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Production Foods
So now that we’ve gotten off the detour of using organic body and skincare products, let’s once more begin our journey up the Chutes and Ladders or Candy Land–type game called the Raw Foods Pyramid…first by looking at the bottom tier of the pyramid—water.
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WHY
Water is one drink that you’ll want to consider the next time you’re feeling thirsty. It not only helps genuinely hydrate the body, it can help you feel better overall, and even look better. Here are some of the benefits you’ll reap, and some recipes to help you along.
Our bodies contain about 55-60% water…so the more hydrated, the healthier you will be.Water does such important things—such as transporting nutrients and flushing toxins out of our system…, so getting an adequate amount of water each day is very important.
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Let’s take a closer look…
1. Aging...Due to the antioxidant content of water, water helps your body fight free radicals, promotes healthy aging, and enhances your body’s ability to fight disease.
2. Antioxidants...Water contains the antioxidants that are needed to ward off free radicals and help the body flush out built-up toxins. Detoxing the body doesn’t have to be a one time or once a year event, you can help your body stay clean with daily attention to the foods that you’re taking in, as well as avoiding foods that are known as being toxic to the body. This sort of regular maintenance keeps you feeling great all year long.
3. Appetite…Eating when you’re not actually hungry can lead to weight gain and sluggishness,,,and can throw you off your natural eating cycle. Drinking a glass of water when you’re hungry instead of raiding the refrigerator or vending machine can help you make it until your next meal if it’s not quite mealtime.
4.Asthma and Allergies…helps keep your air passageways open because the body closes up these passageways in an effort to minimize water loss whenever we are dehydrated
5. Blood Pressure…Keeping your blood pressure in check is important because it will help keep you away from debilitating diseases like stroke, heart attack, kidney disease, or vision loss. Saying hydrated helps prevents your blood from becoming so thick that it increases your blood pressure,
6. Bone Health…Water may reduce the risk of osteoperosis and bone fractures in post-menopausal women.
7. Body Temperature…cooling the body whenever you sweat by making you sweat more
4. Brain Function…protects brain structure and function, as well as producting hormones and neurotransmitters. Drinking water promotes clearer thinking and reasoning
8. Cancer…A healthy lifestyle gives you a better chance at staying healthy long-term and perhaps preventing serious conditions, such as cancer….especially cancer involving the urinary tract system.
9. Headaches...may help relieve the intensity and duration of headaches.
10. Hangovers…,Alcohol is dehydrating and toxic to your system, so you need plenty of water and nutrients to start healing.. Water can help prevent the unpleasant symptoms from drinking too much—such as thirst, fatigue, headache and dry mouth—because it is a diuretic. In fact, many people claim that drinking one glass of water for every alcoholic beverage that you drink is great in preventing your having a hangover in the first place.
11. Hydration...When you meet your specific water needs you’ll enjoy the benefits of staying hydrated,…which is important for maintaining the right body temperature, helping your cardiovascular system, assisting in the cleansing of toxins, and having more energy to help each of your organs do its job better.
12. Joint Pain…maintains the ability of the joints to absorb shock
13. Kidney Stones…makes you have to pee more often, which prevents minerals from consolidating, crystallizing and becoming kidney stones
14. Muscles...Whether or not you’re trying to put on muscle, helping your muscles stay strong is a good idea. Water makes a great contribution to the overall health of your muscles, and your body in general.
15. Nuttritonal Value…Drinking water will provide more vitamins and minerals., such as Vitamin A and Vitamin C.
16. Skin...Water helps your skin from the inside, as well as the outside. Staying hydrated will help your skin stay supple and smooth. Water makes your skin look healthy and vibrant…prevents your skin from becoming dry, flaky and tight…and helps prevent skin disorders and premature wrinkles..
17. Tooth Decay…Water keeps the mouth clean and reduces your chance of having tooth decay.
18. Weight Control…Water will naturally quench your thirst and make you forget about mindlessly reaching for drinks loaded with sugar, so it’s an easy way to cut calories from your diet. Water can also act as a natural mild diuretic…helping you get rid of that excess water and bloating.
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HOW
In order to enjoy the complete benefits of water listed above, you should be drinking eight or more cups of water per day….or half your body weight in ounces.
Think that this will never happen…I did also when I first started trying to get a handle on my weight and my health…
But I’ve been drinking two liters of water per day for the last three years.
In the next post, I’ll show you how I mastered this habit…and how I maintain it.
