Sunday, July 5, 2009

Drinking Water For Increasing Metabolism and Brain Function



Drinking enough water per day may (among other things) contribute to increasing your metabolism, improve circulation and circulation of blood and nutrients to the brain (indirectly helping with brain functions), and improve other various functions and repairs of the body.

Although I agree with many of the teachings of Dr. Oz and I even often learn from his wealth of medical knowledge, I will have to respectfully disagree with him when he said that we actually get enough water merely from the foods we eat. As a nutritionist and trainer who has trained athletes as well as common clients, I have to disagree with Dr. Oz. Although he may be correct in theory, he is incorrect here according to my observations of everyday real world experience. Although in theory, we are supposed to get enough water from the foods we eat, in practice I have observed that it’s not enough.

Dehydration impairs your metabolism. I think the simple traditional guideline of at least 8 glasses of plain water per day is still good. This would be in addition to other liquid beverages you may drink through out the day. For example, I would not count a glass of milk or a cup of tea as a glass of water.

You may drink water hot or cold. In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and in martial arts, it is taught that drinking hot water may be better for chi (or internal energy). However, from the standpoint of what’s known in science to increase your metabolism, drinking water hot or cold would be fine.

A good way of assuring that you drink enough water is carrying a water bottle with you. It is best to use a stainless steel body, as the safety of plastic bottles is still uncertain right now (with differing views among experts/scientists).

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