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Mom Was Right — Drink Water!

ByDr. Fraser

 

Let’s talk about water. When I was young and complained that I was thirsty and that there was nothing to drink, my mother often told me to drink water. Of course, I didn’t want water. I wanted juice or soda. A lot of times I got milk. For lunch she packed milk in my thermos. (Until a boy in my class knocked my whole lunch bag off the cafeteria table, breaking my thermos! Remember how the inside was always glass? There was no “unbreakable” stainless steel option. But that’s a whole other story). When I got to high school I had more freedom. Occasionally I bought chocolate milk but on most days I had a Coke. I drank Coke or juice for lunch and dinner through college, medical school and many years of residency training and lab research. When I reached my 30s I decided to eat a little “healthier”. I cut back on my Coke intake and drank more juice and iced tea. Well, now I’m older and smarter and I’ve checked the labels on some of those drinks. Sixteen ounces of my favorite brand raspberry iced tea contains 150 calories, 10 mg of sodium and 37 grams of carbohydrates — 36 of those carbohydrate grams from sugars. Think juice is better? That depends. Eight ounces of a well known cranberry juice, (another one of my favorites), contains 120 calories, 35 mg of sodium, and 30 grams of carbohydrates — all from sugars. No fiber and no protein in those calories.

One of the easiest things you can do to improve your brain health? Drink water. 80% to 90% of your brain, and about 75% of your body overall, is made of water. You can survive much longer without food than you can without water. Every function in your body depends on water. Your body is constantly losing water through sweat, urine and even breathing. In fact, the average adult loses more than 80 ounces of water each day. Some of the foods you eat do contain water, but if you don’t drink enough, you may become dehydrated. This will interfere with your cognitive abilities. Have you ever become dehydrated and felt that your thinking was cloudy? Like your brain was in a fog? Adequate hydration helps your brain and body function properly. You will be able to think faster and more clearly.

Have I mentioned the fact that water has no calories? It quenches your thirst without the calories in soda, juice, etc. If you’re trying to lose weight, drink a glass of ice water before a meal. You may find that it blunts your appetite, fills your stomach and helps you eat less. Drinking water before a workout will help you get more out of the workout and avoid becoming dehydrated.

Here are some other ways that water helps you stay healthy…

  • One of the most important roles for water is to control body temperature and keep it from getting too high. Heat illness includes heat cramps and heat exhaustion which are relatively mild. Heatstroke is a severe, life threatening emergency. Especially vulnerable are the very young, seniors, anyone with heart disease, and people who take medicines that keep them from sweating properly.
  • Water provides lubrication and cushioning for your joints. This is especially helpful if you have arthritis.
  • If you have gout, water helps dilute and flush out the uric acid that causes gout.
  • Water improves liver and kidney function. Have you ever had a kidney stone? I haven’t but I’ve cared for plenty of people who did. The pain is severe enough that they frequently need narcotic medications for pain relief until they pass the stone. One study found that people who drank lots of water developed half as many kidney stones.
  • Water moisturizes your skin. In the summer it keeps your skin from drying out. In the winter water helps keep your lips from becoming chapped and keeps your skin moist.

As usual, my mother was right…drink water!

Every day…say NO to stroke!

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