Liquid Assets

Drinking adequate amounts of water is one of the easiest ways to give your health a boost.  Sure the recommended amount of eight 8-oz glasses a day seems nearly impossible, but if you eat foods with a high water content that helps considerably and could reduce the eight glasses easily.  Not to mention, most glasses are larger than 8 little ounces.

Here a just a few benefits of keeping yourself hydrated.

YOUR BRAIN - Water keeps your memory sharp, your mood stable and your motivation intact.  Sounds great, doesn't it? 

YOUR SKIN - If you are dehydrated, your skin is less elastic.  This is different than having dry skin, which is often the result of soap, hot water or exposure to dry air.  Drinking water does not prevent wrinkles but does tend to plump up the top layers.

YOUR BLOOD - Your body releases heat by expanding blood vessels close to the skin's surface, resulting in more blood flow and more heat dissipated into the air.  .  This is why your face gets red during exercise.  When you are dehydrated, however, it takes a higher environmental temperature to trigger blood vessels to widen, so you stay hotter.

YOUR LIMBS - Water inside and outside the cells of contracting muscles provide adequate nutrients and removes the waste efficiently so you perform better.  I've written before about keeping those cells happy - this is a great way to do that.  Water is also important for lubricating joints. 

YOUR KIDNEYS -  Water is needed to filter waste from the blood and excrete it in urine.  Keeping hydrated may also help to prevent urinary tract infections.  Water is critical to keep kidneys functioning because if you become severely dehydrated your kidneys may stop working, causing toxins to build up in your body.  This can kill you.  It's why we can live longer without food than we can without water.  It is a critical component to insure good health.

YOUR HEART - Insufficient water lowers your blood volume, meaning your heart must work harder to pump the reduced amount of blood and get enough oxygen to your cells.  Being dehydrated can make everyday activities like walking up stairs, or any exercise, much more difficult.

YOUR MOUTH - Last but not least, the rather obvious.  Of course water makes your throat and lips moist preventing dry mouth.  And preventing dry mouth reduces bad breath!  (not to be ignored, eh?)

Coffee, teas, juices and sodas do NOT count as your water drinking quota - sorry.  Drinking coffee actually dehydrates, so if you drink coffee (and I do) you need to increase your water just to stay "even". 

I'd be remiss if I didn't add that drinking plastic bottled water could be adding toxins that are hormone disruptor's.  I bought a cool aluminum bottle (from Giam) to carry with me everywhere.  Also I started having a glass of water with lemon (sometimes hot) in the morning BEFORE coffee or anything else.  After sleeping all night it refreshes the body - I like to think I hear my cells saying a collective Thank You!!! for the drink.

So Drink and Be Merry!  It's WATER that does a body (the whole durn thing) good, not milk.