Water sustains life. Without water, an average person can only survive for a mere three days.
If you were paying attention back in high school biology (God knows I wasn’t!) you would probably know that our bodies are comprised of up to 70 per cent water. The muscles and kidneys are 79 per cent water, your blood is 82 per cent water, your lungs are 83 per cent water, while your brain is 76 per cent water.
“The fountain of youth could be a water fountain.” Dr Sara Gottfried
We’ve all heard a million times that drinking pure natural water is good for us, but life gets hectic. I get it… in the midst of a busy day, we can get caught up in the whirlwind and forget about the critical importance of hydration, not only for our skin but also our health.
Chronic dehydration is part of the reason why our skin can dry out, turning into unwanted creases and wrinkles. The image of a sponge springs to mind. When the sponge is dry it contracts and shrivels. Put the sponge under water and it plumps, expands and becomes flexible. Our skin is no different. Internally dehydration can create inflammation in the body, constipation, digestive issues and the development of many degenerative diseases.
Water carries the nutrients we need to our cells, provides moisture and eliminates waste by diluting and expelling toxins from the body, thus preventing the onset of acne and many common skin conditions from taking hold.
If our bodies do not contain enough water, instead of flushing out waste through our bladder and bowels, your body holds onto toxins, leaving it with no choice but to expel them through other avenues, such as terrible odour under the armpits, or you guessed it, through our body’s largest organ… the skin.
Bottom line is.. the wonders of water are an absolute must. Drinking at least eight glasses will leave your skin smoother, hydrated and visibly younger.
As we age, our bodies begin to lose the ability to hold water. Busy or not, we owe it to ourselves to make hydration a top priority.
According to nutritionist Libby Weaver from her book “beauty from the inside out” for us to absorb the water we drink into our cells, we need calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride. If our bodies are deficient in these minerals, or at an excessively high level it can be difficult for water to actually enter our cells.
We can improve this mineral imbalance by upping our intake of green leafy veggies that have a broad mineral content, eating nuts and seeds, switching to organic food or including small amounts of Celtic or Himalayan pink salt, that typically contains around 84 minerals.
Eat your water! We can forget that plant foods have a high water content, so the more of these we eat, the less fluid we need to consume. Soups are an excellent way to boost hydration, but also provide us with minerals and nutrients as well, especially in winter when we may find water less appealing.
Coconut water is another potent beautifier. Not only is it an amazing post-workout drink due to its high levels of electrolytes, that include calcium, magnesium and potassium, but its rich vitamin content also boosts radiance while keeping us hydrated.
Wherever possible aim to drink water that is at the very least room temperature, especially in the morning. If you can imagine that we have a burning fire inside us, pouring chilled or cold water onto it, extinguishes our digestive fire.
While cold water hydro-therapy, such as contrast showers, can actually increase circulation, internally it is a very different story. Nutritionist Sachiko Giorgilli says “ice cold drinks can actually compromise blood circulation, and the accumulation of cold in the lower abdomen, particularly for women, may lead to hormonal disruption and even reproductive issues”.
Always aim to drink spring, mineral or purified water in glass bottles, that has been filtered. Tap water, unfortunately, contains heavy metals, fluoride, and chlorine, that can destroy your skin softening levels of vitamin E.
Avoid drinking water with your meals, as water can dilute your naturally occurring digestive enzymes and stomach acid, which is necessary to breakdown food and provide optimum digestion. Allow your saliva to naturally swallow your food, and wait about an hour before consuming liquids again.
Chapped lips are an early indication that you are dehydrated and need to drink more water. The best way to know you are getting enough is to squeeze a peek at your pee after visiting the loo. If it is clear and doesn’t smell, you can be sure you’re on the right track.
Coffee and tea (yes even herbal) are often always diuretic by nature, so after consumption, back it up with a glass of water. One of my favourite morning rituals includes drinking a glass of warm water with lemon and apple cider vinegar. This assists with flushing out the liver, boosts the immune system and provides a dose of skin-loving vitamin C.
Get creative! Water doesn’t have to be boring. We always enjoy taking things up a notch:-
- Add some flavour to your water by filling a pitcher with slices of cucumber, mint leaves, berries or watermelon and citrus.
- Add one tablespoon of raw organic apple cider vinegar (with the mother) to a glass of water, to assist with digestion and balance the body’s PH. If you don’t like the taste, instead add it into a cup of hot water with lemon and a dash honey.
- Make your own crystal water. My personal favourite is clear Rock Crystal (Clear Quartz). This is one of the master crystal stones, and within its luminous light contains the entire colour spectrum. It brings clarity, strengthens your intentions and helps reprogram at a cellular level.
Method:
To start you you must clear a crystal before use, as it stores the energy of those who have come before you. You can do this by rinsing it under running water for 2-3 minutes, to remove not only surface dust but also accumulated “energetic dust”. Or bathe in either sunlight or moonlight outside for 4 to 24 hrs. Full sun or moon are particularly powerful but both ways will purify.
Then you must give it a job! Your prayer is your intention. Hold the crystal in your hands, stand in the light, outside or by a window, and project into it your intended use, such as healing, prosperity, protection or love, and say aloud, I dedicate this crystal for (your purpose). Drop it into the bottom of a clear glass container and leave covered for at least 8 hrs. Drink up the vibes!….. (Also great for the bath..)
- The nerd in me adores the work of Dr Emoto, a Japanese researcher, whose amazing discoveries about water, documented photographically, changed my world view. In essence, he gave proof that thoughts and feelings affect physical reality. When concentrated intention, music, prayer and spoken words were directed towards water samples, the water “changed its expression.” This is BIG.. considering we are all comprised of mostly water!! Simply fill a glass or pitcher with water. Say out loud a word (love and gratitude create incredible formations under a microscope!) Then focus on directing the energy of that word into the water. You could even stick or write the written word onto the side of your glass.
Cheers to the Elixir of Life!
To your blossoming, Bec x
