I’ve known for awhile that I don’t drink enough water. Fact. I don’t dislike water—even though our community water smells and tastes like boiled (some say rotten) eggs, because it has more than its fair share of sulfur. So I actually do dislike our water. The only municipal water I’ve tasted that was worse (though not sulfuric) was in Buellton, California, years ago. Couldn’t even brush our teeth, it was so bad! (No offense, Buellton—we liked you, just not your water). Hopefully it has improved, as ours has through the years.
Although visitors to our town can still taste our sulfuric water in the ice in some restaurants, I guess I’ve developed a little bit of tolerance for it. But that doesn’t mean I like it. Give me filtered or bottled water every time.
I’m not one of those who needs to add lemon or strawberries or whatever to make water palatable. It’s just fine as is, though better with ice than without. I like agua fria—cold water. (I’ve heard lukewarm substances sometimes get “spewed out of the mouth.”)
What’s one person’s luxury is another’s necessity
I once heard of a grandmother who was probably near the age of my own grandmother, who asked her granddaughter, “What ‘modern day luxury’ could you not live without?” After a little thought, while the granddaughter weighed the pros and cons of all her appliances, she answered, “probably my refrigerator.”
“Huh,” said Grandma. “I’d pick running water every time.” Perspective, right? And I am truly thankful for clean running water, especially after doing mission work in villages in Ghana, West Africa, where running water is more a dream than a luxury for many.
But after the “first-world problem” of being deprived for most of our lives of the luxury of filtered water flowing freely out of the door of our refrigerator, we finally have arrived and now have not just water, but crushed or cubed ice to boot. And I really hate to complain, but does everyone’s water come out in a maddeningly slow trickle, or is it just ours? (I know, the epitome of a “first-world problem.”) 🙄 Oh well—as they say, patience is a virtue.
Watch for falling water…
Our previous refrigerator spat ice out of the door for us (and sometimes at us), but not water. Except for that one time. We had friends staying with us for several days as the husband preached in our gospel meeting. I was at work one day and my husband was in our bedroom when he heard the wife in the kitchen: “Oh! Oh! Oh!” with increasing urgency. He came out to find Niagara Falls pouring out of the open freezer and flooding the kitchen. Being a very practical man, he turned off the water behind the fridge and sopped up the water. That was the end of our door-dispensed ice until we eventually got it fixed. Years later. 😕
But I digress…
“Hydration” seems to be one of the buzz words in self care these days. But as I mentioned, I’ve kind of been dragging my heels rather than jumping into the deep end. I kept thinking I’d just feel waterlogged all the time. And it seemed inconvenient to carry a water bottle around all day.
But that’s just an excuse. I carried a water bottle all over Ghana and all over Brisbane, Australia, so there’s that. And frankly, it’s just not that hard to keep water handy. And if it’s nearby, I tend to just keep sipping away until next thing I know, I’ve downed the whole 32 ounces in my water bottle and it’s time to refill it!
Water, water, everywhere, and not a drop to drink
The opposite of hydration, of course, is dehydration. Kinda like the parched guy and his mule, Dan, in the old ballad “Cool Water,” sung by The Sons of the Pioneers and later by Marty Robbins. It goes, “All day I’ve faced a barren waste without the taste of water—cool water.” Poor guy keeps being tortured by mirages in that barren waste (you know, those shimmery shiny spots in the distance that look deceptively like water but aren’t). I’m pretty sure he was the definition of dehydrated.
If you’ve ever been dehydrated, you know it’s miserable. It can even land you in the hospital. But there is a lot of “water under the bridge” between dehydration and the recommended level of hydration. Before now, the only times I really felt I needed to up my water consumption was when I was preparing to have a blood test—because I am what they call a “hard draw.” Drinking extra water for a day or two before helps. A little.
Give it to me straight…
So I needed to know how much water to drink to give the health benefits that are possible. I’ve heard everything from 6-8 glasses a day to a gallon a day. That’s 128 ounces! 😲 That’s a lot! But whatever floats your boat (see what I did there? 😂)!
The plan I have decided to use has also been floating around the Internet (again with the puns! 😬), and it’s what my doctor daughter recommended to me (which carries a lot more weight than the Internet gurus). Drinking at least one ounce of water for every two pounds of body weight is optimal. That makes sense to me because everyone is unique, both in size and situation. So divide your body weight by two and drink that many ounces each day.
Another factor in water consumption is where you live, believe it or not. I live in a dry environment (not as dry as the one in “CoolWater,” but very dry, since we’ve been in drought conditions for quite a few years). So I need to make sure I’m drinking enough water. Also, as most people know, exercising requires drinking more water to replace what you’ve sweated out and the moisture exhaled through breathing hard. Everyone has different needs. If you want to be more precise with your intake, you can calculate how much you need based on your own lifestyle with this free hydration calculator.
Measuring up
In order to drink enough water, obviously you need to measure how much you’re drinking. Since my water bottle holds 32 ounces, I know just how many bottles I should drink per day. Sometimes I make the goal, and sometimes I don’t. It’s not something you should beat yourself up about. Just go for it again tomorrow. You can buy a water bottle that’s marked with time of day reminders, ounces, and even motivational sayings to help you power through. And if it helps you to add fruit to your water, go right ahead!
One step at a time
Some people work better by breaking anything they do into small steps. So it may help to calculate how much you need to drink per hour. Let’s say you weigh 150 lbs. (I wish!). You need to drink 75 ounces of water a day and you are awake for 16 hours average. Divide 75 by 16 and you find you need about 4.7 ounces every waking hour. To keep track, you could use a water habit tracker.
For me, I’m drinking water with most of my meals as well. It helps that when I had chemo 11 years ago I completely lost my taste for soda. Every now and then I try it again, but it does not taste good to me. And I used to love Dr. Pepper! 😢 Although I miss soda, my taste bud rebellion has made it easy to make the healthier choice to drink water or unsweetened tea (if you’re from the South, that’s “sweet tea” without the sugar, in which case what’s the point, amiright? 😂). Hydration also can come from other beverages, as well as water-rich foods, soups, and broths.
Every physiological function in our bodies needs water. Since we are roughly 60% water, drinking that pure liquid helps us regenerate. (We don’t turn into someone else when we regenerate, however, like Doctor Who does! That’s probably a good thing.) But most people don’t drink enough water. I am working on being one of those in the 22% listed below. I’m a rebel who wants to turn those stats on their ear! Although I’m unclear exactly how stats are turned on their ear. Do they even have an ear? Inquiring minds want to know! 🧐
Meanwhile…
A study regarding the behaviors and attitudes associated with low drinking water intake among U.S. adults, with a sample size of 3,397 adults discovered:
7% of adults reported zero consumption of drinking water
36% reported consuming only about 1 to 3 cups of water
35% reported consuming between 4 to 7 cups
22% reported drinking 8 cups or more.
This study concluded that participants aged 55 years or older were likely to be drinking less than 4 cups of water daily. However, there are many ways one can get their daily fluid intake. It can be by consuming fruits or vegetables as well. Still, pure and calorie-free water is the healthiest way to keep yourself hydrated.
https://earthandhuman.org/benefits-of-drinking-water/
A slew of benefits
Water can also help you lose weight. It speeds up metabolism, and it helps you feel full (especially if you drink a glass first thing in the morning and before each meal). It also aids digestion. In fact, there’s a whole slew of health benefits from drinking water, including but not limited to those listed here.
Side note: I wanted to make sure I spelled “slew” correctly, not to be confused with “slough” which rhymes with “through,” or “slough” which rhymes with “rough.” Those two are really confusing since they’re spelled the same, and neither means “slew.” Then there’s the past tense of “slay” which is also “slew” but definitely not what we’re talking about here. Anyhoo… where was I? Oh yeah! I Googled “whole slew” and found this ⬇️. (All the water examples made me happy!)
“Hypernyms (“whole slew” is a kind of…): large indefinite amount; large indefinite quantity (an indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitude) Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of “whole slew”): deluge; flood; inundation; torrent (an overwhelming number or amount).”
http://www.audioenglish.org/dictionary/whole_slew.htm
Not actually being personally acquainted with the terms “hypernyms” and “hyponyms,” and being a word nerd 🤓, I also looked those up. And you can, too, if you want to know what they are. You don’t expect me to tell you everything I know, do you? 😉
Stressed? Who, me?
Now just when you think water only helps our physical health, along comes someone like me to tell you that it’s well documented that it also helps with stress. And I’m all about stress. Stress relief, that is. In fact, that’s one reason I decided to up my water intake. I’m pretty experienced at coping with stress, but it never hurts to have more tools in your toolbelt. Or more noodles in your pool. Whatever. 🤪
All of our organs need water to function properly. Even our brains, and if there’s anything that can help me keep my brain functioning as long as my body does, I want to give it a shot. My dad had Alzheimer’s, and I’d do just about anything to avoid that if possible. That’s stress on whooooooole nother level.
How it works
Studies have shown that being dehydrated by just 17 ounces (half a liter) can increase the levels of the stress hormone cortisol. 🤯 “When you don’t give your body the fluids it needs, you’re putting stress on it, and it’s going to respond to that,” according to Amanda Carlson, RD, director of performance nutrition at Athletes’ Performance, a trainer of world-class athletes. https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/water-stress-reduction.
When you face daily or chronic stress, your levels of cortisol increase. Cortisol also increases blood sugars, which is why stress can be a factor in diabetes. Stress and dehydration can both cause increased heart rate, nausea, fatigue, headache. In fact in the list of the benefits of hydration above, you’ll notice several are related to stress as well.
My kingdom for a drink…of water!
If you’re dehydrated, your body isn’t functioning the way it was designed to function. And that can lead to stress. You get dehydrated when you’re under stress, because your heart rate is up and you’re breathing more heavily, so you’re losing fluid. And when you’re stressed, it’s easy to forget to drink enough water. And next thing you know you’re in a vicious stress/hydration cycle. If you can remain hydrated, your brain stays more in touch. This helps you cope more easily with the stressors in your life.
If all this makes you feel like a fish out of water (okay, I’ll stop now), you’re quite possibly dehydrated. In fact, if you’re thirsty at all, you’re probably dehydrated. I suggest you go pour yourself a tall drink of water (couldn’t help myself! 🤦♀️)
Also, let me know if you want to join me in liquidating your life a little more. And don’t forget to sign up below to receive my emails. I promise I won’t flood your inbox (😏) or spam you. I usually email every couple of weeks or so, and you can even unsubscribe if you aren’t feeling the vibe.
Will the real Agua Fria please stand up?
Just FYI, I actually had in mind to write this blog post about water and then segue cleverly into the story of the old gold-rush settlement of Agua Fria up in the Sierra Nevadas near Mariposa. Hence the title. I’ve actually been writing the great American novel about Agua Fria for about 43 years on and off 😬, so I’ve done a fair bit of research both on- and off-site. But I think I’ll tackle that another time. It deserves its own post! Or its own book, as the case may be. If you’d like to read a little about the real Agua Fria, let me know in the comments.
Now go drink some agua fria!
