quickly. Try proper hydration for 21 days and see what happens to your digestion and to your body.
For more information on how to heal chronic dehydration, please schedule a consult with Samantha.
