Hydrating better with healing herbs and tea is great so learn how best to use them for positive hydration. Use the following guide to help your choices.
How Much Should You Drink?: We’ve all heard it a million times: Drink more water! But when your liquid poison of pleasure is soda, wine, coffee or energy drinks, it’s too hard to go cold turkey. Being healthy doesn’t mean austere when you choose to drink a functional and gourmet beverage like tea or herbals. Actually, new research shows that tea, herbals and infused water help you hydrate more effectively than water. If you are in a health problem, wanting to lose weight, athletic or looking to keep your immune system strong, then hydrating more is better.
Common Poor Hydration Symptoms: Headaches, hunger, thirst, muscle cramps, dizziness, tired, constipation, dark or smelly urine, dry mouth, dry skin, irritated/dry eyes, dry lips, weight gain, rapid heart-beat, irritability, anxiety, sunken eyes, low energy, easy to get colds/flu, confusion/poor focus, bad breath, kidney stones, and sugar cravings.
Did you know that dehydration can alter your brain shape and affect its activity to slow down its task performance? That is what a study conducted by a group of scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology has shown. It revealed that dehydration can swell up a part of the brain, intensify neural signaling and make it difficult for your brain to do monotonous/focused tasks. Most people are prone to acute dehydration, which can be resolved by resting and drinking water. But sometimes dehydration recurs for longer periods, regardless of how much you’re drinking. This condition is called chronic dehydration, and simply drinking more water won’t help. You need electrolytes (potassium, calcium, sodium, chloride, phosphate and magnesium). Electrolytes are minerals in your body that have an electric charge. They are in your blood, urine, tissues, and other body fluids. Electrolytes are important because they help balance the amount of water in your body and balance your body's acid/base (pH) level.
Urination: You should be peeing at least 5 times a day. It helps you to take a 5-minute break from screen time or other daily busy routines in addition to being basic good health. Follow the Boy Scout Test for hydration: nearly colorless urine.
The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that daily fluid intake is:
Men: About 15.5 cups/124 oz/3.7 liters or 12.5 cups/96 oz/2.8 liters if eating 5+ servings fresh fruit and veg a day
Women: About 11.5 cups/92 oz/2.7 liters or 9.2 cups/74 oz/2.2 liters if eating 5+ servings fresh fruit and veg a day
