Some say that true health starts with a five letter word: W-A-T-E-R. Your body is made up mostly of water, approximately two-thirds to be exact, or between 65 and 70 percent. Your brain is more than 80 percent water and your blood is more than 90 percent water.

Through the functions of breathing, perspiration, and urination you lose about 64 ounces of water a day so drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of filtered water every day is really only the “break even” point to replenish yourself.

Unfortunately, many people don’t replenish properly and these people are walking around mild to moderately dehydrated, and they don’t make the connection between dehydration and fatigue, aches & pains, brain fog, and more.

For example, in addition to fatigue, if you ever experience feeling irritable, confused, depressed, agitated, frustrated, or aggravated; or, perhaps you’re experiencing intense food cravings, your symptoms could be related to dehydration.

There are a couple of assessments you can do to check your fluid volume status:

1. Lightly pinch the skin on the back of your hand together and pull upward. If your skin doesn’t immediately recede back into place when you let it go, but stays raised like a “tent” for a few seconds, you need more water. You’re probably a couple cups low at that very moment.
2. Check the color of your urine. It should be light, not dark or even dark yellow. If your urine is dark/dark yellow, you need more water. Of course, we all experience darker yellow urine a couple hours after taking vitamins, but if we’re hydrated this doesn’t last long.

Dehydration is related to a multitude of physical problems. It also gives illness and disease an opportunity to take hold. If you’re hydrated, viruses and bacteria will have a greater problem colonizing your mucus membranes. But if your dehydrated even slightly it’s an invitation for them to become an opportunist and cause infection and make you sick.

Many illnesses in general are exacerbated by or even result from chronic dehydration. The bottom line is that a well-hydrated body is healthier for it.

If you drink a sufficient amount of water every day, your body’s need for water will also increase. But, the more water you drink, the less you’ll retain…the less water you drink, you’ll actually retain more. Funny how that works, right?

Water is a powerful cleanser which helps to remove plaque from the walls of arteries and it’s very important in terms of stabilizing blood pressure. If the heart detects even the slightest dehydration status, as a protective and survival mechanism it will begin to pump faster and harder to raise fluid volume.

Water also helps lubricate the joints and diminishes headaches whereas even mild dehydration can cause all kinds of symptoms including pain, fatigue, constipation, irritability, headaches, migraines, confusion, depression, aggravation, and more.

How Much Water do You Really Need?

Divide your weight in pounds by 2 and drink that many ounces of water per day. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, divide by 2 and drink 75 ounces a day – about 10 cups.

Water is at the core of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs – along with other physiological needs such as oxygen, food, elimination, movement, rest, comfort, sex, and elimination. So please don’t discount the importance of water for good health. Enjoy one of life’s free elixirs!