Our bodies are composed of over 60% water, which means that this essential nutrient is vital to our health. Water plays many roles and has a variety of functions, along with maintaining a certain homeostasis in each of us. A deficiency in water can result in noticeable symptoms, such as dry mouth, eyes and nose. But it can also affect parts of our body on a cellular level that we can’t necessarily detect right away- such as carrying nutrients and oxygen to our blood. Water regulates our body temperature, lubricates and cushions our joints, aids in digestion by preventing constipation and also helps to put less of a burden on our kidneys and liver by flushing out our systems.

A very generic number for water intake is 64 oz a day. This number changes in regards to how physical our job is, our sweat rate, and the temperature of the weather. It’s important to make sure we are at minimum, replenishing the amount of water we lose each day. More than 1.5 liters of water are lost just by perspiration, breathing and urine output. This amount is before any physical activity! If we are dehydrated during physical activity, we don’t sweat as much which can cause our body to overheat.

Some simply forget to drink throughout the day, and others just don’t prefer to drink plain water. There are many ways to fix these problems! First, go out and splurge on a nice water bottle. This will give you an initiative to have it with you throughout your day. Place your water on your desk and set little goals for yourself- for example, by 10 am you will have drank the first half of your water bottle, and by 12pm you will have finished your first bottle and refill at lunch time. There’s also unlimited ways to flavor your water without adding sugar or artificial flavorings. Fruits such as citrus, berries, even mango and pineapple infuse awesomely in water bottles to give a little natural sweetness and vitamin boost to your water. Or you can go the herbal route with mint, lemongrass, rosemary, basil, or sage which mix very well with veggies like cucumbers. You could try a refreshing blend like citrus, mint and cucumber or you could energize your afternoon with raspberry and black tea infused water. If you are craving a bit more sweetness, a drop or two of stevia will do the trick. If bubbles help quench your thirst, add these flavorings to carbonated seltzer water. The combinations are endless!