Headaches, joint pain, fatigue, dry hair and skin, crankiness, depression, allergies, constipation, confusion, poor immune systems, these are all ailments that I am sure we have all experienced or may experience on a daily to weekly basis. With all of the preservatives and added sugars and salts in our everyday food, your body is bound to be at some level of dehydration if you do not intake lots of water. There is a book out entitled “You're Not Sick, You're Thirsty”, by Author F. Batmanghelidj, M.D., who is also the author of “Your Body's Many Cries for Water This book is quite an eye opener as to how important water is to our lives.

Most Common Signs of Dehydration:

Reoccurring headaches

Feeling tired for no reason / Fatigue

Heavy headed / pressure

Irritable / Short tempered

Feeling Anxious

Depression

Dry & Itchy skin & hair

Dry Eyes

Difficulty sleeping

High Blood Pressure

Anger / Impatience

Constipation

Short attention span

Morning sickness

Cravings for manufactured beverages

Shortness of breath

Joint pain

The body needs no less than two quarts of water and a half teaspoon of salt everyday to compensate for its natural losses in urine, respiration, and perspiration. Less than this amount will place a burden on the kidneys. Water should be taken anytime you are thirsty, even in the middle of a meal. Water intake in the middle of a meal does not drastically affect the process of digestion, but dehydration during food intake does. You should also take at least two glasses of water first thing in the morning to correct for water loss during the eight hours of sleep. A good gauge of the water need of your body is the color of your urine. A well hydrated person produces colorless urine-not counting the color of vitamins or color additives in food. A comparatively dehydrated person produces yellow urine and a truly dehydrated person produces dark yellow to orange in color urine.

When To Drink It:

Water should be drunk before your meals to prepare your digestive tract Drink water two and a half hours after your meals to complete the process of dehydration Water should be taken first thing in the morning before consuming any food Water should ALWAYS be taken before exercising Drink water ANYTIME you feel thirsty

Water should be taken by those who do not eat a sufficient amount of fruits and vegetables an who are constipated. Drinking 2 -3 glasses of water first thing in the morning acts as the most effective laxative.

Tips for Drinking More Water:

Only buy water when you go grocery shopping, leave the fruit juices, coffees, and teas on the shelves. This way you will have no choice but to drink it. Buy a large (and cute..lol) water bottle that goes everywhere you go or keep a bottle of water in your purse Keep a steady stock of water bottles at your work desk or in your work area. Keep two bottles of water on your nightstand or on your bathroom sink, so the first thing you do in the morning is to drink it up!

Definitely pick up this book to add to your health resources. The author goes into depth about modern diseases and their relation to lack of water in the body, as well as many more important factors of dehydration and its effect on our bodies. It's amazing to know that water a day, is what will really keep the doctor away!