by Dr. Katka Novakova
About 70% of Earth is covered with water, just as our bodies are 75-95% made out of water. Water equals life for the earth and it is life for our body, it helps to nourish and detoxify our bodies and keep an optimal balanced environment for healthy metabolism.
The optimal water intake per day is half of one’s body weight in ounces. A good start is at least one gallon of water a day, especially during the summer months. Reverse osmosis water is best, however, while purified of chemicals and toxins, this water is also purified of minerals and electrolytes.
Adding either Cell Food, fresh squeezed organic lemon or Trace Mineral Drops is a great way to enrich our water. To add some flavor and more nutrients, powders such as Emergen-C (best light version) and Ultima Replenisher used once or twice daily are best. They both contain vitamins and minerals and no sugar for Ultima (Stevia and Lou Han sweetened) and very small amount of fructose in case of Emergen-C.
The last two are much healthier electrolyte and nutrient supporting refreshing drinks for adults and children than the widely advertised Gatorade, Vitaminwater or mio enhancer.
Gatorade: 24 oz bottle contains 36 grams of sugar in the form of sucrose and dextrose, very little sodium and potassium and several chemicals, including dies.
Vitamin water: 20 oz bottle contains 33 grams of sugar and a minute amount of vitamins way below the recommended daily value, plus coloring agents to create different colors to match the taste.
Mio Enhancer contains artificial sweetener sucralose and acesulfame potassium and other toxic chemicals such as propylene glycol and food dies.
It is also worth mentioning that any drink containing caffeine (coffee, black and green tea and sodas) is dehydrating, as caffeine blocks and enzyme in the kidneys that tells the kidneys to reabsorb and save water – therefore we eliminate more than we would drinking just water. It’s therefore advised to drink an extra glass of water for every caffeinated drink.
As far as the juice option goes: small amount of organic 100% fruit juice diluted with large amount of water is also OK and preferred to drinking a full glass of juice or even juice from concentrate, due to the sugar concentration in a full glass of juice. Any fruit juice is best organic to avoid multitude of pesticides and herbicides in the non-organic version.
Sodas are highly unsuitable as any form of hydration due to their extremely high content of sugar (12 oz can contains 40 grams of high fructose corn syrup) or high amount of neurotoxin aspartame in its diet version. This highly acidic sugar loaded drink is at the top of the list of unhealthy beverages and deserves its own article.