Drink Up!

I have talked briefly about Food and I have talked about Fitness so what's left?

What We Drink!!!

Water is by far the most important thing you can put in your body. You could survive about 3 weeks without food but "After 3 days, you need water or you'll perish"(Live Science, 2012). Water is needed to sustain life for EVERYTHING! But for the human body here is why you should be drinking water:

1. Muscles- Muscles get easily fatigued and don't have enough fluid and your workouts and daily activity may suffer.
2. Kidney function- Lack of water can put one at risk of kidney stones, and may not be able to flush toxins out of the body!
3. Skin Quality- You will look and feel better keeping your skin hydrated. You will have less dry, itchy skin when you are hydrated.
4. Bowel Function- Let's just sum it up by not getting constipated.
5. Body Fluid Balance- "Your body is composed of about 60% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature." (Web MD, 2008).
6. Calorie Balance-  Drinking water can keep you from eating more calories if you drink it with or before a meal. 
7. Bad Breath- Want to get rid of your Halitosis? Drink Water it will help!

There is still an on going debate of exactly how much water you should be drinking. More evidence is suggesting women drink approximately 9 glasses of water a day while men should drink approximately 13 cups. But a healthy diet, full of veggies and fruits, contains some of the required water so you have a little leeway in that aspect.

DO NOT put anything other than squirts of lemon, lime or actual fruit and veggies in your water. Anything like crystal light, or other water flavoring products have fake sugars and dangerous additives, I mentioned in my first post "Where do we begin".

So what can you drink besides water for tastes and healthy benefits.

Tea... tea sweetened by raw honey or natural organic, raw sweeteners only. Google teas to find out their many benefits, and if you purchase tea make it organic because otherwise you are drinking a lot of chemicals and pesticides. 

Juice, NOT the "American" Juice like Hawaiian Punch. Juice from a Juicer, or juiced products. There are several products in the markets that offer these juiced products and you can often find coupons online, but always read the labels especially if they say Protein on them because it is likely soy and I went over that in the linked post (More details to come on soy alone). 

Now let's go over soda... best to just avoid it but if you "MUST" have it drink Hansen's, Zevia, Blue Sky with Stevia, or something without high fructose corn syrup and horrible crap. It's all about reading labels and researching the product. I have found Sprouts and Nugget Markets have the best option for finding healthy alternatives to Coke and Pepsi. They even make Stevia Pop drops that are flavored like soda that you ad to Sparkling water.

Hydration is important so make sure you figure out how to get hydrated everyday. There are even apps that will alarm when you need to drink water. Check it out if you have a smart phone and have trouble remembering to drink water (like me). 

Now for a stress reducing workout:

Try this beginners Yoga, if you like it check into Yoga. Great at helping flexibility and reducing stress (you do not need to get into the religion for it to help).



And for Debi with Tennis Elbow everything I found says to start back slowly, so you will want to focus on Diet, and bring your exercise up slowly. I did find this link that may help, along with any exercises your doctor recommended for the specific rehab. And WedMD says this:

 "Exercises to build or maintain good fitness are important for your recovery. Walking, cycling, water aerobics, jogging, and other aerobic exercises can increase your heart and lung fitness and increase general strength and endurance, without making your injury worse. These activities also increase blood circulation; increased circulation supplies the injured tendon with more oxygen and may promote healing.1

Appropriate exercises for stretching, strengthening, and increasing your endurance are vital to your recovery.2 Your doctor or physical therapist can recommend the best stretching and strengthening exercises for your condition".

John 4:10

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you livingwater.”