Okay; so the actual quote goes like
this:
Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.
Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
As I am still recuperating from my
surgery, my finger very stiff and still rather painful with a surprising 3 week
leave of absence and some agonizing typing one handed; clearly my November
Challenge was a sad bust. For December, as I have noticed that my intake of
water has been rather lax on my homebound stay, I have decided that I should
really attempt to see if I can intake the required and recommended amount of
water that they say is needed on a daily basis. Unlike the ancient Mariner in
Coleridges poem I am not stuck on an idle boat with only hundreds of thousands
of gallons of salt water that would ultimately kill me if I attempted fate, I
will have access to beautiful filtered fresh water. Oh the implications of
that....
Benefits:
1) Since the human body consists
anywhere from 60-70% water, staying hydrated is essential to the proper maintenance
of our bodily systems. Bodily fluids are required for proper digestion,
absorption of nutrients, circulation, creation of saliva, and the regulation of
body temperature.
2) Great for weight loss - water helps
with body temperature regulation and muscle fatigue great for exercise, proper
hydration can allow you to exercise longer and recover quicker. Hydration keeps
your joints lubricated diminishing the likelihood of cramps and sprains.
Increased metabolism through the use of proper hydration keeps your body
regular with digestion and bowel movements.
3) Clearly water is good for all of
your internal systems, how about the largest organ - your skin? Water once
again proves a boon in that proper hydration keeps your skin flexible and thus
looking young.
Warnings:
1) Drinking too much water is a
hazard to your health. There are many scientific studies that show the
recommended amount of 8 ten ounce glasses of water is needed on a daily basis
is not based on fact. That notion does not take into account many different
variables such as gender, environment, and activity level just to name a few.
Drinking too much fluid in fact can lead to hyponatremia and when fluid intake
reaches disastrous levels fluid toxicity and death occur.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=strange-but-true-drinking-too-much-water-can-kill
2) Bottled contaminants. That's all
I have to say about bottled water. With the numerous and strange sounding
chemicals that make up the plastic bottles of some famous Water brands it is
amazing more people aren't sick. I will leave you a link to read further of
your own accord if you feel so inclined: http://www.water-drinking.com/index.shtml
3) Tap or filtered? The largest issue with tap water is due
to the process of decontamination before the water reaches your home. Most tap
water goes through a chlorination process. While Chlorine is great for pools it
is bad for our bodies. Filtration is another fluid subject (pun intended). From
simple store bought mass produced filters that can sit in your fridge or attach
to your faucet all the way to the hefty price tag of Zero water or alkaline
water the choices are too many and too convoluted to go into depth in this
short blip about my monthly challenge. All I will say is research before you
decide how you want to drink your water.
Not all fluids need to come from water in order to hydrate your body. Fluids from foods such as water dense fruits and vegetables can provide much of the body's requirements to remain hydrated. So pay attention to your body, are you thirsty? Is your urine dark in color or have a strong odor? Do you suffer from headaches? You just may be thirsty.
Drink/eat your fluids to your Health!
