Wellness Wednesday – Water Drinking

It sounds so simple, drink water. Somehow though it tends to be the forgotten thing on my list each day. Ask my friend Shari, we’ve been talking about water drinking for years, literally. I do well for awhile and then, well, who knows what happens. I just don’t think about it to be honest. What I do think about each time that I start is my dry skin, hair and nails as well as bouts of constipation. Yuck.  So this week I joined a friend (again) in monitoring my water intake. We are aiming for 64 ounces in a day. I don’t think that is the magic number but after years of being a nurse and reading about this I think it’s probably the minimum we should aim for unless you have a medical condition that prohibits this. I know this is a common issue because when I mentioned it on Facebook at least a half dozen people immediately joined in the conversation and the challenge.

In case you needed more motivation I went to a more reliable source than me. WebbMD says:

1. Drinking Water Helps Maintain the Balance of Body Fluids. Your body is composed of about 60% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature.

2. Water Can Help Control Calories. For years, dieters have been drinking lots of water as a weight loss strategy. While water doesn’t have any magical effect on weight loss, substituting it for higher calorie beverages can certainly help.

3. Water Helps Energize Muscles. Cells that don’t maintain their balance of fluids and electrolytes shrivel, which can result in muscle fatigue. When muscle cells don’t have adequate fluids, they don’t work as well and performance can suffer.

4. Water Helps Keep Skin Looking Good. Your skin contains plenty of water, and functions as a protective barrier to prevent excess fluid loss. But don’t expect over-hydration to erase wrinkles or fine lines, says Atlanta dermatologist Kenneth Ellner, MD.

5. Water Helps Your Kidneys. Body fluids transport waste products in and out of cells. The main toxin in the body is blood urea nitrogen, a water-soluble waste that is able to pass through the kidneys to be excreted in the urine, explains Guest. “Your kidneys do an amazing job of cleansing and ridding your body of toxins as long as your intake of fluids is adequate,” he says.

6. Water Helps Maintain Normal Bowel Function. Adequate hydration keeps things flowing along your gastrointestinal tract and prevents constipation. When you don’t get enough fluid, the colon pulls water from stools to maintain hydration — and the result is constipation.

So who out there hasn’t had dry, itchy skin or fatigue or constipation? Okay then, you don’t need to join our challenge. Our challenge is to reach the goal of 64 ounces a day for one week – that’s Sunday for most of us but you can start any day, say TODAY! If you drink soda on a regular basis we are working to decrease that to no more than one a day and completely stop if possible.  If you haven’t been a water drinker at least increase the number of glasses you drink in a day – say double it for a couple of days and then maybe add one more glass on that 3rd day. Comment here or find my on Facebook and leave your name. Hey, we all need accountability!

If you are a regular water drinker could you share what you have noticed as benefits to encourage the rest of us? We’d appreciate it!