Hydration Principles Of Health

What does it take to be healthy and vital? 

It is important to remember there is a direct link between vitality and health. As vitality decreases so does health.

Over the years I have read many books, participated in multiple degree programs and have accumulated a  myriad of certifications related to Fitness, Wellness , and performance.

The 8 Principles Of Health & Vitality we adhere too at Elevation Fitness is a synthesis of my years studying, and applying them to myself and with thousands of clients. Although we can debate their should be a few more on the list, These 8 are not dependent on any outside sources and money (for the most part) is not a limiting factor.  Find balance in all of these and you will find balance in your life.

1. Thoughts/Positive Mental attitude

2. Breathing

3. Hydration

4. Nutrition

5. Nature

6. Movement/Exercise

7. Unbound play

8. Rest/Self-Time

Stay tuned to this blog as we will touch on each one of these and hopefully leave you with some action steps that you can start to apply to your life immediately.

Lets start today with Hydration!

There are billions of chemical reactions happening in the body and every one of them are water dependent. Our bodies are made of about 70% water and  interestingly, so is mother earth. Our brains are made of roughly 80% water.

When one is dehydrated due to lack of water consumption or consumption of the wrong type of water we see lack of concentration, fatigue, craving of stimulants, and  joint pain, especially back pain when we consider the fact that the discs in our spine may get dehydrated leading to compensatory spinal mechanics. The good thing is research shows rehydration of a disc takes about 90 days. This is good to know, drink up!

There is a saying, “the best solution for pollution is dilution”. When the body is dehydrated detoxification pathways cannot function optimally. The second place after the central nervous the body will pull water from when dehydrated will be the fecal matter in the intestinal tract. This may lead to constipation or “hard to pass” bowel movements. So before you reach for a laxative, make sure you are properly hydrated.

Drink half your body weight in ounces of water per day. A 200 pound man needs 100 ounces of water per day. I suggest everyone start their day off with 20-30 ounces of water to ensure they are hydrating first thing in the morning. In my experience with self and clients this really sets the tone for the day and will help you to hit your daily water consumption goal.

What we don’t want is for you to start your day without water and then try and make up for it later on in the afternoon or early evening. Water is very stimulating to the central nervous system and this may lead you to wake up through out the night and screw up your sleep patterns. Hydrate first thing in the am!

When exercising and electrolyte depletion is a concern, all one needs to do is add a pinch of unrefined salt to each liter of water they consume and that will replenish electrolytes in the body. Remember it must be unrefined salt such as a good Celtic sea salt or pink Himalayan salt. Sodium chloride does NOT count as it is a poison to the body.

Drink roughly 12-15 ounces of water 15 minutes prior to eating your meal. When consuming your meal, drink just enough water to wash your food down. Drinking more water than that during meals dilutes hydrochloric acid concentrations in your stomach and weakens digestion.

Our bodies have a ph range of 7.35-7.45 so we want water that is close to that ph. Drinking alkaline water may help if we have an overly acidic environment in our body.  Arthritis, gout and heartburn are all signs of being overly acidic.

When drinking acidic water, which many bottled waters on the market are, our bodies are going to need to leach vitamins and minerals from the bones for absorption of this acidic water which will lead to increased levels of dehydration as water consumption increases.

Wow, scary shit. So many people are running around drinking acidic water, (which may include waters put through a reverse osmotic filter but lack the necessary minerals to alkalize it) thinking they are hydrating themselves , yet they are facilitating a period of dehydration. Fiji, Evian, and Mountain Valley are good bottled water companies .

I hope this short article helps you find balance with Hydration. I will leave you with a few action steps to put into play ASAP!

Action Steps:

1. Drink most water between meals to keep thefascia and organs healthy.

2. Drink water close to 7.0 ph (not distilled).

3. Drink water at room temperature.

4. Add a pinch of unrefined salt for each liter of water consumed.

5. Drink 1/2 your bodyweight in ounces of water per day.

6. Start your day with 20-30 ounces of water.

7. When consuming a meal drink just enough water needed to wash down your food.