So, most of this is in the “common knowledge basis” basic science ... or it "should" be.
- How much water “should” I drink?
- How do I know if I’m dehydrated?
- What in the world is Osmosis anyway?
All good questions.
Currently advice is given on checking the color of your urine, but that's pretty subjective. To help you figure out your hydration let’s start with how your body gets hydrated, how a cell works. Kinda feels like you’re 15 again, but it’s a discussion worth having. Your cells have a wall that is fairly loose. It has pumps that only allow certain chemicals in and out and therefore is protected somewhat from foreign or improper substances. Now let us look at the water in that cell. How does it go in and out? There isn’t a pump for water and gravity isn’t going to do it any favors either.
The answer is full spectrum salt."
Kristy
(Please never use table salt!) When you eat salt, it goes into your cells and into your bloodstream. If your salt content is too low it is only in the bloodstream and your cells scream for water as it rushes by (if you drink enough) and your blood stream is too full of water. If your salt content is too high in only NaCl you get bloated and your cells burst and die because they can’t contain all the water. The low and the high do a number on your blood pressure and your kidneys. Full spectrum salt only.
IDEAL:
Your body would prefer you eat a variety of minerals which can be found in sea salt, Himilayan Pink salt, Celtic grey salt, Real salt, New Zealand sea salt, etc. They are more complex salts with various minerals involved, such as Iron with pink salt and Magnesium with grey salt. In Chemistry we would call them full spectrum salts, or close thereto.
I would never tell someone to eat a pinch of white refined salt and drink water. That’s crazy.
However, I tell clients all the time to eat a pinch of pink salt and drink water so they’ll get hydrated. It is amazing how quickly you think more clearly and dehydration headaches will subside. Some of the signs you may notice if you are dehydrated:
- headaches
- loss of concentration
- moodiness/irritability
- desire for junk food
- munchy or hungry cravings
- thirst
Dr. Zanandrea, my flexibility professor at BYU and a three time olympic athlete, always told us to make friends with the drinking fountain.
Don’t just take a sip, when you see a drinking fountain get a good drink." & "If you are thirsty you are already dehydrated. "
Dr. Maria Zanandrea 3x olympic athlete & BYU professor
So, what’s the recipe for hydration?
One half ounce (½) to one (1) ounce of water PER POUND of your bodyweight That’s right folks. You’re probably dehydrated. Why can’t you handle drinking that much? Probably for two reasons: you get water in things like spinach, lettuce, apples, oranges, etc., so you don't notice, and you don’t get enough minerals in your white table salt!
I can’t stress that enough.
Let me explain a bit about oxygen, because water is made of H2O, so you even drink oxygen, it’s clearly important. So important that it is the basis of pretty much every function in your body. You contract a muscle with calcium; but you cannot release it without ATP and that requires oxygen. (Random tidbit-Rigor Mortis is when you die and don’t have oxygen in your blood so everything contracts up. Not fun. Granted, you’re dead so you don’t really know that.) Considering that most of your body is composed of muscle tissue that is a big deal. I’m not going to get into bio 1000, so let it suffice that it is CRAZY important that you both breathe and drink oxygen.
Pop is not water. sports drinks are not water (and some contain some serious junk), juice is not water, smoothies are not water, etc., etc. Juice and smoothies may contain small amounts of water; but it it is not adequate for your water intake to only drink smoothies.
I repeat, drink H20, aka actual water, and ideally non-chlorinated water. A simple way to off the chlorine is to fill a glass water pitcher and let it sit overnight. Then it’ll evaporated out. There are many filtration systems as well, so pick within your budget. If you are using the formula, and eating sea salt in your diet while drinking water, you are going to get hydrated. This does not always give you enough iodine to bend your proteins so you may need to add sea vegetables into your diet as well; but that is a conversation for another day. Moral of the story:
- Eat complex mineral salts
- Drink water
- Think clearly
- Feel rested
- Increase energy
- Life living
Kristy Burtenshaw LMTKristy Burtenshaw LMT Certified Practitioner of Ida Rolf’s Method of Structural Integration
Wife and mother of five. She's been learning to heal herself, and rely on other experts when she couldn't, since 1998. With so many incredible ways to heal, and to prevent problems in the first place, much of what she learned she's working to make common knowledge. You’ll find all sorts of quirky and useful information here on dancecore.us to improve your health.
