Slow Changes: Step 4

Here is the fourth in our baby-steps series that focuses on how you can add to your menu without subtracting. Before we go any further speaking about the abundance of nutrient-dense foods, we must address hydration. The body needs water like a fire needs air. A human body is approximately:

• 2% carbohydrates
• 5% minerals
• 15% fats
• 18% proteins
• 60% water!

  

  Coconut and Lime Sports Drink
  from www.mommypotamus.com
  Photo Credit: Kathryn Akomah-Mordi

In order to digest that one liter of chewed food that passes through your lips each day, the body must produce seven liters of fluids to process it. If you're only drinking 3- 4 cups or less per day, you are in a chronic state of dehydration. A person should drink roughly half his or her body weight in ounces. For example, a 150-lb. adult should drink around 75 oz. of water per day.

Already drinking that much? Remember that pop, green or black teas, and coffee do not count toward our water intake because they are diuretics! And water without electrolytes sometimes goes straight through a body because it hasn't got the mineral balance to be retained. So if you are urinating too much, or if the thought of unflavored water sound uninteresting, try homemade electrolyte drinks.

The electrolyte combinations from Mommypotamus  and Wellness Mama are delightful!. For even greater convenience, just splash one of these into your water:

• a pinch of Celtic sea salt
• a tablespoon of whey
• a fraction of a can of coconut water
• a dropper-ful of trace minerals
• a drizzle of fermented vegetable juice

Orange Lemon Sports Drink
from www.mommypotamus.com
Photo Credit: Kathryn Akomah-Mordi