It’s a Monday morning, the alarm has gone off… you shuffle out of bed and head straight for the kettle, downing your first coffee or tea…. You start to come around slowly…
Sound familiar?
When we drink caffeine first thing in the morning, our body is just coming out of a fasting state and is sensitive to the stimulating effects of caffeine.
For some people it can be too much since caffeine is a diuretic, robbing the body of much needed water at the time when hydration is the most important thing.
There is another way…
Each night we lose around 2 litres of water in our sleep, through sweat and exhalation. We are in need of hydration when we wake up. It’s great to have a glass of water on waking, but not all water is equal. Tap water contains a number of different chemicals depending on where you live.
Many of us have heard that fluoride is not good for us but health and nutrition can be a confusing world, there is a lot of conflicting information out there. Fluoride is in toothpaste, it is in mineral water even and it’s promoted as a factor in healthy dental care.
Fluoride is implicated in many illnesses, including cancer, osteoporosis and behavioural disorders among others. Chlorine is in tap water and used to kill off pathogenic bacteria, which is obviously a desirable effect, however when chlorine is ingested the byproducts of chlorination (called trihalomethanes) cause damage to major organs and are deadly to the healthy bacteria in our gut. Traces of antibiotics, pharmaceutical medications and agricultural chemicals are all found in tap water.
Ideally we will use a high quality water filter for our drinking water, like the Berkey water filter. If this is outside of your budget then a simple Brita water filter is a great way to filter out many nasties and protect your health.
We need electrolytes in the body for cells to function normally.
Electrolytes are minerals that carry an electric charge, like Sodium, Potassium and Magnesium, they are naturally present in micro-quantities in mineral salt/sea salt. We have access to some fantastic sea salts, readily available from all supermarkets.
When we leave water to stand overnight, the chlorine in it will evaporate which removes one toxin.
Each night before you go to bed, filter one jug full of water and leave it to stand on the counter with a small pinch of sea salt dropped into the jug. The electrolytes in the salt will disperse throughout the water.
When you wake up, feel free to add a squeeze or slice of lemon for an immunity boost of vitamin C.
Drinking the salt water first thing, at room temperature won’t shock your stomach with cold which is not good for you. Salt water can stimulate the release of salivary enzymes (amylase) which aids digestion. It is also great for oral health, has been show to be an aid in weight loss and can help to reduce muscle cramps. Of course the major benefit is that you will hydrate your body and replenish salts immediately on waking, which sets you up for the day and reduced the harm from the diuretic effects of the tea or coffee which will follow.
Fill a two litre jug with salted water, with or without lemon juice.
Take one large glass of water on waking. allow 10 minutes to hydrate and wake the body up.
Drink the rest throughout the day.
Note: after your morning rehydration glass, make sure you drink the rest of the two litres throughout the day. You can ensure you finish it by the end of the day before you refill it for the next day.
A handy way to make sure that you stay hydrated all day long & get your two litres of clean water, every day.
Main – Photo by Carli Jeen on Unsplash
