Peace & Greetings
When I was a youth, my drink of
choice, at that time, was kool-aid with plenty of sugar! It’s ironic how I've
grown to have water become my drink of choice. Continuing with this thought,
it’s truly ironic that I have the desire to write about water. I remember how my
Mother would stress the importance of drinking water. She would always inform
my sister and me the need to have it in our daily consumption.
The human body consists of
approximately 60% of water (with some estimates as high as 78%). This
percentage varies between men and women, as well as children. Also, this
percentage changes as we age. With our bodies containing this much water, we
should be more cognizant about our relationship with it. This fact substantiates the lesson my Mother
was teaching me years ago. For the purpose of this post, I’ll focus on the
benefits of water as it pertains to diet, exercise and health.
DIET
It’s recommended that healthy people drink six to eight
cups of water a day to properly hydrate themselves. Pregnant and breastfeeding
women should drink 10 to 12 cups of water daily. It should be noted that it could be ingested
through foods and other beverages, other than water. We should be mindful about drinking other
beverages (Alcoholic, Coffee, Tea, and Colas and beverages that contain caffeine)
for they are not the best choices, although they contain water. These beverages also have a diuretic effect
that causes the body to release water (dehydration). The consumption of water helps one to lose
weight by suppressing their appetite.
Water contains zero calories so it provides a two-prong attack for those
conscious of their caloric intake. To
reduce one’s consumption prior to eating, it’s recommended drinking at least
one glass of water. While eating (I want to be careful how I word this so work
with me on this one), it’s recommended not to drink water. One should ingest enough only to remedy a dry
mouth while eating. Upon completing the
meal, one should wait a few minutes prior to drinking water. This allows the
body to naturally start digesting the food.
EXERCISE
While
exercising or in warm weather, the body would need more water than the six to
eight glasses that’s required daily. The
rise in the body’s temperature created by exercise or warm weather is regulated
or normalized by the ingesting of water.
Water is also known to help the body burn stored fat, along with
building muscle by oxygenation of cells, including muscles. This enables the muscles to work harder and
longer.
HEALTH
I
found the benefits of water as it pertains to the body’s health quite
interesting. According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, ingesting the proper amount of water daily
helps to lubricate and cushion the body’s joints, as well as, protecting the
spinal cord. In addition, it protects
other sensitive tissues, along with getting rid of the body’s waste and toxins
through urination, perspiration and bowel movements. The proper ingesting of water helps to
increase the body’s cognitive functions through oxygen in water. Water helps to support nerve function
insuring the body’s electrolyte levels remain high enough allowing nerves to
relay messages to the brain. Other
benefits include: helping lymph node production; keeping the eyes and mouth
clean; prevention and treatment of common chronic ailments such as, arthritis,
depression, insomnia, leukemia and lymphoma.
Not drinking enough water can lead to the following problems: fatigue;
muscle cramps; irregular blood pressure; migraines or headaches; constipation,
kidney problems and hunger.
Water
is symbolic of being the building block of life and of cleansing both
spiritually and physically. Let us
embrace this knowledge and begin and/or continue to build ourselves through
cleansing.
In
closing, I symbolically raise my cup of water to yours in praying for your
continued blessings!
The above information was referenced from www.fitday.com,
www.everydayhealth.com,
www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/water.html
and www.themysticallights.com.
