-By Sebastian Curatore (Holistic Personal Trainer)
We all need water to survive, but how much do we know about the water we are drinking? How much water should we drink ? And Is Bottled water all its stacked up to be?
As a Personal Trainer i am frequently asked this question . It seems there is some confusion over what to drink as much as there is what to eat these days. Therefore I’d like to take the opportunity to clarify a few things regarding water…
The Water Myth
Drinking 2-3 litres of water daily to maintain optimal health is indeed a myth. We need to keep in mind that we achieve hydration through food and other beverages as well, so to drink another 2-3 litres on top of that is simply overkill, I believe. Yes the kidneys benefit from water as it makes the removal of toxins easier. Yes drinking water can also aid the weight loss process. You might want to also check with your doctor whether excess water is wise, especially if you suffer from high blood pressure, swelling of the lower limbs or a heart condition.
The only time I really suggest drinking more water is when you’ve had too many caffinated drinks (water will aid the flushing of caffine) or have undergone or are undergoing intense bouts of physical exercise (water will replenish what is lost through sweating as well as hydrate you during exercise)
Unfortunately there is no firm rule as to how much water to drink daily and as you can imagine, the ideal intake would differ for everyone because we are all different weights, hieghts and carry different metabolisms. The most sensible thing to do would be to assess your water in terms of quality rather than quantity.
Quality & Cost of Water
Quality of water, its simple, tap water comes with additives not intended by nature. Flouride & chlorine are present in our water and in many cases brass fittings in our houses are leaking lead and copper into our supply.
Recently I was in Europe and I couldn’t help but notice that nobody trusts what comes out of a tap even though experts claim that tap water is safe to drink. Every bar and restaurant has a filter attached to its supply and filters are changed regularly. People only drink filtered water through a tap or via a bottle, NOBODY reuses water bottles because bottles of water cost next to nothing to buy across Europe.
Unfortunately there is a big price tag on quality bottled water here in Australia . So for anyone simply trying to look after their health it only makes sense to take matters into your own hands and install a water filter in your own home. This will give you fresh filtered water every time you want it. Collect some glass bottles and refill them time and time again full of purified filtered water for you and the whole family. Most of all it really costs next to nothing over the long term. It works out to be a few cents per litre and you won’t ever regret it.
For anyone wanting to know more about health and fitness or this article, feel free to give me a call Sebastion from Posture Link on 0412 558 978, mention this article for a free 30 minute personal training session and an over the phone no obligation chat about your fitness.
