Sunday, June 5, 2011

Tips: Hydrate

This post is not specifically about food, though as a post about keeping you alive so that you can eat that food I suppose it is relevant.  Water is a vital and often underused nutrient, yes, I said nutrient.  Our bodies are almost 70% water, our brains almost 80%.

So how much water should we drink everyday? 64oz at least, which is 8 eight ounce cups, or many variations of smaller cups.

What does water do for me?  Outside of keeping you alive water can help you eat less often, and less in general.   The feeling for hunger and thirst is often not distinguishable, so sometimes when you think your body wants food what it really needs is hydration.  Next time you feel hungry, try drinking a glass of water first and see if it subsides.  On that point, drinking a glass of water before meals is also a great way to eat less as you stomach will begin the "digestion" process and feel like there is already something in it.

Drinking ice water can even help you burn calories.  If you drink 64 ounces of ice water a day you will burn 70 extra calories.  Not enough to replace eating well or exercising but every bit helps, right? Also drinking 16oz of ice water in the morning when you wake up can help kickstart your metabolism (if you don't believe me, go check out Discovery Health).

If you are not a fan of water try it in green tea which also adds antioxidants to the mix.  Skip on the sugar and instead add lemon or orange slices.  As a plus it can be served hot or on the rocks.

Its summer time, and the living is HOT so make sure you keep the water coming in!

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