Being Hydrated Doesn’t Mean You Should Drink Water All of The Time

Sustain hydration all day in the form of colorful vegetables

You’re probably dehydrated.

And no, you do not need to carry around a large gallon of water all day with you to fix that.

Plenty of Americans who consider themselves healthy are left confused with their prevailing health issues when they avoid the sugary beverages and drink that gallon of water instead.

What they do not know is that drinking too much water really is a thing.

• Drinking too much water directly after or with meals is shown to spike your blood sugar more so than if you just waited.
• Drinking too much water can deplete your body of electrolytes.

Believe it or not, this is not an article to advise you against hydrating your body. In fact, I am advocating for it.

How does this make sense, you might think.

Consider it this way. Most plants are roughly 90% water. When you eat a fruit or vegetable, you consume its fiber, nutrient, and water content.

Your body’s digestive system allows for a delayed absorption of said water content because it takes longer to absorb than plain liquid water. You might want to get a good amount of water this way instead of drinking your contaminated tap water all day.

• Check out what contaminants have polluted your own city and county’s water here.

Your small intestine uses that water along with the fats you consume to make your bowel movements a little easier to pass.

• Find out what healthy stool looks like here (aim for type 4 on the Bristol Chart!).
• Of note, the National Institute of Health (NIH) insists that a normal bowel movement frequency is between three per week and three per day. But many leaders in the health industry argue for at least one daily stool passing. Thankfully, eating your water may help with that as well.

Now you do not need to throw away your Nalgene just yet. There is a lot of value drinking good ole plain water, especially if you are an athlete/active person or simply have to choose between a sweetened and unsweetened beverage.

Remember that even though that consuming more vegetables is a great way to stay hydrated, it does not mean that you should stop consuming water and drink a sugary beverage instead.

• According to the CDC, “frequently drinking sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney diseases, non-alcoholic liver disease, tooth decay and cavities, and gout, a type of arthritis.”
• When you drink sugary beverages, the sugar hits your blood stream very quickly, causing almost immediate spikes in your blood sugar.
• Large spikes in your blood sugar means more cravings, more mood swings, and more advanced glycation end products (AGEs) caused from oxidative stress.
• This inflammatory oxidative stress can cause wrinkles in your skin or more seriously…kidney disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and more.

All of this to say…you know yourself best. We all need different amounts of water and different amounts of macronutrients to nourish our bodies.

The best eating habits and lifestyle changes are the one that work for you, after all.

Your mom probably told you to eat your vegetables when you were a kid, but thankfully, now you know one of many reasons why.