Make sure you are drinking enough water

                                 Water App to Stay Hydrated

Staying hydrated is key to a healthy body. I check hydration frequently with my patients especially patients who are detoxing because the toxins that are purposely being pulled out also need to be flushed out.  If toxins are not being flushed out detox symptoms can occur and include headaches, skin rashes, constipation, diarrhea, irritability, fatigue, trouble sleeping, or feeling like you are getting a cold.  The reasons why detox symptoms can occur is because there is more being pulled out of the cells and tissues, running around in your bloodstream faster than it can actually be pulled into the liver, broken down and eliminated out through the kidneys or bowels.  The health benefits of drinking water including

• carrying nutrients and oxygen to your cells
• flushing bacteria from your bladder
• aiding digestion
• preventing constipation
• normalizing blood pressure
• stabilizing the heartbeat
• less joint stiffness
• better memory
• regulating body temperature
• maintaining electrolyte (sodium) balance.

It is said to drink 8 glasses of water a day but I think everyone's optimal water intake is a very personal amount based on their age, activity level and their current health status.  Over the years I have seen a trend of how much water people tend to need on a daily basis and if I was to put a number on it I would suggest for the average adult we need to drink 2 liters, which is about 8 glasses of 8 ounces of water a day.

For a lot of people this can be difficult to do for it does not include any caffeinated, fruit or sugary drinks.  So it would only include water or herbal tea. Caffeinated or sugary drinks not only add to your water intake but also deplete more water than they put in, causing dehydration so if you have a cup of caffeinated tea you would want to do 9 glasses of water to make up for it.  There is an art to making sure you are drinking enough water and that's why an app to keep track can be a good idea.  A free app, such as Daily Water, is good at recording how much water you drink plus you can set reminders to make sure you drink your daily 2 liters.  You can actually set it to any daily amount and also email me the data too!