Water: The Most Important Nutrient

~Since we were young we’ve been told how important water is to the Earth as well as the human body. The Earth is covered by 71% water. Our bodies are composed of approximately 72% water, with the brain over 75%. That’s a lot of water! Even in vet tech school, one of my instructors drilled it into my brain that water is the most important nutrient, so much so he made it a test question. I’m not kidding, he actually did…

But he was absolutely right! Water is used for everything from circulation to skin health, flushing out toxins and even breathing. And of course we’ve had this fact ingrained into our minds: we need to drink 8 glasses of water a day. But everyone’s version of a glass is totally different, so how do you know that you’re staying properly hydrated? Dr. Edward Group, founder of Global Healing Center, says that 8 glasses is an absolute minimum. He says that a better way to calculate how much you should be drinking is to take your body weight and divide it in half, which is how many ounces of water you should be drinking per day. (His example: 180# / 2 = 90 ounces of water.)

Let’s crunch some numbers: 180/2=90, there is 8oz in a cup, that’s about 11 cups of water per day. I don’t know about you, but I drink at least 1 liter of water per day, sometimes 2 when I’m at work. I have one of those Camelbak water bottles that has the measurements on the side of the bottle to keep track on how much I’m drinking. I wasn’t a big water drinker back in the day, I usually opted for soda instead. Then I started drinking 2-3 cans a day, feeling sluggish and unhealthy. It wasn’t until a year or two when I cut down on my soda consumption and switched to water. Now I only drink soda occasionally or when I go out to eat.

Water is important to all of us.

We should do everything in our power to protect it and make it easier for everyone to access. I’m talking to you government people, the people of Flint, Michigan have been fighting for clean drinking water for 3 years too long. Water is a basic human right and necessary for life.