Every living cell within the body requires water, just as it does nutrients and oxygen.

While I was doing research I wanted to see visually how how much water we should be drinking and how is our body affected on a cellular level by our water intake. This photo from Environment Canada was quite the eye opener. 

Anything that you consume in the form of other fluids such as coffee, tea, milk, fruit juices and various other liquids DO NOT take the place of water. Water helps to regulate every bodily functions and is necessary for the removal of wastes.

As a result of not drinking enough water, many people have problems such as poor muscle tone and size, decreased digestive efficiency, joint/muscle soreness particularly after exercise and water retention. If we don’t get enough water what happens is the body starts retaining  water to compensate for this shortage which is an internal mechanism that kicks in when your body thinks that you are trying to dehydrate it.  So to reduce this cycle drink more water.

How much water should you drink per day can have a huge impact on your digestion. It is best not to drink when eating because excessive fluids may dilute your digestive enzymes.  Certain liquids such as milk and soda can interfere with digestion in the stomach by neutralizing the acid levels which is needed for digesting protein.  A lot of people drink water or other liquids while eating to assist in getting food down. When in essence what is needed, is to slow down, thoroughly chew your food and stop rushing as you eat. After changing this bad habit you will immediately see changes in how you feel, minutes or hours after.  To get an accurate idea of how much water you should be drinking divide your weight in two and convert that into ounces.

The difference between pure water and other beverages that contain water

• Beer contains alcohol
• coffee contains adrenal-stressing caffeine
• fruit juices contain added and natural sugars which stimulates the pancreas
• soda contains phosphorus that pulls calcium out of the bones

Another problem is that these beverages will make you loose your taste for water. Water should be drunk per day at least 30 minutes before your meal and 1 hour after to assist in assimilating of digested food. The recommended daily water intake means just that, DRINK WATER!

….Stay BEAUTIFUL AND HEALTHY

source: Your body many Cries for Water by F. Batmanghelidg, M.D., Allergies and Holistic Healing by S. Weintraub N.D.,