Are You Deficient in This Vital Nutrient?  Easy Fix You Can do at Home!

Summer is coming and many are going into it dehydrated already!  I have yet to have a client who is properly hydrating throughout the day.
 
Water is the most important nutrient for your body making up 55-60% of your total body mass, you can go for 8 days without food, but only a few days without water. Most of the volume of your body’s cells and body fluids, are water.  Water is the most common nutrient deficiency in the American population.
 
Water plays MANY important roles in your body:
– Improves oxygen delivery to the cells               
– Transports nutrients                                                        
– Enables cellular hydration
– Lubricates joints                
– Moistens oxygen for easier breathing                          
– Cushions bones and joints         
– Maintains normal electrical properties of cells
– Absorbs shocks to joints and organs    
– Improves cell to cell communication
– empowers the body’s natural healing process
– Regulates body temperature
– Removes wastes
– Flushes toxins
– Prevents tissues from sticking

Daily sources of water:
The body can produce about 80% of its daily metabolic needs through metabolic processes, the remaining 92% must be ingested through the foods you eat and the beverages you drink.

Metabolic water – 8% (200 ml)
Ingested foods – 28% (700 ml)
Ingested liquids – 64% (1,600 ml)

Daily water loss:
Even though the amount and distribution of water are regulated within the body, water cannot be stored, making daily consumption of water absolutely essential for a healthy body.

GI Tract – 4% (100 ml)
Lungs 12 % ( 300 ml)
Skin – 24% (600 ml)
Kidneys – 60% (1,500 ml)

Absorption of water:
The total volume of fluids ingested or secreted into the GI tract is about 9.3 liters (about 10 quarts).  Most of the water in these fluids is absorbed from the GI tract through osmosis.

Osmosis is the passage of water through a membrane from an area of higher water concentration to an area of lower water concentration. 8.3 liters of water is absorbed in the small intestine. 0.9 liters of water is absorbed in the large intestine and the rest is excreted in feces.

Electrolytes and water
Electrolytes have 4 general functions:
– Control the osmosis of water between fluid compartments.
– Help to maintain the PH balance.
– Carry electrical current.
– Serve as co-factors needed for optimal activity of enzymes.
 
Instead of water, people are drinking coffee, tea, carbonated beverages, milk, juice, beer and other alcoholic beverages.
 
What is wrong with that you may ask?
Coffee, tea and alcohol are dehydrating. Carbonated sodas contain phosphoric acid and that Impedes the production of HCI (stomach acid) and may interfere with the body’s ability to use calcium. Soda also contains Sugar which Increases insulin levels, Aspartame which has at least 92 different side effects and eventually changes to methanol, which converts to formaldehyde and formic acid, Caffeine causes numerous health problems. Milk, aside from most drinking pasteurized dairy, where all the nutrients and enzymes are removed, and some les absorbable are added back in, is not hydrating.  Juice is filled with sugars, even if you make your own, once it has sat more than an hour, it begins creating even more sugar.  Alcoholic beverages are dehydrating.

But what KIND of water should you be drinking?!
Do your research to find a good source of water.
Well water, should be tested to verify safe to drink.
City water, should be filtered to remove Chlorine and Fluoride.
Water purchased, should be in glass bottles, not plastic that contains phytoestrogens and other chemicals.
If you want to drink your tap water, have it tested, to see what you are ingesting.

Research good filtration systems for both your drinking water and your shower.

When filtering water though, often minerals are removed as well, so be careful with how you filter or plan to add minerals back in with Trace Mineral drops and a pinch of sea salt.
 
Berkey Water Filters – more affordable than a whole house filtration system
Berkey water filters provide a natural, simple way to remove viruses, pathogenic bacteria, parasites, trihalomethanes, inorganic minerals like chlorine, heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and copper, volatile organic compounds, and fluoride (using their PF-2 filter). Berkey’s filters can be cleaned and reused up to 3,000 gallons.
• Site: https://www.berkeyfilters.com 

​Mountain Valley Spring Water
Mountain Valley Spring Water is a water delivery service that delivers spring water in glass containers. You can also find their water in some grocery stores.
• Site: https://www.mountainvalleyspring.com

​Find a Spring
You can use this site to find a natural spring close to you to fill up reusable glass bottles. Warning: most natural springs are not tested for quality or safety, so use these sources with caution.
• Site: http://www.findaspring.com
 
Reverse Osmosis Filtration
Many natural food stores have Reverse Osmosis filtration systems available that allow you to fill up your own containers. Just make sure to add in some trace mineral drops or a pinch of mineral-rich sea salt.

​PIMAG® Water Technology
The PiMag® Waterfall® is a gravity-fed device with a multiple-stage filtration system using minerals and a magnetic field.
• Site: http://www.nikken.com/product/technology/piMag-water/

​Multiple Drinking Water Systems
MultiPure offers filter options for the countertop and below the sink, both of which help reduce water contaminants such as cysts, lead, PCBs, MTBE, mercury, asbestos, chlorine, chloramine, and VOCs.
• Site: https://www.multipure.com/drinking-water-systems.html
 
APEC Reverse Osmosis Water Filter
WQA Gold Seal certified to remove up to 99% of contaminants including arsenic, chlorine, lead, fluoride, heavy metals, bacteria, virus, and 1000+ other contaminants.
• Available on Amazon
​
MSR Guardian Purifier
This camping water filter physically removes viruses, bacteria, protozoa and particulate, including hepatitis A, E. coli, giardia, cryptosporidium, and more, at a rate of 2.5 liters per min.
• Available from REI
 
The Environmental Working Group’s Tap Water Database allows you see to enter your zip code and see what potential contaminants are in your local water supply, as well as which filtration systems can be used to remove these specific contaminants.
• Site: https://www.ewg.org/tapwater

Water testing and filtration/purification
 
WaterSafe Test Kits
If you would like to test the quality of your water at home, you can try the WaterSafe test kit:
• Site: https://www.watersafetestkits.com
 
Once in the site below, click on “Water” at the top of the page menu.  They offer testing and solutions.  I would look at testing first to see WHAT filtration is needed.
https://www.radiantlifecatalog.com/water_assessment
 
Alkaline water therapy should be done outside of meals and ONLY during intermittent fasting periods.  IT IS A THERAPY, not a long-term hydration practice.
 
How much water should I be drinking in a day?
Under normal circumstances, with no major sweating, the formula is to take your weight, divide that by 2 and that is the number of ounces of water you should be drinking in a day.  However, for every 8 ounces of caffeine or alcohol you drink, you will need to add additional 8-12 ounces of water.

So for a 150-pound person, they need 75 ounce of water in a day, if they have 8 ounces of coffee or tea that morning, they need 83-87 ounces of water in the day.

Be careful not to OVER hydrate and flush out the electrolytes!  Also, do not drink water before, during and after meals, it will dilute your stomach acid and digestive enzymes.

Happy hydrating!
​Some information in this was taken from the NTA Hydration Module slides