How many times have you looked up at the clock only to realize that you have not drank any water for the last four hours? Its kind of a crummy feeling, kind of like you let your body down right?
There is a reason that water is the most common nutrient deficiency in America and it has everything to do with our beliefs around this life giving substance.

It is a fact that America is lacking intake of water and this is despite it being highly available unlike many locations around the world. Six hundred sixty three million people around the globe live without access to clean water. And yet we are surrounded by flavor that always seems to win out against water.
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Water is considered a nutrient along with protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. It’s critical for every cell in the body, every organ, every system in your body needs water to function correctly. Too little water inhibits oxygen and nutrient flow which ultimately can lead to some early and late signs of dehydration.

These below are some fairly common symptoms that your typical doctor will see a lot and from a nutritional therapy perspective this is also quite common.

• Cramps
• Headaches
• Heart burn
• Joint pain
• Migraines
• Constipation
• Colitis
• Many others

If you are like most people there are some serious hang-ups around drinking water. Changing how we do things is a matter of changing our beliefs around something. Some of the most common beliefs about water below and followed by strategies to drink more: 

#1 is that water is just boring. We value taste the most among those things we consume and there is a time and a place for this. However, in order to really be healthy you just have to accept that somethings are beneficial to the body and that taste is a bonus but not required.  

#2 is that we just forget. We often get so wrapped up in what we are doing that we just simply forget to drink water and sometimes at long stretches at that. So then what happens is you mass consume large quantities thinking that you will overcome lost hours. It doesn’t work like this. The body can only handle so much water at a time and you will end up flushing most of it rather quickly along with valuable electrolytes

#3 Like the first one, we choose taste and select dehydrating beverages like soda, fruit juices and coffee among others

#4 I am not thirsty. By the time you start experiencing signs of dehydration it’s too late. The #1 thing to remember about this is that drinking water daily and lots of it is a good habit to build. If you drink it without being thirsty and get in the habit of doing this your body will run as efficiently as possible.  

#5 The water fountain is nasty. I cannot say that I am a fan of the water fountain. That’s why I always try to have a water bottle with me. There are studies that indicate public water fountains pose low risk to those that are healthy. However, some of these levels are high enough to impact those with weakened immune systems. This is all about developing good habits. Get in the habit of bringing a non-plastic filtered water bottle from home when you can.

#6 Plastic water bottles are wasteful. Indeed they are, that’s why I have a stainless steel water bottle with me everywhere. You don’t have to drink out of plastic bottles. It’s a great choice to use a stainless steel reusable water bottle.

#7 I don’t like carrying it. I will say that this can be kind of a PITA. In some instances it doesn’t make sense to carry it with you and can be a nuisance. But in cases like this I will typically have a water bottle in the car. Once again it’s non-plastic so any heat up of the bottle is okay.

#8 I have to pee all the time. At first this can be very annoying, but once your body adjusts and as long as you are not gulping your water this will subside.

#1 Water is boring

• Spice it up with lemon
• Use some fresh pressed juice
• Get a glass fruit infusion pitcher system and or stainless steel water bottle system
• Fruit Infusion Pitchers
• Try homemade water kefir or coconut water kefir. Check out Cultures For Health - 
• Harmless Harvest is my favorite organic coconut water – very nourishing:
• Try kombucha or look up how to make your own
• Beet kvass is an easy ferment to make at home and is very hydrating, plus you are getting probiotics. Check out this recipe:

Check out this Instagram post:

• https://www.instagram.com/p/BfPedOmhLym/
• Cucumber is really good in water. Try with the pitcher from above
• Make homemade bone broth and consume with meals and throughout the day
  • Instant pot
  • Get package of grass fed bones from Whole Foods, US Wellness, etc. & add to instant pot
  • Fill stainless steel pot to fill line with filtered water
  • Add a few tablespoons of RAW apple cider vinegar –
  • Mix of vegetables that are good for broth are celery, carrots, mushrooms, onions, garlic and other spices
  • Set for 2 hrs pressure cook and let naturally depressurize
  • Strain & save the bones for one more batch before disposing
  • It’s best to consume fairly quickly, within a few days. I have consumed into day 3 many times but it just doesn’t taste as fresh obviously. One thing I will do is freeze individual cups of broth for later use in these silicone trays below
  • Cheaper version of the pitcher is to soak some fruit in your water. Try pineapple it’s wonderful!
• Herbs can help add flavor and provide phyto-nutrients
  • Mint
  • Basil
  • Lavender
  • Lemon
• Eat more water rich foods instead:
  • Watermelon
  • Strawberries
  • Cantaloupe
  • Peaches
  • Oranges
  • Cucumber
  • Lettuce
  • Broths
  • Zucchini
  • Celery

#2 We forget to drink water

• Use technology to your fullest advantage with app reminders. I used the Drink Water app to get better with this and it has the things you need to set intake goals and track + reminders (auto/manual)
  • Look for other apps if this one doesn’t work for you. Just have a good reminder system in place for yourself. If you do this you will eventually start drinking water by default
    • Try the “Drink More Water” water bottle to keep track of how much you drink
    • Implement other non app ways to remind yourself. Pair drinking your water with other activities that you already have an established habit
• Set reminders from Google Calendar with reminders to drink every hour
• Use Cortana in Windows to get reminders on when to drink water every hour or whatever interval that works for you
• Whiteboard reminding you to “DRINK MORE WATER” J

 
#3 – We prefer things that taste better/sweeter over water

• Introduce new ways to spice up water like in the suggestions for #1
• Mix it up with beverages like coconut water, kefir, water kefir, beet kvass, fruits
• As you introduce more things that work for you, you can start to eliminate less healthy ways of making water taste better

#4 – I am not thirsty

• Use reminder apps to encourage you to drink on a schedule. This trains yourself to stay away from getting thirsty
• Build the good habits around water and it will pay off for you in many ways

#5 The Water Fountain

• There is always a risk for some kind of bacterial pathogen regardless of where the water fountain is. Ultimately this is your choice if you want to assume any risk
• Outside of pathogens, you are dealing with water that is not filtered. So it’s loaded with heavy metals, toxins & chlorine + fluoride in most cases. Get a portable filter like this:
  • Portable filters

#6 Plastic water bottles are wasteful

• Get a good stainless steel water bottle. Something like this:
  • Fill it up with filtered water at home and carry with you always

#7 I don’t like carrying the water bottle

• Try a universal carrying strap
  • For use with running, but can be used in other implementations to carry your bottle
    • R-Gear
• There are not a tremendous amount of options here. The thing that is important is always to stay hydrated. In some cases you may need to buy water. In these cases try some glass sparkling water if you can get a hold of it

#8 I have to pee a lot when I drink water

• You are not accustomed to drinking so much water. As your body adjusts to getting more water, you will not have to pee as much
• Adding a pinch of unrefined sea salt to your water will help to provide electrolytes and keep you from having to pee quite as much
• If you are sipping, it will help to minimize this
• Hang in there, it will get better

Your body is definitely crying for water as Dr. Batmanghelidj explains in his book “Your Body’s Many Cries for Water”. The one thing that I see a lot of people do is confuse hunger with thirst. The body’s first reaction that you feel is a sense of being hungry when in reality you are craving water.
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Drinking water is like any other habit, it needs to be cultivated for an extended period of time before it becomes second nature to you. With the ideas in this post, you can do this! You can actually become better with drinking water. If something here doesn’t work for you, look for other ways to get better with this. I guarantee you that this is the simplest thing you can do to improve your health. Thanks for reading and following us. I hope this helps to develop better habits. If you have any questions or need some guidance please reach out through our contact page

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