You’re a superhero and you know it. We don’t have to tell you twice! As heroic as we are, we could always use a little help getting the nutrients our body needs. In today’s blog post, we are going to be talking about the role that hydration plays when it comes to fuelling our busy bodies throughout our days!
Picture this, on a perfect day, we wake up early, hit the gym and grab a coffee from Starbucks or our favourite coffee shop on our way to work or school. We hustle for 3-4 hours before breaking for lunch where we likely grab another coffee and fuel ourselves with a salad, sandwich or leftovers from the night before. Then we sit back down to grind it out until 5:00 pm hits and we take off for home. When we get there, we might have a shower or change into our comfy clothes, grab a beer from the fridge or pour ourselves a glass of wine and then start preparing dinner. After we eat, we curl up on the couch with a snack in hand and maybe another beverage or cup of tea until it is time to sleep. This day seems pretty normal, right? What if we told you that this routine is setting you up to be dehydrated?! Did we get your attention?
The average Canadian consumes 3 cups of coffee per day, each containing an average of roughly 210 mg of caffeine. Before we even consider starting our day, we need to adequately prepare ourselves the night before. This means drinking a big glass of water before going to bed so our body learns to retain the water overnight which causes us to stay hydrating all night long. In the morning, we should aim to drink two big glasses of water to kick start our day. Studies have shown that drinking water first thing in the morning helps to improve skin complexion, encourage weight loss, boost one’s metabolism, increase hair shine and texture, relieve heartburn and indigestion and strengthen our immune system. Water might look plain and boring on the outside, but it plays a major role in our body in almost every cellular activity on the inside. Most importantly, drinking water increases our blood volume. This, in turn, increases the amount of blood circulating to our brain resulting in more oxygen being available to be utilized. In other words, drink water and you’ll be smarter for it!
Water also plays an important role in regulating many other bodily functions including:
- Delivery of nutrients and oxygen to our cells
- Eliminating waste and bacteria
- Improving digestion
- Preventing constipation
- Normalizing blood pressure
- Regulating our heart rate
- Protecting and cushioning joints, organs and tissues
- Regulating body temperature
- Maintaining electrolyte balance.
Without an adequate amount of water, we are prone to experiencing dehydration, which can easily be identified by the following symptoms:
- Extreme thirst
- Urinating less than usual
- Headache
- Dark-coloured urine
- Sluggishness and fatigue
- Bad breath
- Dry mouth
- Sugar cravings
- Dizziness, weakness, light-headedness
- Mental confusion
Now that we’ve covered the benefits that water has to offer, let’s dive into some easy, implementable tips that you can use to ensure you’re drinking an adequate amount throughout the day.
How to Increase Your Water Intake:
Tip #1: Drink 2 Glasses In The Morning
- Before your feet hit the floor in the morning, slurp back two glasses of water and then start your day. This will provide a nearly instantaneous energy boost, reducing your need for excess caffeine and giving your brain the juices it needs to operate at its best.
- If you tried to squeeze the water out of a burger or container of fries, you’d likely end up with a palm-full of grease. Salads, fresh fruits and vegetables on the other hand are chalked full of water giving it its volume. Try to incorporate as many fresh fruits and vegetables throughout your day to increase your water intake and reduce the amount of liquid water you need to consume. This could mean starting your day with a smoothie that can pack 2-3 cups of liquid. It could also look like eating a large green salad at lunch with a variety of vegetables, protein and a healthy source of fats. Dinner, on the other hand, could be steamed vegetables to pair with protein and starch. The options are endless, but the key is to be consistent and remember that small habits add up. Swapping out your afternoon muffin for an apple will do wonders for your blood sugar levels and prevent the energy crash that is guaranteed to follow after eating a high-glycemic, sugar-filled muffin.
Tip #3: Watch the Caffeine
- Caffeine is a mild diuretic, which means that it forces your kidneys to work harder to flush the extra sodium and water from the body by expelling urine. As a general rule of thumb, for every caffeinated beverage, you should consume a 2:1 ratio of water to replace the fluids that you lost. This is also an important tip when it comes to your fluid intake in the later hours of the day. Do your best to keep caffeine out past the hours of 12 or 2 pm. Caffeine has a half-life of 8 hours, which means that at 8 pm, half of the caffeine from our 12:00 pm coffee is still in our system. This can easily create a negative feedback loop resulting in more caffeine needed the next morning to make up for the lack of rest we obtained the night before.
Tip # 4: Supplement with Electrolytes!
- Why work harder when you can work smarter? Yes, we said it! There is a life hack when it comes to staying hydrated - they’re called electrolytes. Ener-C produces the highest quality Electrolyte and Multivitamin formulas that are perfect for mixing into your morning smoothie or water throughout the day. Ener-C Sport is formulated to W.H.O. standards for oral rehydration and contains clinical amounts of electrolytes. This formula is great for exercise recovery and for use during hard sweats, hot weather and to aid recovery from a stomach flu! Ener-C's multivitamin formulas are packed with essential vitamins and minerals, and also contain electrolytes to keep you hydrated on-the-daily.
By Lindsay Mustard. Lindsay is a Holistic Nutritionist, foodie and firefighter-in-training with a burning passion for health and fitness. In her nutrition practice, Lindsay works with clients to craft a unique plan that is tailored to their specific health goals using a natural, whole food and supplement approach.