Water and Health (edited)

*Thanks Isabelle for the idea on Situation 4*

"Drink eight to ten glasses of water per day to be healthy" is a widely-known health tip. Do we really need to drink that much water on daily basis? Absolutely, but of course, that amount vary from person to person, depending on the age, diet, activity, climate etc.

Nevertheless, I'm sure all of us are aware of the importance of drinking enough water daily. As a matter of fact, we can survive longer without food than without water.. Why is that? Great question. Water plays a vital role to the human body as the latter is estimated to be made of 60 - 70% water. Each day we lose certain amount of water through urination, respiration and perspiration and that's why we need to replace the lost fluids to ensure that the organs are working properly. Do not underestimate its health benefits as it does wonders to our skin, hair, immune system, digestive system and not forgetting, the brain!

Yes, water is brain food - it helps you to think better and be more alert! No wonder lah a lot of students nowadays bring (all sorts of) water tumblers to school.. plus, ada seorang pelajar cemerlang SPM suatu masa dulu also recommended the same thing. Dulu-dulu aku tak suka minum air masak so I find this idea funny (mau tak.. budak-budak, dunno why but most are Chinese, bawak botol 1.5 - 2 liter yang besar tu - kadang-kadang sampai dua!), but not anymore. Heh. So, the next time you suffer from fatigue or headache, go for water instead of painkillers!

This sounds great and all but making yourself drink enough water every day is not as easy as it may seem for some. For instance, while pointing at my 1.9 litre tumbler, a junior colleague asked me the other day, "Kak Aida, how can you finish all that water? I can't even finish half of that by the end of the day!!" Well, lemme tell you it takes a lot of discipline, determination and some lil tricks! ;) The rule of thumb is to trick yourself  into drinking more water! And yes, when I said 'trick', I meant it literally! How can we do that? Remember, it's all in the mind.. (repeat after me: it's all in the mind.. it's all in the mind..)

Situation 1: Busy! No time! Forgot! You might say it's hard for you to drink enough water, especially when you're busy doing things and you only do so after each meal. How's this for a change? Carry water with you everywhere and drink regularly (walaupun sikit) when you're working, playing sports, strolling in the park and even while watching TV or surfing the Net. Orang tua kata, sikit-sikit lama-lama jadi bukit - by the end of the day I'm sure you'll be able to drink a healthy amount of water your body needs. When it comes to fluid intake, figures do matter. You don't want to get dehydrated, do you?

Tupperware.. macam-macam ada..
(x pasal-pasal promote! haha)

Situation 2: Not able to finish all! If you think drinking 2 litres of water from a 2-litre tumbler each day is a wee bit overwhelming, get four, 500ml bottles instead (go for the pretty ones to further enhance the trick)! Tapi make sure habiskanlah, which brings us back to tip #1 - put one on your work table, one in the living room, one in the bedroom and one in the kitchen/fridge. You can put one in the car too - sambil sangkut dalam traffic jam boleh minum. Ha-ha. Like I said, it's all in the mind - kononnya minum 500ml/day tapi sebenarnya 500ml x 4 bottles = 2 litres/day! Kalau tak boleh habis jugak, exercising should do the trick. The more you exercise, the thirstier you will get and the more water you will drink! What's the mantra again? It's all in the mind.. yezza!

Berbaloi-baloi!

Situation 3: Dislike the taste! In this situation, a water purification system at home like Bio Aura, Diamond or Dr. Sukida, just to name a few, is highly recommended. This is because the water tastes better than tap water after all those extra purifying and filtering processes - betul tak tipu! The trick here is to enjoy drinking water like we do for other beverages; by making it more appealing so that you will want to drink more! Like me myself, I used to hate drinking boiled tap water because it leaves a bad taste in my mouth and causes stickiness in my throat which eventually leads to sore throat, so I ended up buying mineral water for my daily water intake. People call me "tekak mahal", but really, it's not funny at all. Memanglah Bio Aura bagai tu mahal mula-mula, but if I keep on buying mineral water, let's say RM3.79/5.5 litres for 2 days, sebulan dah berapa? Setahun? In the long run, tak jimat mana pun.. Think about it.

Situation 4: Frequent trips to the bathroom! Women, especially those who are pregnant or breastfeeding need additional fluids to stay hydrated. If you're peeing quite often, this is not necessarily a bad thing! Think about it this way: the more water you drink, the more you allow the body to purify itself. It's worth it. Air manis like coffee, tea or carbonated drinks do not, I repeat, do not replace water but fruits and veggies which are high in water content do. Go for apples, bananas, strawberries, watermelon, lettuce or carrots to suit your liking.

Want more reasons to drink (more) water? Try this: research shows that water is the best anti-aging property and it also helps us lose weight (refer here). Now, how's that for a start? ;)