Don't be so wet!!!

We're always told we should drink more water, and we all think the amount we are advised to drink is excessive

BUT IS IT????

Here are some interesting little facts that may make you reach for the tap.

• Water, we know, helps to move nutrients around the body; it works as a solvent, dissolving vitamins and materials for easy use by our body. Our body is 80% water, so replenishment is vital.

• An average person loses 2 ½ litres of fluid a day (4 pints). This is not an exercising body, but just the average person. Not an overheated body ... just a body. Are we replacing this loss?

• It's difficult to get our heads around the thought of taking 8 glasses of water a day that they say our body needs. We don't remember, it's overly exaggerated, we're never near a tap, we don't have time and we drink tea and coffee and definitely a couple of cans of Coke!!! Besides, we get water from the foods we eat.

• Yes, we do replace some water via our food. Eating a fresh healthy food diet we can replace as much as 3-4 whole cups of water!!! (Not even one litre)

• Tea and coffee (along with some “power” drinks) contain high levels of caffeine, which is a diuretic, as is alcohol. This means it actually increases your urine output at a greater rate than you are taking fluids in! Not such a good idea after all, eh?

• Water helps out body regulate its temperature, through sweating. Just imaging an engine with no water... how quickly will it overheat? Which brings me to another point...

• Did you know that 5 minutes of exercise (which leaves you slightly breathless) produces enough energy to boil 1 litre of water? Just think, as you're swimming along, of that kettle slowly boiling away. How much water do you think will be left in the kettle if you don't refill it before you finish your swim? You wouldn't be doing that to your kettle, so why do it to your body?

• 85% of your brain is water. 80% of your blood is water and 70% of the muscle lean is water, so what do you think will suffer if you dehydrate? When your body tells you it's thirsty, it has already used up ½ a gallon of water. What do we go and do? Drink a whole cup full! Suddenly that cup looks a little insignificant doesn't it?

• An average person should divide their body weight (in pounds) by half, and drink that weight in fluid ounces daily to maintain an optimum health. We're all starting to look a bit pathetic now aren't we? Sure, if you drink that much more you will make far more trips to the toilet, but hey – look at all that extra exercise you will be getting!

• So we know it helps move and use nutrients in our body and it helps regulate out body temperature, what else does it do?

Well, it helps cushion joints, it will gives your skin more elasticity and helps healthy hair growth (not important now, you may think, but ... your time will come!)

It really assists the kidneys and liver by moving waste products more easily, and let's face it, the quicker that comes out, the better for us all.

It also enables your brain and body to work and react more quickly and efficiently.

A final point for you all to think on...

It's freely available from a tap near you.

So now, What's your excuse?