8 glasses of water a day or 2 litres of water a day IS A MYTH! It’s all about how, not how much.
For years, we’ve all been telling ourselves to drink more water. Setting goals for cups or litres per day. Buying water bottles with encouraging messages and measurements all aimed at getting in 2 litres per day or 8 glasses a day. But it’s not about how much water you drink. It’s about how you’re drinking it.
Dr. Dana Cohen is an Integrative Medical Practitioner who specialises in helping her patients stay off of medication through positive lifestyle and habit shifts. She, and her co-author Gina Bria, wrote Quench after years of research on proper hydration.
She writes, “The benefits of proper hydration can have a dramatic effect on your health, your vitality, and your overall quality of life.
Quench will help you determine how to hydrate the right way (hint: it doesn’t involve chugging a gallon of water every day), and then how to get the water you do drink deep into your muscles, cells, and fascia (the connective tissue of your body), where it’s needed most.”
If you’d like to learn more, especially if your 8-week challenge goal is drinking more water, I highly recommend her book and/or listening to the podcast (link below) or watching the linked YouTube video. Or reach out to Emma and Paul with questions! Emma has read her book and follows her recommendations daily.
Read — Quench the book is available from the library!
Listen — MindBodyGreen with Dr. Dana Cohen podcast
Watch — Optimal Hydration with Quench co-author Dr. Dana Cohen
Key takeaways:
1. There’s a 4th phase of water. The three you’ll be familiar with are liquid, ice, and vapour. The newly discovered phase is gel or “structured” water. By learning about this type of water, you can learn how to properly hydrate.
2. “Water has to cross over an oil-guarded barrier to get inside your cells. You can drink (water) all you want, but if water doesn’t get past this membrane hydration isn’t really happening.” If you’re only drinking plain, or “bulk”, water then you’re only solving part of the hydration puzzle. You’ll be properly flushing toxins out of your body but also flushing important electrolytes and minerals.
3. You have to replace electrolytes and minerals in order to properly hydrate your cells, muscles, and fascia! This can be done through hydration techniques and food. Listen to the podcast, watch the video, and/or read her book to learn how!
4. Over-hydration is a thing! And it’s dangerous.
Things you’ll hear about that are SIMPLE to implement —
How to assess if you’re actually hydrated.
Chia seed water
Natural electrolytes
Hydrating foods & smoothies
