So I have been fairly preoccupied lately but I’m still lurking around!!
Have been spending the last couple of weeks on the Gold Coast and Byron Bay, hanging with about 6 of my closest low fat raw vegan friends. There is so much fruit around here at the moment – plenty of melon, mangoes, bananas, papayas…also the boys have been tucking into DateOrade (soaked blended dates with lots of water).

Also I just spent a few days with my dad and he is now cooked vegan for the next few weeks! Touch down! That’s 4 members of the family vegan so far….one to go…

Today I’m going to explore the importance of adding pure water to our diets. I remember once reading an interview when I was about 15 years old with SuperModel Elle McPherson… in the interview Elle was talking about her morning routine, I remember her saying she downed 2 litres of water first thing, since then I have been much more focused on hydration and consistenly drink 1 litre of water on rising followed by another 1-2 litres throughout the day.

Why add water?

Well our bodies are around 75% water – every one of our cells, our tissues and organs need water to function optimally.

So water makes up almost 3/4 of our bodies total weight! Ironically this water level is equal to many fruits and also to the planets water balance. The brain is about 85% water (shrivelled prune anyone?), bones 35% water, blood 83% water and the liver 90% water. Apparently 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated

We no longer live in a tropical rainforest environment where we would’ve received a good portion of our water requirements from the environment via our largest organ – our skin.

The main dehydrating factors to consider these days….

- environmental pollution – cars, factories, airplanes etc
- Cooked food, put a biscuit through a juicer and see how much juice you get….now try an orange..
- Air conditioning and heating – we lose about 120mls every hour we sit in this artificial environments
- Makeup
- Household chemicals, paints
- Chemical dyes in clothing
- Negative emotions
- Prescription and recreational drugs
- Getting burnt

A teeny 2% drop in our body’s water supply can spell dehydration. If you’re doing any kind of physical exercise, you’ll need more water to replace the loss from sweat.

I’m happy to report that mainstream medical opinion seems to remain strong on recommending adults drink eight glasses of water a day…but it’s important to remember, if you’re an active person, if you’re unwell, eating dehydrating gourmet raw foods or breastfeeding, your water requirements will be much higher.

Yes eating fruit keeps us more hydrated than a cooked or gourmet raw food diet but we also need water for waters sake and fruit only cannot provide us sufficiently.

Water is amazing as it works to energise every cell and organ in the body. It is crucial to every bodily operation and when we become dehydrated, the body instinctively begins to ration water to each organ.

Enzymes, hormones and coenzymes are all dissolved in watery body fluids and act on metabolites (amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals) that are similarly dissolved.

Unfortunately it’s a very rare occasion to get written a script for water!! Obviously recommending water as a solution doesn’t pay the bills.. It’s a shame when you look at all the ailments water has been associated with treating: allergies, asthma, depression, high blood pressure, diabetes, headaches, chronic fatigue syndrome, colitis, alcohol dependency, lower back pain, neck pain, and on and on.

How can you tell if you need to drink more water?…
One simple indicator DR and myself like to use is urine colour, it may not be foolproof but it has proven to be very accurate, if there is an odour, or a strong colour, you’re not drinking enough water. Rather than get to this stage make sure are drinking at least 2 litres a day, of course this amount can increase significantly depending on many factors, a few including climate, exercise and individual health history.

If you want more “pure” thoughts then I suggest you keep yourself hydrated! Water is a perfect conductor of electricity and this becomes important in the day to day operation of our bodies. This electrical potential of brain chemistry must be present for any of our “thoughts” to take place. Remember that no matter how purified and clean the water is you drink, careless words and thoughts can destroy beauty-full crystals formed within.

Some water facts…

- Water is the adhesive that bonds your cell structure.

- Enables food to be metabolised optimally

- Keeps wrinkles at bay & a shrivelled prune brain!

- Water is such a miracle! It acts as a solvent for waste products like carbon dioxide, urea and various electrolytes that the body excretes. Water is necessary for the safe transport of these waste products to and from all cells of the body.

- Enzymes, (an important part in the healing capacity of your body), only function optimally when we have enough water. Enzymes in our stomach need to bathe in water before they are activated in preparation for digestion.

- If you enjoy having soft skin, efficient eliminatory system and a sharp brain then i suggest you get enough water!!

- Water is the bodies lubricant

- Water forms the fluids that surround the joints.

- If you want to drop Kg’s quickly (for health reasons) then drink more water & cut salt out completely! When our systems receive enough water then fluid retention decreases, a long with an improvement in gland and hormone functions

- Water helps to clear up constipation by moving food through the intestinal tract and thereby eliminating waste- the best detox agent.

- If you are having mental challenges or concentration problems then there is a good chance you are dehydrated. Migraines and head aches are a sure sign of a dehydrated system. I am much happier when I am hydrated, try it.

- Water forms the base for saliva

- Water regulates the body temperature, as the cooling and heating is distributed through perspiration.

Our health is only as good as our weakest link so if you are dehydrated make sure you start drinking much more water so you are peeing clear 8-12 times a day! I truly believe that before true health can occur we need to be properly hydrated.

Water is the only element known to man and womyn that exists naturally in all three of the following states:
* in a “solid state” such as ice,
* in a “liquid state” as water
* in a “gaseous state” as vapor.
These different water “states” have been absolutely essential to the development of our world, plants, foods, bodies, health…not to mention the part the play in our heating, cooling, power and our electricity…(I suggest you stay out of heating and airconditioning as much as possible if your aim is to increase your hydration).

So Nobel Prize-winner George Wald, had a strong belief that our Universe was designed to support life. He came to this conclusion through his study on the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.

He has been quoted as saying ...”They all have unique properties that fit the job and are not shared by any element in the periodic system and LIFE everywhere has to be made of some combination of these four simple building blocks.”

The solution to pollution is dilution! Sooo Drink up! P.S – The Sea Shephard is one of my hero’s…
Keep it sweet & juicy