Without water, we wouldn't be able to survive more than 3 days, so here at Juicers.ie we believe people should know more about water, we consume it every day and it's so important within our diets. Also known as H20 which is two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen, water prevents dehydration as well as many other common symptoms.
Water in our Bodies
Water makes up 60% of our human body weight so even a 2% drop in our bodies water supply can trigger dehydration which can decrease short-term memory and difficulty focusing. This isn't a surprise once you realise our brains are made up of 95% water.
Mild dehydration can create daytime fatigue which can be common in a lot of us because the majority of people will drink only 1-2 glasses of water per day. The recommended amount of water per day is 8 glasses or 2 litres because your body loses water through breathing, sweating and digestion. You may need more water depending on how much physical activity you do and the climate you live in.
You will be surprised how water is used throughout our bodies as it can aid with many bodily processes. For example, the water in our saliva helps us to swallow food with ease, lubricate our joints and eyeballs, keep our skin hydrated and regulates our bodies temperature by sweating which helps to cool our bodies down.
Water can help your circulation around the body because the levels of oxygen in the bloodstream tend to be greater when the body is hydrated, this also gives you more energy.
Dehydration can affect your immune system as the bodies cells are made partly with water. If your cells aren't hydrated this will leave them weak leaving them vulnerable to disease.
Soft Drinks
Soft drinks contain a lot of unnatural sugars which makes your body work hard to process the sugar. With this being said, when you drink a soft drink your body will use the water to help it process the sugar, which means you aren't hydrating your body as much as you would be with just plain water. Soft drinks act as a diuretic which takes away more water than it provides.
Having a good pH balance helps maintain a good functioning body but soft drinks are highly acidic with a pH of 2.5. Disease love acidic environments so it's important to maintain your bodies pH of 7.0.
Water in Fruits and Vegetables
if you want to increase your water intake but are not really big on water, why not try eating more fruit and veg or juicing them.
Some fruits and vegetables have more than 90% water, for example, strawberries, watermelon, cucumber and bell peppers.
Studies have shown that after a workout it is much more beneficial to eat or drink fruits and vegetables that have a high water content, as they can hydrate you more and provide you with natural sugars, minerals and vitamins.
Juicing your own fruit and vegetables can replenish your body without artificial colours and flavours found in most energy drinks. But make sure you use the 80:20 rule where 80% of your juice come from vegetables and 20% comes from fruit.
Bottled Water Vs Tap
We use water every day for drinking, cooking and bathing in it but
unfortunately, water from the tap isn't 100% water, it has to be treated with chemicals to kill bacteria. Tap Water can come from two places. Surface water which can be rivers, reservoirs and lakes or groundwater which tend to be wells. As our water is coming from the likes of rivers, our water has to be disinfected from bacteria and parasites with chlorine.
Once our water has been disinfected it needs to travel to our taps by pipes. If you have an old house chances are your pipes will be made out of lead and copper, which can lead to metal contamination. We suggest never using the hot water tap for cooking as it comes from a storage tank in the loft and is not as fresh or as safe as water directly from the mains. If you are worried about chemicals the chemicals that get put into your tap water then you may want to consider purchasing a filter for your tap. It is the easiest way to prevent unwanted chemicals in your water, and it can actually give your water a better taste. But remember to change your filter every 6 months or so to see constant benefits.
Bottled water can be expensive but the UK bought 2.6 billion litres which is a lot when you think you can get water for free at home. But is bottled water any different to tap water?
You can buy different types of water from the supermarket such as natural mineral water. This type of water is obtained from underground and contains minerals and salts, this is the purest water you can buy. Spring water does not have to be verified as pure and does not contain minerals. Table water can be produced from the tap and then bottled and has no particular source.
Plastic bottles can leach their chemicals into the water if they are not BPA free so if you are buying bottled water look out for the BPA free stamp which is usually on the bottom of the bottle. But be warned if a bottle displays a pristine looking mountain on the front it doesn’t mean it’s from the mountains. Make sure to read the small print and look at the ingredients list to see exactly what you are getting in your water as there may be some added extras.
Overall we believe drinking tap water through a filtration system is the best way to know your drinking clean water, it’s also a lot cheaper in the long run.
Different Water Types
Depending on where you live you can get hard and soft water, hard water has more minerals and is usually the preferred drinking water and soft water has a salty taste. You can notice this difference much more when you are doing household chores with hard water, as dishes can have a dull appearance and when washing your hair the shampoo doesn’t lather as well.
Tips for Staying Hydrated
It can be hard to keep remembering to drink water if you're not particularly thirsty so here are some top tips to drinking more water.
Always have a water bottle handy that can be sat on your desk or easily accessible
Make plain water more interesting by adding fruit pieces.
Drink unsweetened teas
Have 50% of your plate filled with vegetables and fruit
Juice your veggies and fruit
Water is important to consume regularly to stay hydrated, but you need to be drinking clean water that's going to benefit you and there are many ways to improve the taste of water. The benefits of water to our bodies is huge so we challenge you to try and drink 2 litres of water a day for a week and see how you feel afterwards.