Cucumber, Lemon and Mint Infused Water

This is a super refreshing and delicious drink that will keep you hydrated with a few extra benefits: 

Cucumbers are a diuretic, which will help prevent your body from holding on to unwanted water weight. They also contain: 

• vitamin C: supports the immune system and helps prevent skin wrinkles.
• vitamin K: supports blood clotting and bone health.
• vitamin A: supports your eye health, immune system, and cellular growth.
• potassium: has been shown to lower cholesterol and reduces high blood pressure.
• iron: supports red blood cells.
• calcium: supports bone health.

Lemons help to balance the PH of your body, keep your skin clear, aid digestion and support the liver. They also contain Calcium, Vitamin C, and potassium.

Mint will not only freshen your breath, but also aids digestion.

Directions:

In a large pitcher, combine:

• 1 gallon of pure, filtered water
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 to 2 sprigs fresh mint

Allow to sit overnight (about 8 hours) for the flavors to infuse, then enjoy throughout your day!

5 reasons to drink more water

Water is vital to our bodies and is required to survive. Unfortunately, many of us live in a state of consistent mild dehydration. Here are 5 reasons you should consider adding more water to your day:

1. Better mental performance: mild dehydration not only will dampen your mood, but will also have a negative impact on your memory and concentration. Mild dehydration will make tasks seem more difficult and harder to concentrate on.
2. Combat fatigue: even mild dehydration will make you feel tired, and possibly dizzy. Next time you feel drowsy in the afternoon, try having a glass of cool water. 
3. Decrease wrinkles: think of your skin cells as grapes. When they are full of water, they are plump and firm. Dry them out and they become wrinkly raisins. Now ask yourself, which would you rather look like - a smooth grape, or a lumpy raisin?
4. Aid in weight loss: this is probably the easiest thing you can do to lose extra pounds: ensure you are getting enough water. Weight loss is a mild detoxification process. As you breakdown fat cells, your body needs to get rid of the waste. Help the process along by ensuring you have enough water in your system to move unwanted waste out.
5. Prevent constipation: Constipation is often caused by inadequate water intake. Insufficient water intake will cause fecal matter to form too early in your food's journey through your intestines, resulting in hard stools and constipation.

Check out my blog post titled "How much water do you need to drink?" to help you determine how much water you need each day.

Energy drinks

Most energy drinks contain caffeine, B vitamins and taurine. Caffeine to help you feel alert, B vitamins to boost muscular, nervous and metabolic function, and taurine to enhance neurological function.  They can give a near instant energy boost and can help you to stretch your workout - getting your physical limit. Also, they are convenient.

Having said that, there are more drawbacks then positives with these canned wonders. They are often loaded with sugar, which can lead to obesity and a number of other chronic health problems. They can be addictive, triggering headaches and other withdrawal symptoms when you try to cut them out. They can contribute to psychological problems like anxiety, nervousness and insomnia. They can lead to heart problems such as irregular heart beat and high blood pressure. And, to top it all off, they trigger the release of stress hormones, which, over time, slow your metabolism.

If you do choose to drink energy drinks, follow these tips:

• Limit your intake of energy drinks.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Do not mix energy drinks with alcohol.
• Never give energy drinks to children, or to those who are pregnant or have cardiovascular issues.

How much water do you need to drink?

Water, as is often pointed out, is essential to both survival and good health. Your body is made up of about 60 % water. Your cells are bathed in it, contain it, and rely on it to both receive nutrients and to get rid of waste.

It is often quoted that one should drink 8 glasses of water per day. This is a good place to start, but how much you really need depends on a lot of factors. Your water requirements will change depending on:

• how much you weigh
• your exercise/activity level
• the climate (hot, cold, humid, dry, etc)
• the elevation you are at (you need more at higher elevations)
• illness
• if you are pregnant or breastfeeding

A quick way to figure out how much water you need is to take your body weight in pounds, divide it by 2, and drink that many ounces of water. For example, a 150 pound individual would need to drink about 75 ounces of water in a day. ( 150 / 2 = 75 )

Signs of dehydration include:

• fatigue
• sluggishness
• headaches
• loss of appetite
• feeling excessively hot
• light-headedness
• nausea

One of the easiest ways to tell if you are well hydrated is by checking your urine. If you are well-hydrated, your urine will be dilute, and pale in color. A small amount of concentrated, dark-colored urine is a signal you should drink more.