Blog Post: The Importance of Staying Hydrated

Water is required for everything from regulating blood pressure and body temperature to making sure your heart works correctly and that your brain is capable of doing its daily tasks. We only can go two to three days without water.

Most people walk around "chronically dehydrated." This means that you may not get the immediate signs of dehydration but you're just under being fully hydrated. Most people have a hard time staying adequately hydrated. When you add in exercise to your daily regime it is even more important to stay hydrated. Certain types of food and drinks can pull water from your body making it even harder to stay fully hydrated.

Water makes up almost 70 percent of your body. Without water we would not survive. Some important facts about what water does for your health:

• It helps rid your body of waste material
• Being well-hydrated helps your immune system stay strong, because water is part of lymph fluid which is a part of your immune system. This will help you to fight off illnesses and colds.
• Staying well-hydrated can help keep away headaches, back pain, muscle weakness and fatigue.
• Other things staying hydrated can help with is it improves your body's ability to have good temperature regulation, increased body lubrication (your joints, spinal cord, eyes and brain), improves weight management and helps you physically stay efficient when you engage in physical activities.

If a person is "chronically dehydrated" for years and years of their life, this can have major health ramifications. All the benefits of what water can do for your body is limited solely because someone isn't drinking enough water. By increasing your water intake you will help your body to better health, plus it's easy and inexpensive.

A couple of tips to help you increase your water in take:

• Make sure to get a water bottle that is bpa (Bisphenol A) free and carry it with you all the time (When you sign up at ferrum fitness you get a BPA free stainless steel water bottle).
• Always leave your house with a full bottle of water. Instead of drinking soda or sports drinks with your meals, drink water (this will also help you decrease your calorie in take).
• Fill up your water bottle whenever you can and work on sipping your water throughout the day instead of guzzling it.

Staying hydrated is an easy thing to change and help you get healthy, so try it out and see the difference. Your body will thank you.

Jessica Unbewust
co-owner ferrum fitness