TUESDAY: BE CONSCIOUS OF WHAT YOU DRINK

Water is essential for life. The average adult body is 55% to 75% water. Two-thirds of your body weight is water (40 to 50 quarts). Make sure you drink enough good quality water!

It is amazing how quickly the body can dehydrate. By the time we actually feel thirsty, we are probably already dehydrated.

Most of us are frequently dehydrated and don’t even know it. It is better to drink small amounts of water every 30 minutes (apart from when you are eating) instead of drinking a full glass twice a day!

And often when we feel hungry, we are actually thirsty. Next time you feel hungry, have a glass of good quality spring water and see what happens to your hunger. (Or just drink tap water that has a filter for fluoride and chlorine removal.)

In America and most western countries, tap water is usually germ-free but we do need a good quality filtering system to remove the chlorine and fluoride. You may want to do a search on the web and read about the potentially harmful effects of long-term sodium fluoride (added to water and toothpaste) ingestion. It’s believed that calcium fluoride, as it occurs in natural vegetables, like cauliflower, is extremely beneficial to bones and teeth. Some people believe sodium fluoride does not protect your teeth and does not keep your bones strong—and instead that it often has the reverse effect!

If you are thinking, “I drink a lot of sodas and coffee and tea, so I can’t be dehydrated,” you’re wrong! Did you know that the average American drinks 52.9 gallons of carbonated soft drinks (full of high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners) a year.

Caffeine is dehydrating, apart from all the other things it does to your body. Why do you think people have withdrawal symptoms such as headaches and behavior changes and bad moods when they suddenly stop drinking caffeine?

If you want to drink a lot of something other than water, there are many benefits in green tea. Find an organic green tea that you like and drink it when you feel like a break from water. I figure if we bless our food before we eat, why not bless our water!

Do you know that one of main ingredients by far in an average soda is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)? It is not natural fructose—it is highly processed and comes from corn. Research is showing that high fructose corn syrup is associated with obesity. In an article in the Dec. 4, 2005 Seattle Times, a Dr. George Bray was quoted as saying, “High-fructose corn syrup isn’t completely responsible for the nation’s 6 million overweight children” but added, “it’s a big part of the problem.” Do yourself a favor and learn more about HFCS—it’s in almost every processed food item you buy.

Please think twice before you drink ordinary sodas! Keep them out of your home and teach your children to drink water or natural juices. There are some sodas available at the health food store or in the health section of your supermarket that contain natural fruit juice sweeteners or evaporated cane juice. Read your labels carefully— and remember “natural” on the label does not always mean the same natural we are imagining!

And before you breathe a sigh of relief, thinking, “I drink diet sodas,” they are many who believe diet drinks to be equally bad! Diet drinks have artificial sweeteners that are ARTIFICIAL! Warning!!

You may want to read “Sweet Deception” by Dr. Joseph Mercola or “Aspartame Disease—An Ignored Epidemic” by H.J. Roberts for more disturbing, scientific details.

Today is the day to start drinking more water, preferably spring water or filtered tap water—a mouthful or two every 30 minutes and blessing it before we drink it!

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