I am always preaching to my patients the importance of proper hydration, and by hydration I don’t mean how many sodas or cups of coffee did you drink.

How much water have you drank today?!

A good rule of thumb for how much water one should drink in a day is to take your body weight, divide that in half and that number is the number of ounces of water you should be taking in daily. Imagine that I weighed 150 pounds. Half of that is 75. I should be drinking an average of 75 ounces of water a day. This will help to keep my bodily fluids at a level that is needed for optimal functionality of my bodies systems. Proper hydration does so many things on so many levels for your health and wellbeing.

First finding a good source of water is a must. I personally like to drink spring water. It is naturally purified by the Earth and it contains all of the electrolytes your body needs to perform, and without the tons of sugar that are in the plethora of sports drinks out there. Once you find a good spring water you will find that you actually start to think it tastes quite good. Yes water can have a taste, you just have to stop all of the sugary drinks so your taste buds can wake back up and sense the good stuff once again. You will also find that you crave the water as you get yourself on a regular routine of drinking good water.

You will begin to notice changes happening to your body. For example, in the first week you will notice you need to make more frequent trips to the bathroom. While this is often rather inconvenient, stay calm because your body is adjusting. By the end of the first week to 10 days you should be back to an acceptable number of pit stops. It takes your body a bit to adjust to having what it needs and getting used to putting it all where it needs to go instead of just flushing it right back out.

Once your body reaches a point of balanced hydration you should start to notice subtle changes. Minor aches and pains that may have been part of your daily living may start to lessen or disappear altogether. Your digestion might start to improve with less constipation if that had been an issue. Sleep can show an improvement, with not only sleeping better and more easily but also waking feeling more rested with the sleep you had gotten. In some cases vision may improve or eyes may seem to be less dry. You may even notice that your thinking is clearer and you suffer from less brain fog especially in the mornings.

Don’t just take my word for it, try it out for yourself and see what improvements you notice yourself! Keep a journal for a few weeks and then go back and read it to see what changes you have found. Often the changes are subtle so keeping a journal is a good way to keep track as the little changes are ones we often don’t notice without having something to remind us. Those little subtle changes however all add up and before you know it you will be feeling better in your body without even realizing it because it has become the new normal!

Cheers!!!!!