“You need to drink more water.”

You’ve heard it a million times. Every health practitioner worth their salt has recited these words hundreds if not thousands of times to their clients. However, there is more to staying properly hydrated than just chugging 8 glasses of water per day and the implications can be life changing.

Imagine the potted plant in your home that sits in the corner. If it hasn’t been watered in a while the soil gets dry and crumbly. When you add water at this point the soil isn’t able to absorb a majority of it and it slips through the cracks and out the bottom of the pot. No matter how much water you pour over that poor guy he’s not going to re-hydrate properly! This is similar to what happens to your cells when you have been chronically dehydrated. Our cells are less able to properly absorb the water we put into our system. This excess of water in our digestive tract leaves us feeling water-logged and making frequent trips to the bathroom.

Similar to the wilted plant, our body can’t perform its daily functions without proper hydration to your cells. Proper cell hydration is a fundamental issue in wellness – without it you can’t get proper nutrients into your cells (here come achy joints and painful muscles), your mitochondria (which are the energy-producing “powerhouse” of each cell) can’t produce the energy you need to heal and function, you can’t make digestive enzymes or hormones (hello constipation, nutritional deficiencies, and anxiety), you can’t repair your DNA (fast track to looking and feeling older than you are!), your neurons are less efficient at sending electrical signals to each other (brain fog, anyone?), and you can’t flush out nasty toxins that contribute to disease and disarray.

As you can imagine, regaining the ability to properly hydrate can have a drastic impact on how you move, think, and feel on a day-to-day basis. Implementing the following into your daily hydration routine is an important part of regaining your vitality:

Balance Your Sodium – Adding 1/4 tsp of celtic or Himalayan sea salt to a quart (32 oz) of water helps assist your kidneys at properly absorbing water from your bloodstream. Specifically using Celtic or Himalayan sea salt offers 60+ trace minerals and electrolytes that assist your cells in absorbing the water molecules and using them to your advantage.

Use a Water Filter – Toxins have a large impact on people with Parkinson’s Disease so it is important to remove them from your daily routine whenever you can. Remove toxins and chemicals from your tap water with a filtration system or a stick of activated charcoal.

Hydrate in the Morning – Start your day with a glass of water as this is the time of day where your body is housing its highest concentration of toxins and is most dehydrated.

Avoid Coffee, Tea, Soda and Alcohol in Excess – These can have a diuretic and dehydrating effect. Try to stick with one cup of coffee or tea in the morning (after your class of water, of course). Soda has no place in a healthy diet as it is full of toxic chemicals and inflammation producing sugars but if you are going to indulge do it very infrequently. Try LiveSoda as a more beneficial carbonated beverage. Alcohol should also be consumed in moderation and supplemented with a glass of water per drink.

Supplement as Needed – An over-the-counter system that can help your cells learn how to rehydrate is called the Agua Hydration System and was designed by an Australian physician and scientist named Jaroslav Boublik. Starting with 1 drop in the mornings (of the AM solution) and 1 drop in the evenings (of the PM solution) for 5 days per week can help filter out toxins and assist with recovering from chronic dehydration.

Pick the Right Water Bottle – Avoid plastic water bottles whenever possible (even if it says it is BPA-free) as chemicals released from these bottles can also contribute to your daily toxin load. Choosing stainless steel or glass bottles are best. Throw in a stick of activated charcoal and you’re good to go!

*Disclaimer: The products referenced in this article are only examples. I do not get any financial compensation from these recommendations.

Resources:

The Wonders of Water: Amazing Secrets for Health and Wellness. (2008). Retrieved May 9, 2015, from http://www.watercure.com/wondersofwater.html  

Roberts, R. (2015). Good Hydration is the Key to Recovery [Radio series episode]. In Parkinson’s Recovery Podcast. Blog Talk Radio.  

Goldman, S. (2013). Environmental Toxins and Parkinson’s Disease. Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 141-64. doi:10.1146 

Products:

Kishu Charcoal. (2013). Retrieved May 9, 2015, from https://kishucharcoal.com/  

Celtic Sea Salt – Doctor Recommended Since 1976. (2015). Retrieved May 9, 2015, from http://www.celticseasalt.com/  

LIVESoda Kombucha. (n.d.). Retrieved May 9, 2015, from http://livesodakombucha.com/

Aqua Hydration Product Info Sheet. (2011, March 10). Retrieved May 9, 2015, from http://www.hydration.net.au/library/Aqua_Product_Info_Sheet_pdf.pdf