What would you say if I told you I had an ingredient that:
– is the ultimate means of detoxing your body,
– will improve your metabolism, helping with fat loss goals
– reduces the appearance of wrinkles and makes skin look vibrant and healthy
– enhances your concentration and performance levels
Bet your first question is “how much does it cost?”
There are many products out there that claim to offer these things and many are so keen to have that quick fix that looking at the ingredients doesn’t even come into it.
Well here’s something more then, my magic ingredient:
– is a natural product and
– will cost you nothing extra.
Want to know more?
How and where do you get it from?
How much do you have to take and how often?
Keep reading as I will answer all of these questions below.
My magic ingredient’s chemical name is 
…more popularly known as WATER, and here’s why:
– your brain is more than 80% water so it takes only a small drop in hydration levels to affect your concentration;
– want to improve the appearance of fine lines on your skin (as cosmetics claim to do)….drink plenty of filtered water.
Keeping the skin hydrated allows it to stay supple, healthy looking and by keeping it plumped up reduces the effect of wrinkles.
Don’t believe me? Check out the ingredients of your expensive face cream (yes these products have ingredient lists too) – I bet water is in there, dressed up as “aqua something-or-other” with a whole other bunch of chemicals
– water helps your body transport oxygen and nutrients to cells and waste products away from cells.
Staying hydrated therefore also reduces effort for your heart. As you dehydrate, your blood becomes thicker meaning your heart has to work harder to pump it round the body
– need to improve your digestion and reduce that bloated look?
– ensuring you are taking on enough water means your body has sufficient to dissolve waste particles along the digestive tract and then, in conjunction with sufficient fibre in the diet, makes it easy to pass stools regularly and easily.
When you become dehydrated, your body will use this water for other processes making going to the loo more uncomfortable and difficult and also giving you that bloated tummy look
– water detoxifies the body
Your body has 4 means of getting rid of toxins: urination, defection, respiration and perspiration and, guess what? They all require water!
Keeping hydrated ensures your body has enough fluid to expel what it doesn’t need and might otherwise cause illness in some way shape or form
– reduce stress – your body does not distinguish between different forms of stress.
To your body, stress is stress, wherever it comes from.
Dehydration is a form of stress to your body because, as you can see from above, it affects your brain and body’s ability to function.
So how much do you need on a daily basis?
You’ll probably have heard of the 8 glasses of water “rule”. I have 3 issues with this rule:
There are also guidelines available on the internet that are based on differences in your bodyweight over a few days. I find this method unhelpful because weighing yourself daily is something I positively discourage (that’s a whole other article!) and will not necessarily work for those trying to reduce their size.
The rule of thumb I use for myself and my family is 1 litre of water for every 25kg of your bodyweight. So I aim for my boys to have about 3/4L per day and I take in between 2 and 2 ½ Litres per day depending on whether I’ve exercised or not.
To start with, monitor and measure how much fluid of all kinds you take in over a 3-4 day period. This will show your average daily fluid intake and also whether you tend to rely on caffeinated or fizzy drinks for your fluids. Reducing these in favour of filtered water will help your energy levels in the long term.
Work out your fluid level based on your bodyweight:
bodyweight (kg) / 25 = fluid requirement in Litres