Happy Belated Fourth of July! I hope everyone is enjoying the company of friends and family! When you are out and about playing in the beautiful sunshine and warm weather, I can't help but stress how important it is to get adequate water intake.
Those of you who know my approach will probably remember that several of your major detoxifying organs and all of your cells rely on having adequate water. Our bodies are made up of about 80% water!!!!!
***The skin detoxifies via sweat- so get out there and move your bodies in this heat but be sure to drink water to replenish your supplies and rinse your skin off after a healthy sweat to prevent reabsorption of toxins.
***The kidneys filter your blood of toxins and excrete toxins via urine. Adequate water is required to replenish stores or else your body will conserve fluid and thus not flush out as many toxins. You should be going to the bathroom every 2 hours while you are awake (you shouldn't have to wake at night to pee- ask me more about this in an appointment). Urinating 6-8 x/ day is optimal.
***The bowels require adequate fluid to keep the stool moving. Your stool should be soft but formed. If your stool is lumpy and cracked or if you are constipated, it is probably dry because you don't have enough water in your diet. The colon is the major place for water absorption in you digestive tract. Keep your colon healthy!!! Drink your water!!!
My recommended water intake is 50% of your body weight (in pounds) in fluid ounces per day. So if you weigh 200 lbs, then you should be drinking 100 ounces of water. That is just a few glasses short of a gallon of water! If you have an outdoor or very physically demanding job where you are sweating more than the average person, than you may need even more than that! Also if you smoke, eat a lot of sugar, drink coffee or alcohol than you should be drinking more water. Coffee and alcohol are diuretic- they make you pee and smoking and eating poorly requires more flushing of toxins.
Herbal teas count as water so go ahead and make yourself some cooling mint sun tea and enjoy!
Hope this note finds you well! Please be safe out there while you are enjoying the fun activities of summer!
Dr. Kerri
