World Water Day began on March 22, 1992. It was introduced by the United Nations to raise awareness about the importance of water. Life on Earth is defined by our proximity to water. Every species on earth depends on H2O, including us. It’s important to conserve water. But it is equally important to learn how to stay hydrated!
Water is essential for health and beauty, but 75% of American’s are chronically dehydrated. Dehydration can lead to fatigue, low metabolism, weight gain, and brain fog. Learning how to stay hydrated is the first step in gaining control of your body!
How to Stay Hydrated
There is no definitive answer to how much water you should drink a day, but there are recommendations. Typically, men require more water than women, but nursing or pregnant mothers will require more hydration than usual.
Most health officials recommend eight glasses of water a day. But depending on your lifestyle, you could need more.
There are many variables when deciding how to stay hydrated. It depends on your activity level, environment, and physical health. A rule of thumb for deciding how to much water to drink is to calculate it by weight. Drink half an ounce to an ounce of water per pound.
If this sounds like a lot of water to you, keep in mind that 20% of our hydration comes from food. Fresh fruits and vegetables have the highest hydration, with watermelon and strawberries being the juiciest.
You can always substitute your water intake with fruit and vegetable juices, tea, or broths. Remember to be mindful of the sugar content in juices.
Caffeinated beverages and alcohol can contribute to your water intake, but only in small amounts. If you’re drinking caffeine or alcohol in excess is will cause you to be dehydrated.
How Hydration Affects Health
Hydration can come in many forms. Whether you drink plain water, eat water-packed fruits and veggies, or enjoy an infused H2O, it’s important to focus on your water intake. Knowing how to stay hydrated is the foundation of health, and it starts in the gut.
Gut health has been linked to everything from mental illness to chronic disease. When your body is properly hydrated, your digestive tract can easily move waste and toxins out of your system. If you’re dehydrated, those toxins are likely to hang out in your body, leaving you feeling gross!
Being dehydrated can also cause your body to reabsorb water from your colon. This will leave you constipated with a higher chance of gaining weight. On the bright side, you can quickly reverse this by drinking more water. Plus, it will boost your metabolism, and make you feel amazing!
Keep in mind that your body looses water consistently throughout the day. You lose water when you sweat, cry, or even breathe. That’s why it’s important to keep a steady flow of hydration from the time you wake up until you go to bed.
How Hydration Affects Beauty
Learning how to stay hydrated is crucial for your health, but getting enough water also translates to your beauty routine. If you have tried every cream, essence, and oil in the book but still have dry, irritated skin – try drinking water.
A dehydrated body causes dehydrated skin. You could foster the most effective skincare routine on the planet, but struggle to see the results without proper water consumption.
As I mentioned before, having enough water in your system flushes toxins from the body, leaving your skin bouncy and moisturized. Staying hydrated will lead to fewer wrinkles, decreased puffiness, smaller pores, and increased cell regeneration!
Things that help me stay hydrated:
- A water tracker bottle. I like keeping an eye on my water intake since its not my favorite thing to drink. Wine is way better, am I right? 🙂
2. Tastier water that has little to no sugar and has added benefits like this Collagen Water from Vital Proteins. They have such a wide variety of products, you’re bound to find something you like.
3. Electrolyte tablets like these Nuun ones. Only 15 calories, 1 g of sugar and no artificial sweeteners. Plus they have many different flavors so they d0nt get old.
4. The iWatch or iPhone have so many apps available to remind you to drink water. Definitely take advantage.
5. Make sure you keep your flask or water bottle clean at all times. Its something we might not think we need to clean often but I recommend cleaning it every night when you get home, especially the part that touches your lips. I love tools like this that help get into the harder to reach water bottles.
In honor of National Water Day, have a glass (or eight) or water! Learning how to stay hydrated will leave you feeling vibrant and beautiful! What is your favorite way to stay hydrated?
What do you think?