With our bodies being made up of 60-75% water, it’s no wonder that our daily water intake affects our health! Too much could result in mineral imbalance and too little could cause dehydration, headaches and fatigue.
As a general guideline, we hear “half your body weight in ounces of water daily” as a good place to start. Yet bio-individuality applies to water consumption just as it does with food. Other lifestyle factors should be considered.
For example, water intake should be increased during the following circumstances:
-hot or humid temperatures (Floridian spring, fall and summer!)
-higher altitudes
-before/during exercise
-acute illness, fever, diarrhea, vomiting
-bladder or urinary infections
-pregnancy/breast feeding
-caffeine or alcohol consumption
While tap water is the most readily available, it is not the safest. Found in tap water are chlorination by-products, bacteria, lead, fluoride, and even measurable amounts of pharmaceutical medications!
I did a little research myself while replacing the water filter on my refrigerator this week. I found that my filter removes any odd taste and may reduce some of the contaminants. Not very affirming since I also found out this week through some testing, that my body has been accumulating fluoride (a neurotoxin) found in most water supplies.
Curious about how your water could be affecting your health? You can research your city’s Consumer Confidence Report put out by the EPA to see if home filtration is warranted.
Distilling or boiling water is helpful for killing bacteria; however, it does not remove medications or heavy metals and it also removes naturally occurring minerals that are beneficial.
If you choose to filter at home, it’s helpful to know what contaminants you are wanting to filter when choosing a filter type.
Here at North Florida Naturopathic, we recommend Berkey water filters as these are black carbon filters which eliminate 100% of the contaminants listed above while sparing minerals and being easy to maintain!
Lastly, for those who welcome the convenience of plastic water bottles. Most, plastics are produced using bisphenol A (BPA), a toxic chemical that mimics estrogen in our bodies. Hot temperatures cause plastics to leach even more BPA into the water, which always results in a negative impact on hormonal balance. So please consider using glass, stainless steel or ceramic to carry your water in especially on warmer days.
Know what you’re drinking so you can truly drink to your health!
