This is one of the articles that I was forced to read when I underwent a PT program. Good stuff.
QUOTE
Water the Essence of Life
How many times have you heard "drink your water"? In the health profession we use that statement quite a bit, but few people take the time to explain
why. In this column today I would like to explain why, then maybe you might drink more water.
Water is the second most important element on earth. You can only live a few days without it, maybe a week but not much more. The human body is
composed of 70% water, as are most of the foods we eat. Our muscles are 75% water and our blood a whopping 90% water. Our blood carries
nutrients to every part of our body and waste products away to be eliminated. Without enough water our bodies' would starve and we would poison
ourselves with our own waste products.
The most current research that is available states that in order for a human to remain hydrated they should consume one half their bodyweight in fluid
ounces daily. That's a pretty easy formula to follow, if you weight 100 lbs. you should drink 50 ounces per day. If you would like to lose body fat you
must increase the amount you take in daily. Our bodies are very reluctant to let go of fat if we don't have plenty of pure water.
Yes other liquids will count but not as much, the body must work to separate the water from the remaining contents at a price. Energy is the price a
person pays to have the water extracted, that might be something you want to keep in your reserves. All alcoholic beverages, coffee and tea work as a
diuretic, in other words they extract water from your body. When you take in these liquids you need to add water.
Our body uses water for almost every function that takes place within it. Our kidneys help remove waste products from our blood, which then is
excreted in the urine. When we have water shortage the bodies' automatic reaction is to retain the water it already has. When this occurs the stored
water becomes increasingly contaminated with waste and the kidneys can not remove the toxins, as they should. They simply overload. The body then
shifts the cleaning load to the liver.
The body must get rid of as much waste as possible, in most cases the liver is already burdened with trying to filter and clean our blood. So when it
has to take up part of the kidneys job the liver can't do all of its work efficiently.
Pay attention here, one of the most important jobs the liver has is metabolizing stored body fat into energy. As a result ones weight increases because
the stored up fat can't be burned and turned into energy, and the body tends to hold onto more water because of the initial deficiency. Do not get me
wrong, it takes more than drinking water to lose weight, eating right and exercise help, but I will go so far as to say you can't lose body fat properly
without drinking water.
If you drink more water you will urinate more, but that's a good thing. Remember this is the way the body rids itself of toxins. If you allow the toxins to
build up in the body the eventual price will be greater than going to the bathroom more often. If you have been dehydrated for some time you should
increase your intake slowly. At first you will actually be thirstier, then after a short time the increased thirst and believe it are not the increased urine
output will decrease.
Source: Dr. David S. Dyer, N.D.
This is an article from the American Fitness Professionals and Associates, Sept 1999 Health and Fitness Newsletter.
I'm currently drinking at least 3.8 liters daily since Aug 09. On average, I drink about 5-7 liters a day to lose weight. Pretty good so far. Body fat going down and muscles are building up. My water % is too low atm and trying to beef it up. It's taking a long time to do so.