Warm Weather Is Here: Stay Hydrated, Easy Solutions

If there´s one thing on your summer "to do" list, it should be getting plenty of water every day.

Summer is here, and it´s good to get in the habit of staying hydrated as the weather gets warmer. Not only is water the essential element for life, but also it´s crucial to the thriving energy levels that you need for your fun spring activities! (At 2% dehydrated, which is when you just start to feel thirsty, your energy is reduced 20-30%!)

Here´s why we need water...

• Water is the most important component of your body. Your body is about 66% water, your brain 75%, your bones 25%, your blood 83%, and your muscles over 70%. That´s a lot of water, folks!
• Water is also your number one detoxifier, essential for flushing out waste products.
• In addition, water transports nutrients to all tissues, regulates body temperature, supports all chemical reactions, maintains the body´s pH balance, energizes, helps you burn fat and increases your metabolism.
• And then there´s the fact that dehydration leads to memory loss! Getting ready for a test or a big day at work? Drink some water!
• Dehydration also causes cholesterol to stick to your arterial walls, increasing your risk of heart disease.
• And get this... you can survive a month without food, but only a week without water!

But getting enough pure water seems like a chore!

To simplify, let´s look at how we can make it easier to get pure water But first, let´s examine how much water we need daily.

How Much Pure Water You Need Each Day?

Divide your body weight by 2 and that´s how much pure water in ounces you need each day. For example, if weigh 150 pounds, you need at least 75 ounces.

Never rely on thirst as an indicator of when to drink water. By the time you feel thirsty, you´re already 2% dehydrated!

Easy Ways To Get Enough Pure Water Each Day

Here are tips to get you to drink more water as well as new pure water options to explore.

• Steady flow. Drink one 8-12 oz cup of pure water every hour that you´re awake. Your body can only absorb about 4-6 ounces at a time anyway.
• Easy access. Keep pure water in sight and on-hand – in your office, backpack, handbag, gym bag, travel bag, kitchen, bedroom, hotel room and car.
• Mix up the temperature. Try room temperature water or drink it with ice or chilled in the fridge. Feel a chill coming on? Try a warm cup of herbal tea with pure water. It can even be comforting and the tea doesn´t take away from your hydration (see below).
• Fresh flavor. Add slices of lemon, orange, or strawberry to your water or experiment with other fresh flora like fresh mint or even lavender.
• Teatime. Try herbal teas like green tea, chamomile, mint, Bengal spice, licorice, apple cinnamon, yerba mate, chai, earl grey, and other decaffeinated teas. Drinking tea counts towards daily water intake as long as it´s made with pure water. (Green tea is a great natural energizer and has been shown to enhance metabolism and fat burning, which is why it´s in our Greenergy superfood powder.)
• Pre-flavored water. Try various brands of flavored water. Just be sure it doesn´t contain sugar or artificial sweeteners.
• Sparkling water. Sparkling water counts as pure water. It can be flavored but not sweetened, and the carbohydrate content should be zero.
• Distilled water. Distilled water was rated purest by the National Science Foundation (2–12 parts per million contaminants).
• Spring water. Most bottled water is bottled from spring water but some brands use filtered tap water and are not very pure. Always check labels.
• Filtered tap water. Most tap water contains toxic contaminants, including antibiotics, hormones, chlorine, fluoride, herbicides, and pesticides. To use tap water (or well water), you need a high quality reverse osmosis filtration system or distillation system. Reverse osmosis is the best of the filtered waters (rated second purest by the National Science Foundation).