How many times have you heard the advice to drink more water?
Your mom tells you. Your doctor tells you. You read articles everywhere touting the benefits of drinking at least eight glasses of water per day. "You'll lose weight! You'll boost your energy! You'll have glowing skin, shinier hair, fewer headaches!" And the list goes on.
So you increase your water intake with the goal of improving your health. You keep a gallon water jug nearby, use an app to track how many glasses you’ve finished, and even set up reminders on your phone.
But after a month or so, your habit of drinking more water ends. The taste of plain water doesn’t excite you. Your busy schedule keeps you from worrying about that lingering feeling of thirst. And all those bathroom visits are driving you crazy.
You begin to wonder if there’s something wrong with you. Why aren’t you experiencing all the fantastic benefits of drinking water everyone is talking about?
Well, maybe you haven’t given it enough time. Or maybe you’re making a few mistakes in your attempts to stay hydrated.
According to Ayurveda, one of the world’s oldest healing systems, there are six principles for something you might have thought had no method: drinking water properly.
1. Sip, Don’t Chug
Growing up, I saw a huge difference between how my grandfather drank water and how the following generation of my parents drank water. Whenever I was spending the summer at my grandparents’ place, my grandpa would suggest that I sit down and sip water instead of drinking it all at once. In fact, I never saw my grandpa hurriedly chugging his water while standing up.
Drinking your water all at once causes it to flush through your system faster and can, paradoxically, lead to dehydration. The inside of your body is a delicate, well-controlled environment. Therefore, any fluid you consume beyond what your body needs to stay hydrated winds up in your bladder.
2. Drink Lukewarm Water
In olden times, people used to quench their thirst by drinking clay pot water. Sipping that earthy water was a ritual in itself. But with refrigeration and bottled water taking over, out went this healthy practice.
According to Ayurveda, cold drinks extinguish the heat of the “digestive fire” and promote the buildup of toxins that develop as a by-product of poor digestion. Cold water clashes with the overall body warmth and energy, causing distress in the tissues and blood vessels. Sipping warm water, on the other hand, improves digestion by stimulating the natural digestive enzymes and improving circulation.
3. Start Your Day with a Glass of Water
It has long been known that drinking water first thing in the morning purifies the body’s internal systems. This practice, known “early morning water treatment,” originates from ancient Ayurvedic medicine as well.
Drinking at least 16 ounces (500 millilitres) of warm water on an empty stomach re-hydrates the body after eight hours of sleep, jump-starts your metabolism, and helps to flush out the toxins your body packaged up over night. Some of this water might not be absorbed, but that’s okay. The main reason for drinking so much water at once is to cleanse the colon and enable your body to absorb new nutrients from food.
