It’s Day 1 of our 10 Days to Thrive

 

One new habit, focus or idea each day to help you thrive, not just survive, this December.  We guarantee you don’t have to spend money or take lots of time out of your busy schedule.

So today we want to start with something that by the end of the 10 days, could be the most important change, (reminder or prompt) that will make the biggest difference of all.  Today we challenge you to give your body what it really needs to keep you healthy.  Today we’re talking about dehydration.

Are you sick or are you just thirsty?

We often have little niggling problems that (or pretty major ones too), that we don’t realise could be due to dehydration.  At KinesiologyZone, we’ve an abundance of water falling from the sky! But when your body is deprived of water it starts to ration the water it has, as a survival mechanism.

The brain redistributes water around the body where it is needed the most in order of importance.  The most important being the Brain and lungs followed by the liver, kidneys, glands, muscles, bones and skin.  The first place water will be taken is from the colon – and therefore if you’re not moving your bowel at least once a day – that water is being extracted and going to your brain!  Nice!

By the time you actually feel a thirst sensation, your body has already been drawing water internally, so you can begin to see already how important it is to keep hydrated and drink water throughout the day.  If you are dehydrated, the body can’t eliminate toxins and waste properly, so they will build up inside the body.  And you don’t need to be a doctor to know that is not good.

What happens next?

A number of things begin to happen inside the body as we begin to become dehydrated. You may notice yourself becoming

• tired and yawning
• losing concentration.
• moving slower as you become stiff or sluggish.

So, while we might feel we need that chocolate or sweets or even a coffee STOP!  Our challenge today is to have a glass or two of water instead (or maybe as well as) and your body will respond surprisingly quickly.

Benefits of water

Water is an essential and major component of all living matter.  We need water to keep the body alkalized, to rid itself of acid. Raw vegetables contain a lot of water, and the added benefit is they will also alkalise your body.  Water also helps with digestion and lubricates all the organs, muscles and joints.  Water truly is essential and used by the whole body.  The average adult loses 10 cups of water a day through breathing, sweating and urinating. Without water our bodily functions are impaired. So, we really need to be replacing this water every day.

Chronic dehydratiion

If we become chronically dehydrated things become a bit more serious.  The blood thickens and the body will start to take water from the cells around it.  This can lead to high blood pressure. The body will also start to deposit cholesterol to the cell membranes to prevent further water loss leading to high cholesterol.  Has your doctor ever told you to drink more water if you’ve been diagnosed with high cholesterol?

Some of the body’s signs it’s dehydrated

We think it’s that we’ll feel thirsty.  But that’s unreliable.  Simply knowing that it is imperative to health we shouldn’t wait.  The body sees lack of hydration as a stress.  So perhaps that’s more telling sign – feeling stressed? Drink some water!   Other signs are:

• Check the colour of your urine – orange or dark yellow is a sign of severely dehydrated body, mid yellow may still be somewhat dehydrated. Colourless or clear urine is the sign of hydration.
• When the waste matter inside us cannot move through the large intestine to be excreted that’s called constipation.
• Another survival mechanism is to restrict the airways to reduce moisture leaving the body and energy used, can be a factor in asthma in some people.
• People with allergies and skin conditions will now be realising as you read this, that water is so important inside the body that your skin is almost last on the list of importance in the water rations, therefore if you have dry skin, dermatitis, psoriasis, eczema or other skin conditions, you definitely need to increase your water intake.
• The brain signals the sensations of thirst and hunger at the same time, so it is easy to be confused between thinking we are hungry when really, we are just thirsty. This can lead to overeating and weight gain, when really we just need a glass of water. It is a good idea to have a glass of water a half hour before every meal you eat as this will slightly decrease your appetite, helping you not to over eat , but also it releases enzymes in the stomach to be ready for food to be digested.

Knowing WHY we do something helps us to realise the importance of our habits. So here are our:

TOP 10 TIPS TO INCREASE YOUR WATER INTAKE

1. Keep water beside your bed so you can drink it immediately in morning (this is when we are our most dehydrated)
2. Drink a glass of water half an hour before every meal (to help digestion)
3. Bring a bottle of water with you everywhere you go to sip all day (no excuses you didn’t have any)
4. Swap a tea/coffee for a glass of water once every day (simple!)
5. Freeze slices of lemon/lime to add to your water (make your water taste more interesting)
6. Make a big jug of water at home or the office with mint or cucumber in it to infuse (and keep it nearby so you can top up your glass)
7. Eat water enriched fruit & vegetables RAW (salads, watermelon, tomatoes) – this all counts to the overall water tally!
8. In wintertime, have broths and soups which contain water (help you to feel warm too, as it can be hard to drink lots of water in winter)
9. Drink it at different temperatures, have it room temperature/chill it/hot water – (whichever way you prefer)
10. Feel hungry – drink water first as the two signals can get confused.

 

How to test in Systematic Kinesiology for Dehydration

If you are familiar with muscle testing, here’s how we test for dehydration.  This video is part of our Systematic Kinesiology Online Training:

Will you Take the Challenge to prevent dehydration?

However you plan to increase your water intake, make sure you take note of how much you do.  It’s easy to THINK we’ve had enough!

So how much water and live foods are you consuming – what did you eat in the past 24 hours for example?

Our challenge today is to drink more.  “More” will depend on where you’re starting from.

A guide is to weigh yourself in lbs, and drink half that amount in oz.  You can search in google but as an example if you weigh 140lbs (10 stone), you’d need to consume 75 oz (about 2.2 litres/4 pints).  If you consume some of that as water, some as raw vegetables, fruit and herbal teas, you’ll reach your target no problem.

Tell us how you get on over on the Facebook Event Page