Sunday, August 30, 2015

Water Consumption: Myths and Truths...

Since the incident with my kidney scare, I have become more aware of my need to drink water.  Now, I also understand that drinking lots of water can take away important nutrients and electrolytes from your system.  For that, I drink water with Nuun tablets or get water that contains those nutrients and electrolytes.  Those bottles of water are more expensive.

I will also say, for myself, drinking lots of water has its advantages.  From the day I drank about gallon of water, when I ate dinner that night, I did not eat all of it.  I was too full.  It was a pretty incredible feeling to be able to walk away from the table feeling full and had not eaten everything on my plate.  

I believe that when your body is properly hydrated, your organs and such work better.  Your entire system is not straining to get everything done, especially your digestive tract.

Also, when it comes to getting blood drawn, that experience has been easier.

Now, do I agree drinking a glass of water will prevent a heart attack or stroke?  Maybe.  It is probably a good idea to do it as it really won't hurt you in the long run.  Does drinking lots of water prevent cramps?  That depends on how depleted you are with magnesium and potassium in your system.  I will say that it helped me.  Usually, during my PMS stretch, I will get nasty foot/shin/calve cramps.  It is NOT enjoyable experience.  It usually lasts for 20 minutes and ALWAYS occurs in the middle of the night.  Going back to sleep is a chore after the muscle relaxes.

I had someone on Facebook call the whole business about drinking water basically a crock.  Her reasoning - it never helped her restless leg syndrome.  Drinking lots of water is not going to help that.  Other medications do.  Outside of that, having restless leg syndrome is different from leg cramps.  I have experienced restless leg syndrome.  For me, it more annoying than anything else.  You can be so tired that you could drop dead, but your legs want to run some marathon!  I do not see where drinking a lot of water would help that situation.  For me, when it happens, I force myself up and walk in place briskly - basically, try to shake it off.

So, for me, the truth is that your body needs water.  Water hydrates your system and allows your organs to work properly.  Also, if you are trying to lose weight, drink the amount of water your body needs.  If you want to know more about what water can do for you, here is the link to the Mayo Clinic:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256?pg=1

You can find other websites suggesting different calculations regarding how much water you should drink based upon your weight.  However, I trust the Mayo Clinic as an official medical source.  The others are not medical based.

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