How Much Water Should You Really Drink?

I got a question the other day from Tim asking

“How much water do I need daily? One “expert,” says 8-10 glasses and another expert says “drink only when thirsty” – what should I do?”

So this is a very important topic because for you to survive and live, you NEED 3 things, in this order of importance:

1. Air (oxygen) – without it you die in minutes.
2. Water (hydration) – without it you’d die in a few days.
3. Food (calories) – without it you’d die in about a week or so.

Based on this, water is obviously very important.

So the fact is you don’t “need” much water to SURVIVE.

You can get it primarily from the foods you eat, assuming you have a healthy diet.

In fact, I know plenty of people who NEVER have a glass of water and haven’t had any in years and years.

They may have coffee, tea, soda, juice, “energy drinks”, alcohol and so forth – but NEVER a drop of water.

It tastes “disgusting” to them!!?

However, some of these “non-water drinking” people I know, also happen to be very close to me — friends and family. And over the years, the following has happened.

1. One deals with kidney stones.
2. One has colon cancer.
3. One has acid reflux.
4. One has painful cramps, especially at night, and during sleep.
5. One is constantly tired and fatigued and has adrenal problems.
6. One has polycystic kidney disease.
7. One is obese.
8. One is diabetic.
9. One has a uric acid disease.
10. One has headaches and migraines, often.
11. One is always constipated and needs to take laxatives daily.
12. One has high blood pressure.

… well, you get the point.

And no, I’m not making this up.

I actually sat down and took notes because as I thought of one person and their health ailment, another one popped in my head, and then another and so forth.

However, I’m only reporting to you the people that I’ve known personally over the past few decades.

And of course, there are probably thousands of people who don’t have health problems and never drink water….

Or MAYBE THEY DO, but they don’t think the cause of their health problems is simply due to the lack of water consumption???

Thus, NOT drinking any water MAY cause health problems… if not already, probably EVENTUALLY one day.

Just remember though, your goal in life is not to “get by” or “survive”. You should be THRIVING.

Is “Thirst” A Good Signal?

Some people/experts will say “thirst is a good signal”. Maybe… but, probably not.

Thirst is usually an indicator that you are or will soon become dehydrated.

Some will argue with a silly “study” saying otherwise or that there isn’t “conclusive evidence”, but I disagree.

Besides, how many people are really cognizant and in-tune with their body to really, stop, and take note when they’re thirsty and then to take immediate action and drink some water?

Very few!

In fact, as I’m saying this, I noticed I’m now thirsty. But I’m not going to stop what I’m doing right now just to get some water.

And guess what, the feeling of being “thirsty” will soon pass and then I will have forgotten all about it.

However, that does NOT mean my body magically got hydrated.

It just means I’ve ignored it because I’m busy or getting water wasn’t convenient for me at that moment I “felt thirsty”.

Also, when someone actually feels thirsty, they rarely go get a cup of water. They’ll usually drink some other type of liquid or beverage.

And IF they do get some water, they typically drink just a little bit, a couple of “gulps” or “sips” … just enough to wet their mouth, but NOT to hydrate their body.

Can You Get Water From Food?

This brings up the other issue that some “experts” will say about how you can get your water from the foods you eat and other beverages.

But that’s not how the body works.

Don’t think for a second that the water in your protein (meat, chicken, fish, eggs) or your favorite beverage (coffee, tea, soda, juice, alcohol) is going to do or replace… what clean, purified water will do for your body and health.

This is just utterly stupid.

ALL animals drink water, every single day IF they have access to it.

And their diets are healthier than ours because they typically DO have a lot more plants, vegetables, and fruits, which contain more water.

They also don’t have any other kind of “beverage” – like energy drinks or coffee or soda or alcohol — which are all acidic, full of chemicals, and cause dehydration.

You don’t need to be a doctor to understand this and I’m sure you can agree with this – it just makes logical sense!

Clean water is an essential nutrient and you can’t be replaced with something “like” it.

Clean Water Is Magical

Water is magical and has so many health benefits.

Whatever health ailment you have, drinking more water will help reduce the problem and could potentially just fix it.

The simple fact that it:

1. improves your blood volume and viscosity
2. flushes out toxins and keeps your organs healthier
3. boosts your energy levels and immune system

…is reason enough to increase your water intake.

Let alone improve skin, weight loss, better muscle contractions, improvement in hormone production, less joint pain, reduction of stress hormones, and so on and so forth.

Drinking more water is guaranteed to help you look and feel younger and allow you to THRIVE every day, rather than “get by” and survive.

So How Much Should You Drink?

So this sounds great, but how much water should you drink?

Before I answer this – I want to make it clear that you do NOT want to drink tap water because it’s high in toxins such as fluoride and chlorine. You want to drink purified water.

In regards to how much water you should think — Well, there are lots of factors… do you exercise, are in a warm climate, do you sweat, are you taking prescription drugs, what other beverages are you drinking and so forth.

Thus, some people will need more water than others.

But I typically say to people about half your body weight in ounces, especially if you are active.

So, if you weigh 150 lbs, you have 75 oz. There’s 8 oz to a cup and that comes out to 9 cups daily.

Of course, when I say this to people, they freak out and say:

• “There’s no way I can drink that much.”
• “If I have that much water, I’ll just be in the bathroom all day, peeing it out.”
• “Won’t that just wash away all of my minerals?”

So, let me address these questions.

First, the main goal is to just drink more water than you are today. If you’re only drinking 1 cup, try to get 2 cups daily. That’s a good start.

Heck, if because of today’s message the most you ever drink is just 3 cups daily, that’s still better than the 1 lousy cup you have been drinking. Your body will still make big improvements.

My point here is that just try to have more, that’s it.

As far as peeing out all the water, yes … this is true because the water will initially not get absorbed quickly enough.

But over time it will as your body adjusts to the increase in water consumption.

More importantly, I suggest you add some REAL salt into your water – such as Himalayan or Celtic. These salts have dozens of minerals, which will help HYDRATE your body and have the water get absorbed into your cells, rather than get immediately peed out in the bathroom.

And this also helps solve the mineral “dilution” you may have from drinking more water.

I also add in a little bit of Lemon juice for taste and you can even sweeten the water with natural Stevia Herb.

Summary

So there you have it – try to drink half your body weight in ounces. If that’s too much, just try to add one extra cup of water daily, every few weeks.

Purified water, Himalayan or Celtic salt, lemon juice, and stevia … just make a big jug and drink it throughout the day.