The Best Way to Consume Water at Home
Your body needs clean water for lots of reasons, and most of us don’t actually consume water in a way that benefits the body as it should. Here’s the best way to consume water. How much water are you supposed to consume in a day?
I remember my teachers and parents telling me something like 8 cups a day. It was an unbelievable volume of water. It seemed like being asked to drink the equivalent of my own body weight daily in water. It may have been; we had some big glasses at home.
But forcing myself to gulp down 8 tall glasses of water as a kid didn’t always mean I was getting everything my body needed from it. In fact, it could have been doing harm to me by throwing off the mineral content in my blood.
Getting the right amount of water in a day means consuming it in a variety of ways.
When to drink water
Most of us drink when we’re thirsty. But the kind of thirst that sets most of us off to the kitchen to grab a drink is already a sign of dehydration. Your body is already reacting to a lack of fluids.
The trick is to keep that from happening, and that means drinking often. Down a glass of water as soon as you wake up. Your body has been conserving all night and it’s time to top up the tank.
Keep a glass on your desk at the office and reach for it between activities. Keep a glass on the coffee table while you watch TV and take a sip during commercials.
Drink when you eat. Consuming water at the same time as food changes the way it’s absorbed into the body and delivers that hydration more quickly than drinking alone.
We think we need to drink more in the summer because of the heat, but the dry air in winter robs us of hydration just the same. So don’t drink less when it starts getting cold.
Lifehack your water
- Drinking cold water restricts your appetite. It’s a good way to help manage your food intake through the day.
- Warm water does the opposite. It promotes hunger and aids in food digestion.
Water can get a little boring if it’s all you drink. You can spice it up (literally) with some of the below options.
- Mint or cardamom. A pinch of either in some hot water makes for a great tea substitute. They’re both good in cold water too.
- Cumin, coriander and fennel seeds. A pinch of each for every half cup of boiling water. Make sure you strain the seeds out before drinking. You will enjoy the subtle flavours the seeds impart to the water, but consuming the seeds themselves might be a bit intense.
- Fresh or powdered ginger. A pinch of powdered ginger or a teaspoon sized slide of fresh ginger is refreshing and healthful.
- Lemon and honey. Hot water with lemon and honey will fight off cold symptoms as well as anything. Lemons are packed with nutrients and honey is delicious. Studies have also connected honey to improved memory, reduced allergies and inflammation.
With all the good water does for us, we have to make sure our families have access to a clean, safe source. Most municipal water supplies in the U.S. are contaminated, and the only way to ensure your family is getting clean water is to install a good residential filtration system at home.