Your body is primarily made up of water and therefore it needs sufficient amounts of water each day to function at an optimal level. Our biochemistry works best if we drink room temperature water that has enough trace elements and minerals to replace those that we lose through sweat, tears and other bodily functions.
So what are trace elements and minerals?
Those are the elements in the water that help our body absorb the water and take it to each and every cell of our body for complete hydration. In the world we live in there are very few sources that we receive our water from where it has not been changed from it’s original state. We treat our water, we add things to it, we take things away from it, we heat it, we cool it and quite often we take it for granted. It’s normally not until we are dehydrated that we think about water and this is because we aren’t listening to the needs of our body. Normally by the time we are recognizing the signs of dehydration: dry mouth, cracked lips, headache, lack of energy, dry skin, our body is already in a dehydrated state and it will take approximately 24-48 hours to rehydrate it to a satisfactory level.
How do I know if my water has the trace elements and minerals that I need?
If you are filtering tap water that is great! Depending on the brand of filter it will be taking out the things you don’t want to be absorbing such as chemicals and bad bacteria, but it will be taking out all the good things you want also. If you are buying bottled water, again that is great, however you need to look at how it is stored and the number of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) it has in the bottle. It will be listed as TDS and you are aiming for a number 300 and higher. If there is no number on the bottle or no mention of TDS it means that there is none of the good stuff for the manufacturer to list – and put it back on the shelf! The better quality waters will be stored in glass as the water stored in plastic can absorb the BPA’s from the plastic.
Simple test if the plastic bottle you are storing your water in is leaving your water with traces of chemicals from the plastic: leave your bottle in a hot car for a few hours and then try drinking it. It will have an unusual taste to it, which is the plastic leaching into the water 🙁
Second to storing your water in glass bottles, is a stainless steel bottle. These are often more practical with less risk of breakage. However you need to be aware that there are different grades of stainless steel and that if it is a coloured bottle on the outside it should not have that colour on the inside as again you will be absorbing the toxins in the colour. This increases the demand on your liver to detox the chemicals from your body, when in most people the liver is already under high demand in trying to detox the chemicals we absorb through our vegetables, proteins and everyday life.
Water should be drunk at room temperature as it can only be used by the body at that temperature. If you are drinking chilled water your body has no choice but to heat it before it can be used and if you are drinking hot or warmed water again the body will be put under stress to try and cool that water before it can be used.
Of all the things we consume, water is the most influential. It can be changed by thoughts and used to help heal the body. It has been proven in scientific studies that the sound of music changes the characteristics of water. The elements are able to be altered therefore it only makes sense to be giving your body the best quality water you can provide to nourish and replenish it’s supplies. An easy and relatively cheap way of remineralizing, or adding back some trace elements and minerals to your water is by adding a high quality sea salt such as Himalayan crystal salt (pink in colour) or Celtic sea salt (a very off white colour). The less processing and handling in the packaging of the salt the better it will be for you. I recommend approximately 1 pinch per litre of water and you will be able to tell if this is helping with the absorption rate in your body because you should need to go to the bathroom LESS. If you are needing to go the the bathroom after drinking water, it is doing you NO GOOD! It is not being absorbed. The sea salt will help with this within a few days 🙂
You should be drinking your body weight in kilos x 0.033 per day as a minimum.
See you in the gym!
Tanya Carroll
Livestrong Primal Fitness
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