A Lifestyle of Dietary Excellence and Optimal Habits

This year I want to practice a lifestyle of Dietary Excellence and Optimal Habits. I know I can’t just “DO” it, that it may take a few small steps along the way, but if I take those small steps, I know I’ll succeed!

What does it really mean, to live a life embracing Dietary Excellence and Optimal Habits? And what does it mean when we say, “I’m healthy, my doctor says I’m doing just fine.”? Don’t we really mean that on the outside, and/or through whatever tests might have been done, that we present as if we are healthy? But what about what’s going on inside that hasn’t presented itself yet? Disease doesn’t just happen over night, most of it took years to begin to show us some symptoms; when we present with cancer we will have had it for about ten years!

Do you know for instance, that 1.1 million Americans have a heart attack every year and that of those, 500,000 die each year? Many of those that died experienced their first heart attack, and many of them had recently had a physical, where they were told by their doctors, “You’re doing great, so keep on doing what you’re doing, and I’ll see you next year.”…only next year for them never came.

I could go on and add a number of other sobering statistics, statistics not only about American adults, but statistics that include how unhealthy our children are, however, I don’t want to focus on the negative…so let’s move on to what we can do to increase our health, beginning with today.

Let’s begin with water and our need to be properly hydrated: here’s an easy rule of thumb for finding out how much water is the right amount for you: Let’s say you weigh 100 pounds; divide your weight in half (50 lbs.). That amount in ounces (50 oz) is what your body needs each and every day to maintain optimal cellular hydration. So, since most of us weigh more than 100 lbs, generally speaking, if you’re not drinking at least 64 oz of water each day, you are probably dehydrated. For me, this represents my greatest challenge, and where I fall short of my goal to live a lifestyle of “Optimal Habits” more often than not! My New Year commitment to myself is to follow through and drink those 64 oz every day!

You might ask, why do we need so much water? Here are some of the reasons: Our body is 75% water! That water needs to be replenished and is “lost” every minute of every day, through many normal bodily functions. Our brain is 85% water; our bones are 22% water!

Water is so important to our body that a mere 5% drop in water levels can cause a 25-30% loss of energy. Mild dehydration can cause the metabolism to slow down by as much as 3%. Those who may want to lose weight (like myself), will want to pay attention to this! A 2% drop in fluid levels can cause fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math or difficulty focusing on a printed page or computer screen. Want to help your kids make better grades? Get them to drink more water! And a 15% drop is enough to cause death! And we’re talking WATER, not coffee, tea, soft drinks, etc. as these are, among other things, diuretics that cause water to be removed from the body….water alone replenishes the vital fluids our bodies need.

It is estimated that 75% of Americans are dehydrated, and that 37% of Americans have a thirst mechanism so weak it is mistaken for hunger. You see, when we begin to disregard the normal bodily “triggers” or reminders, such as those telling us “it’s time to drink some water” our body, over time, turns them off, and tries to find some other way of telling us.

Health Rule number one for the New Year:

1. Drink half your body weight in ounces, of water, every day.

. Until next time…”Drink to Life” and make it WATER! Joi XO

For more information go to: www.JoiLin4Health.com
Contact me at: JoiLin@JoiLin4Health.com