Home
>
Nutrition
>
The Face of the Waters

taxi from O'Hare Munster limo Chicago New Lenox Cadillac Escalade SUV rentals Melrose Park Cadillac Deville rentals Streamwood Barrington Hills town car ride to ohare .. Drug testing

The Face of the Waters

The story of creation begins with water. Water is an essential nutrient in our diet, but many people fail to address this important component of health. While part of the problem can be addressed by consuming foods such as fruits and vegetables that are naturally rich with water, taking in additional water is also important.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Genesis 1:1-2

An amazing discovery was made in 2003. Lurking far below the surface of the ocean, an unusual squid was sighted with 20-foot long tentacles. It is estimated that only a very small percentage of the planet has been explored, and most of that is under water! We constantly hear about the "secrets of the deep" - the amazing life forms that the ocean displays to us, but we forget about the magic of our own bodies. Water is essential for health and nutrition. A co-worker asked me the other day, "How much water should I be taking?"

More than 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by water (less than one percent of that water is suitable for human consumption). In excess of 75% of the human body is water. A coincidence? Maybe. When you measure your body fat, the amount of fat is called "fat mass" and the amount of remaining mass is called "lean mass." Many people mistake lean mass for muscle - in reality, the majority of that lean mass is water and skeletal tissue - typically less 1/8th is actual muscle mass!

In the human body, water lubricates joints and organs. It maintains muscle tone. Water keeps skin soft. Water regulates body temperature, filters out impurities, and keeps the brain working properly. Water transports nutrients to and from cells. While the human body can store energy as glycogen, fat, and tissue, it cannot "store" water - the body uses its own water supply and expects a constant resupply of fresh water to function. Water is critical in moving nutrients into and out of a cell, an action known as the "ion pump". When you take in the improper balance of sodium and potassium or do not drink adequate water, your body will increase a hormone and try to "retain" water by keeping your kidneys from filtering it. Ironically, one of the best ways to stop retaining water is to drink more water!

While humans can survive without food for several weeks (documented cases have shown lengths of up to two months), we can only survive a few days without water. Thirst is a signal that your body needs to be re-hydrated, but by the time you are thirsty it's already too late. Just a fraction of a percentage drop of your body's water supply can result into huge performance decreases. Even slight dehydration can be critical. In the recent sports season, a few deaths resulted from dehydration.

Contrary to popular belief, "chugging" a gallon of water is not going to provide your body with the water it needs. When too much water floods your system at once, your body will pass most of it on to your bladder, and only absorb a slight amount. Weight in the stomach is a signal for digestive processes to begin, and a number of biological chemicals enter your stomach and change the pH balance. This can result in indigestion and stomach pain. The best way to take water is to steadily sip it throughout the day. You should also eat plenty of fruits and vegetables - most of the produce you eat is filled with water, and the body can process this water very efficiently.

So - how much water? There are a million theories and equations. I've heard to drink "eight cups a day," which is better than nothing, but how can every adult, with so much variety of size, shape, metabolism, exercise habits, etc, require the exact same amount of water? Then there is the complicated equation that involves computing your basal metabolic rate and energy expenditure. I had to throw that one out, too - who wants to run a computer program every day just to figure out their water needs? I just prefer to drink like a fish and then I'm done with it. Just kidding.

What I've found is two ways for computing water intake that both work incredibly well. The first is a little too vague for some people to follow, but very effective - it is recommended by nutritionist Will Brink. Will says to drink enough water to have two or three absolutely clear urinations per day. If you do not have these clear urinations, then either you are not drinking enough water, are not eating healthily or have some type of infection or other illness. For a normal, healthy adult, two or three clear urinations is a great "ruler." If you do not have these, then increase your water intake until it happens.

If that is a little too general or explicit for you, another way is to take your weight and divide it in half. This is a "baseline" amount of ounces to drink every day. For every cup that you drink that is not water, drink a cup that is water. For every bout of exercise, drink a cup before and after, and one extra cup for every hour that you exercised (round up!). That's it. Let's take me as an example.

If I weighed in at 200 pounds, 200 / 2 = 100 ounces of water, or about 12 cups.

Let's say I also ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes. One cup before, one cup for the exercise, and one cup after is three cups total. 12 + 3 = 15 cups.

I drank two cups of coffee, so I should have two extra cups of water. 15 + 2 = 17.

That's it - today's water requirement for me is 17 cups! And I have no problem getting those in - I have an extra large mason jar that holds about 64 ounces. I fill these up and keep them full all day long. I sip them constantly. I probably end up drinking between one to two gallons today because I love my coffee and my exercise.

The type of water to drink is the subject of much debate. I prefer filtered tap water because of the potential for harmful agents in "raw" tap water - although many health gurus recommend tap water due to the fact that they provide plenty of vitamins and minerals. Keep in mind that if you drink too much non-filtered water, you may increase your chances of acquiring kidney stones if there are many foreign materials that your body has to filter out. When you look at a water filter before you toss it out, that is exactly what your body's filter - the kidneys - would have had to process as well. Distilled water is also an option.

Now go out and drink some water!

Jeremy Likness is an International Health Coach and motivational speaker. After losing 65 pounds of fat, he discovered his true vision to coach thousands around the world to better health. A Certified Fitness Trainer and Specialist in Performance Nutrition, Jeremy is the author of the internationally-selling e-Book, Lose Fat, Not Faith and the companion 5-CD set. Jeremy has been published in major online publications including Tom Venuto's Fitness Renaissance and Bodybuilding.com. Jeremy's approach is unique because he focuses on fitness from the inside out. Visit Jeremy online at Natural Physiques.

limousine chicago service

In The News:

If you're not lucky enough to live in the path of the May 20 "ring of fire" solar eclipse, you can still watch the spectacular event online.

If you plan it right, you could rent out your home on the Internet -- and use the money to take a free vacation of your own. These three websites will help you roll out the welcome mat.

A new app launched this weekend that will scan the faces of patrons in 25 bars across the city to determine their ages and genders. Would-be customers can then check their smartphones for real-time updates on the crowd size, average age and male-to-female mix to decide whether the scene is to their liking.

An oil company exploration crew's chance discovery of a 200-year-old shipwreck in a little-charted stretch of the Gulf of Mexico is yielding a trove of new information to scientists who say it's one of the most well-preserved old wrecks ever found in the Gulf.

They say patience is a virtue, but like temperance and chastity, it’s not much fun. Unfortunately, if you want to reach a state of true techstasy, you may need to repress your desire to buy a new gadget today and wait for the next version to come out.

Taxes, dental exams, cellphone contracts — things you hate but can't avoid. Actually, you can skip the last one. With prices on smartphones dropping and plenty of used smartphones for sale, BYOD — bring your own device — is now an option.

A turtle the size of a small car once roamed what is now South America 60 million years ago, suggests its fossilized remains.

A new private supply ship for the International Space Station remained stuck on the ground Saturday after rocket engine trouble led to a last-second abort of the historic flight.

A private spacecraft stands ready to launch on a historic first visit to the International Space Station early Saturday morning.

A new generation of super rich, super young tech entrepreneurs is upon us. And while some are barely old enough to rent a car, most could -- if they really wanted to -- buy a small island nation instead.

The small town of Monmouth in Wales (population: 8,807, according to Wikipedia) will become the world’s first “Wikipedia town” on Saturday, May, 19, Monmouth county officials said on Thursday. Every person, place, and thing of interest in the town can now be scanned by a smartphone and looked up on Monmouthpedia.

The 16th Annual Webby Award winners have been released, honoring websites, interactive advertising, online film & video, as well as apps.

Summer's almost here and that means kids will have a lot of time on their hands to surf the Internet. So you may be concerned about what they'll be looking at online. Fortunately most web browsers like Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer have easy to use privacy settings.

Apple was sued in March by a New York man who alleges that Apple’s Siri commercials are misleading and deceptive. Apple’s recommendation to Fazio: buy a different phone.

A new NASA survey has pinned down the number of asteroids that could pose a collision threat to Earth in what scientists say is the best estimate yet of the potentially dangerous space rocks.

Tech geeks across the Facebook empire celebrated the company’s IPO and their newfound millions by slugging back energy drinks at all-night code-writing parties.

Just two weeks after the huge "supermoon" wowed skywatchers around the world, the heavens will offer up another observing treat — a solar eclipse on May 20 that should be visible from much of western North America.

NASA has given SpaceX $381 million to develop a private rocket to replace the space shuttle -- and that’s just the tip of the money iceberg. The space agency plans multiple future grants ranging up to half a billion in the next year and a half. Is the $4.9 billion program worth it?

More than 900 million people worldwide check their Facebook accounts at least once a month, but millions more are Facebook holdouts.

Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin has closed a deal to invest in CrowdMob, an online discount start-up -- even as American politicians sought new rules to bar him (or anyone) from de-friending the United States in order to avoid taxes.

The Face of the Waters

Nutrition Nutrition