What if I told you that there was a particular chemical that gave you better endurance, helped you lose weight, helped produce healthy skin, aided digestion, and was necessary for just about every vital function of your body? Would you think I was selling snake oil, or some new diet pill? What if I also told you that this chemical was free, legal, abundant, and already in your kitchen?
The chemical I’m talking about is water. Everybody knows that you need water to live, but most people do not understand the importance of water in day to day function. Even fewer people understand water’s role in fitness.
Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj ,author of the book Your Body’s Many Cries for water, claims that most people are chronically dehydrated and don’t know it. Symptoms of chronic dehydration, according to Dr. Batmanghelidj include dyspepsia, ulcers, back pain, heartburn and rheumatoid pain amongst other ailments. Even those in the medical community do not frequently fully recognize water’s role in health.
Let’s talk about weight loss. Recent studies show that the majority of Americans are overweight, and the weight loss industry is a multi-billion dollar a year enterprise. Water is necessary to dissolve fat. Water also helps regulate body temperature through perspiration. When the body is dehydrated it will hoard subcutaneous fat as an alternate way to regulate its thermostat.
For those engaged in exercise water becomes even more vital. According to an article in the Journal of Sports Science, exercisers who drink fluid may last 33% longer per session than those that don’t. Water helps your electrolyte balance and is critical to muscular strength and coordination. However, a 1998 article in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition states that exercisers tend to replenish only about 50% of the fluid they lose during a workout.
How do people know if they are dehydrated? Well some of the symptoms of mild dehydration include thirst and dry mouth. However, you can be dehydrated before you ever feel thirst. A good way to tell if you are dehydrated is by the color of your urine; it should actually be colorless.
Almost everyone has heard that you should drink 8 glasses of clean water every day. These 8 glasses do not include water with “stuff” in it – soda, coffee, alcohol, tea etc. Drinks with caffeine and other chemicals can actually be more dehydrating. Anything that the body doesn’t use has to be flushed away. Philip Goglia a nutritionist, in his book Turn up the Heat, recommends 1 ounce of water for every 1 pound of body weight. Water toxicity (drinking too much water) is very rare, but to be safe check with your doctor before starting any radical new regimen.
To recap, water provides benefits in areas health, weight loss, athletic performance, digestion, healthy skin and eyes and numerous other areas. Water is also important in the prevention of obesity, muscle cramps, digestive problems and many other ailments. Most people do not drink enough water. So have yourself a wonderful glass of natures super chemical – water.
John Moore Martial Training Systems http://www.martialtrainingsystems.com
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