29. |
Drink Water |
Recently a chiropractor friend of mine posted on Facebook that the majority of new patients he sees are suffering from dehydration, the root cause of occasional and even chronic back pain. This assessment, something I’ve heard from several other chiropractors I’ve known over the years, is one of the easiest conditions to remedy. Simply drink more water.
Unfortunately most people drink very little pure water, a practice that leads not only to aches and pains but to a host of other issues as well, including digestive problems.
If you’ve ever been on a diet or joined a weight-loss program, you know that they all suggest drinking eight to ten glasses of water a day. Soda does not count, nor does coffee or tea. Your body perceives these as food, not water.
When you consider that our bodies are made up of approximately 60 percent water, according to the Anatomy and Physiology for Nurses, it becomes obvious that we need to drink more of it. Obesity, by the way, can decrease this amount to about 45 percent.
You can do several things to ensure you are getting enough water. For starters, make a practice of drinking a large glass of water first thing in the morning. Putting a piece of fresh lemon in it has the added benefit of helping to detox your liver.
Make a habit of keeping a glass or bottle of water near your work area and sip it throughout the day. My colleague Jack Canfield, the success guru, said that he has his assistant place eight bottles of water on his desk each morning and does not leave his office for the day until he’s drunk them all.
A tip I learned back in the days when I smoked and drank alcohol was to drink a large glass of water with every cocktail I imbibed. I believe this is one of the reasons that I managed to avoid having any liver problems. Doing so also reduces the aftereffects of the hangover brought on by your overindulgence. While I’m not suggesting you consume alcohol, if you do, this will lessen the negative effects of the alcohol.
An Internet search for water and dehydration turns up a wealth of health-related results. Suffice it to say that dehydration is dangerous, affecting many of your bodily functions, and can lead to serious illness, so drinking plenty of water is more than just a nice idea.
How much pure water are you drinking each day? What could you do to improve this?