Increasing Your Energy Step 2: Proper Water Intake

     Let me preface this article by explaining how the body works.  The body is a survival mechanism.  Its job is to keep you alive by any means necessary.  If the body is deficient in an area, it will hoard, strip, tear, and divide by any method possible in order to fill that need.  In the case of water, when your body is deficient, it will hoard every oz. of water that you consume and won't let it go.  It will only allow the water necessary to cool your body and to excrete waste.  This is why the contestants on the biggest loser lose 41 lbs. in their 1st week on campus.  It isn't that they have lost 41 lbs. of fat.  The truth is they lost 3-5 lbs of fat and 36-38 lbs. of water.  I will discuss weight loss and how it relates to water and fat at another time.

     I think if you were to walk up to just about anyone and ask if they drink water, they would probably say yes.  This however is definitely not the case.  The truth is that most people do not drink water and 75% of people in civilized countries are chronically dehydrated!  Why is this the case? We drink sodas, coffee, tea, sports drinks, beer, liquor, smoothies, Crystal Light, etc. all which are made from, to some degree, water; so that means we are getting enough water right? WRONG!! The truth is that most of those, if not all, of those products listed actually dehydrate you with the fillers that are in them.  Beer and liquor are depressants and cause dehydration as it hits the cerebellum.  Soda Products are loaded with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, or aspartame in diet drinks, and many other fillers which make your body work to clean out all the junk, further dehydrating you.  Coffee and teas have caffeine, which dehydrates you.  Even Crystal Light flavored water has fillers which are not only very bad for you, but also have a negative effect on hydration.  Water is water...period!

     I hear this everyday from my patients "But I don't like the taste of water!", " I don't want to drink water because I'll have to run to the bathroom all day.", "I only drink water that comes directly from a spring in Tennessee!" (ok the last one is from only one patient but you get the point).  This is an "acquired" taste that we must learn to love.  Water makes up over 75% of our body, and to decrease the ratio by any small degree can have major, and lasting, effects! Dropping 2% of your body water can cause lapses in memory, trouble with math and problem solving, eye focusing issues, and a host of other problems.  The body is the lubrication for our "machine".  Our joints need water to secret the synovial fluid which keeps our joints from wearing down.  Water gives our vertebral discs the cushion and height it needs to help our back with shock absorption.  Our muscles need water to conduct electricity  faster so we can respond to our brain's commands faster, thus increasing our performance.  I could go on forever on what water does for our body, but we would be here all day and I don't have time to write a book!

So what is the solution? How do we become better hydrated? Well, I have a formula that I try to follow.  How ever much you weigh, divide that number by 2, and drink that amount in oz of water.

Weight (lbs)/2 = water (oz) to drink

This, for some, may seem like A LOT of water, and in many cases it is, but this ensures us that we are getting adequate amounts of the water we need.  This may be too much for you to handle, and I completely understand, so I want you to try this: Try drinking 1 glass of water every hour, or if that's too difficult, every 2 hours.   I guarantee that this will be more water than many people normally consume. I challenge you all to give my method a try and see how you feel after a week.  Check the scale and see if you have lost a lb. or two, and let me know in the comments below. 

     Let me end by concluding the preface at the beginning of the article.  The body will try to obtain what it needs by any means necessary, but it will also let go any excess it doesn't need if it knows it has a continual supply.  So the more water you drink on a consistent basis, the less water you will hold and ultimately you will lose a good amount of weight and may be able to fit into those clothes you grew out of over the Christmas holidays. 


In Good Health,

Dr. Ara

Here are some dehydration facts for your information, if you would like the sources then just let me know.

1)In 1/3 of Americans, the thirst sensation is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.


2)Effects of MILD dehydration slows down metabolism as much as 3%.


3)For each 1% loss of water, there is a loss of 10% in exercise performance.


4)Research suggests that 8-10 glasses of water a day eases back & joint pain for 80% of sufferers.


5)A 2% drop in body water causes fuzzy memory, trouble with basic math, and problems focusing on a computer screen or printed page. Your brain desperately needs water to function at its best.


6)Drinking 5 glasses of water daily lessens the risk of colon cancer by 45%.