Water—It’s Important!: all links so far

water—it’s important!

• A Quick Tip to have fresh lemon juice at the ready—always

• Gaining control of problem skin: Your Ultimate Guide

• Hot water and lemon to the rescue

• MYTH: Drinking water hydrates your skin (upcoming)

• Problem skin profile: Donna—constipated with problem skin

• The Importance of Drinking Water—your life depends on it!

• Tips to help you Drink More Water!

• WATER! How Eight Glasses A Day Keeps Fat Away

• Why you don’t drink water—another Top 10 list

   

WATER! How Eight Glasses A Day Keeps Fat Away

Below is an article from Bob Hoffman, someone who I still to this day have not been able to locate therefore get permission to use his words. I hope those of you reading will gain important information and that will satisfy Mr. Hoffman wherever he is. 

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How Eight Glasses A Day Keep Fat Away 
by Bob Hoffman

Incredible as it may seem, water is quite possibly the single most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off. Although most of us take it for granted, water may be the only true “Magic Potion” for permanent weight loss.

Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat. Studies have shown that a decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increase, while an increase in water intake can actually reduce fat deposits.
 

Here’s why: the kidneys cannot function properly without enough water. When they do not work to capacity, some of their load is dumped onto the liver.

One of the liver’s primary functions is to metabolize stored fat into usable energy for the body. But if the liver has to do some of the kidney’s work, it cannot work at full throttle. As a result, it metabolizes less fat, more fat remains stored in the body, and weight loss stops.
 

Drinking enough water is the best treatment for fluid retention. When the body gets less water, it perceives this as a threat to survival and begins to hold on to every drop. Water is stored in extracellular spaces (outside the cells). This shows up as swollen feet, hands, and legs. Diuretics offer a temporary solution at best. They force out stored water along with some essential nutrients. Again, the body perceives a threat and will replace the lost water at the first opportunity. Thus, the condition quickly returns. The best way to overcome the problem of water retention is to give your body what it needs—plenty of water. Only then will stored water be released.

If you have a constant problem with water retention, excess salt may be to blame. Your body will tolerate sodium only in certain concentrations. The more salt you eat, the more water your system retains to dilute it. But getting rid of unneeded salt is easy—drink water. As it is forced through the kidneys, it removes excess sodium.

The overweight person needs more water than the thin one. Larger people have larger metabolic loads. Since we know that water is the key to fat metabolism, it follows that the overweight person needs more water.
 

Water helps to maintain proper muscle tone by giving muscles their natural ability to contract and by preventing dehydration. It also helps to prevent the sagging skin that usually follows weight loss. Shrinking cells are buoyed by water, which plumps the skin and leaves it clear, healthy, and resilient.
 

Water helps rid the body of waste. In weight loss, the body has more waste to get rid of—all that metabolized fat must be shed. Again, water helps flush out waste.
 

Water can help relieve constipation. When the body gets too little water, it siphons what it needs from internal sources. The colon is a primary source. Result? Constipation. But when a person drinks enough water, normal bowel function returns.
 

So far, we have discovered some remarkable truths about water and about weight loss: 

• The body will not function properly without enough water and cannot metabolize stored fat efficiently 
• Retained water shows up as excess weight
• To get rid of excess water you must drink more water. Drinking water is essential to weight loss 

How much water is enough? On the average a person should drink eight 8 oz. glasses every day. However, the overweight person needs one additional glass for every 25 pounds of excess weight. The amount that you drink should be increased if you exercise or if the weather is hot and dry.

Water should preferably be cold—it’s absorbed more quickly into the system than warm water. Some evidence suggests that drinking cold water can actually burn calories.
 

When the body gets the water it needs to function optimally, its fluids are perfectly balanced. When this happens, you have reached the “breakthrough point.” What does this mean?

• Endocrine gland function improves
• Fluid retention is alleviated as stored water is lost
• More fat is used as fuel because the liver is free to metabolize stored fat. Natural thirst returns 
• There is a loss of hunger almost overnight

[This is important!] If you stop drinking enough water, your body fluids will be thrown out of balance again and you may experience fluid retention, unexplained weight gain and loss of thirst. To remedy this situation you have to go back and force another breakthrough.

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Although I know this information, I continue to reread this article and each time I think I learn something new. Water and then more water. It’s pretty simply, really.

For more information, see:

• The Importance of Drinking Water—your life depends on it!
• Tips to help you Drink More Water!
• Why you don’t drink water—another Top 10 list

Gaining control of problem skin: Your Ultimate Guide

In order to gain control of problem skin, there are a few important items that should not be overlooked. Although I have already mentioned some of the following problem solvers in other articles (some listed below), I am repeating them here as a consolidated body of information you can easily refer to.

If you can incorporate all of these into your day, although there are no guarantees, I would be surprised if you did not see some marked improvement in your skin. These are not in any particular order of importance, but they are all important for keeping your body—and therefore your skin—healthy, inside and out.

Water. Drinking enough water throughout the day will really help your body get rid of toxins. Water is in no way a cure-all, but without it all of your eliminating organs (including your skin) have to work harder. The goal is to make it easier for your body to eliminate toxins. Eight 8-ounce glasses a day is the minimum to maintain healthy cells and overall hydration. I don’t recommend tap water because it contains chemicals, such as chlorine. Purchase clean, filtered water or get a water filter for your tap.

No sugar (of any kind). If you follow this one piece of advice, it will go a long way to helping your skin clear up. I have seen this to be true in my own skin as well as dozens of my clients throughout the years. Sugar is a major contributor to problem skin.

Chlorophyll. For anyone experiencing breakout, I recommend supplementing with liquid chlorophyll. In short, chlorophyll acts as an internal cleanser, helping to eliminate toxins from the body. It’s a health aid in numerous ways, but I have had a lot of clients find good results by taking “nature’s green drink” to help with their problem skin. As an added benefit (and another reason why I recommend it to my clients), chlorophyll helps to relieve constipation. Constipation can be a contributing factor to problem skin.

Evening primrose oil can help to reduce the amount of oil produced by the sebaceous glands. In some cases it can help to reduce breakouts.

No sun exposure if you can help it. I’m not saying don’t go outside; I mean no direct sunlight on your face. Sometimes you can’t help getting exposure, but certainly don’t purposefully bask in the sun thinking it will clear up your problem skin. It won’t. Heat activates all glandular activity, including your oil glands. In fact, with the worst case scenario, it will increase the amount of breakout you are experiencing. If you have to be in the sun, wear protection such as a wide-brimmed hat, and as always, wear sunscreen.

Don’t wash too much. This has the potential to stimulate the sebaceous glands and create more oil. Twice a day and anytime after you have been sweating is all you need. Don’t think cleaning the surface will eliminate the problem. Try to look at the problems with your skin as stemming from an imbalance on the inside, not just breakout on the outside. And remember, no soaps; only use non-alkaline cleansers.

Don’t let sweat dry on your skin. Immediately rinse your face with water after exercising. You don’t ever want sweat to dry on the surface of your skin. Otherwise you’re just asking for trouble.

There are no guarantees that any of the suggestions here will completely or even partially clear up your problem skin. I offer them because in my experience with my clients, they have had good results incorporating some or all of these recommendations. There are many routes to healthy, clear skin. The road I prefer is getting to the cause of the problem and trying to fix it from the inside out.

If your skin gets beyond your control, and you don’t feel comfortable altering your diet and lifestyle habits, perhaps you would be a good candidate for seeking out a dermatologist’s care. He or she will be able to prescribe oral and/or topical medications that have been proven to help people with problem skin. My feeling, however, is that whichever route you choose, if you don’t alter your diet and eliminate poor-quality foods such as sugar, you are doing your skin a huge disservice.

Problem skin begs for attention. And although it takes commitment, perseverance, and patience, I know you can experience trouble-free skin if you are willing to be open to change. In life, I believe anything is possible.

For corresponding articles to some of the above problem solvers, see:

• Water—It’s Important!: all links so far
• Sugar & Skin: all links so far
• How chlorophyll can help your skin (and ease constipation)
• Evening Primrose Oil for PMS and more
• NO SWEAT: What happens when sweat dries on your skin?
• Problem skin? ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS & become a skin care sleuth 

The Importance of Drinking Water—your life depends on it!

Water is essential to all life. But do you know why? I am including an article I found a long time ago on the importance of water. I was unable to locate the author, Bob Hoffman, who deserves every bit of credit for this well explained and easy to understand information.

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All Life Depends Upon Water
by Bob Hoffman

All life depends on water. Breathing, digestion, elimination, glandular activities, heat dissipation, and secretion can be performed only in the presence of water solutions.
 

The role of water in metabolism, in assimilation, in regulating body temperatures, and in nourishing the tissues explains why we cannot survive very long without adequate amounts of water.
 

While the average person (128 pounds for women, 154 pounds for men) in the temperate zone may “get along” on six pints of water daily if he or she is only moderately active, two to four times as much are needed during periods of vigorous exercise or work, particularly in hot or humid weather. When I had my biggest day as an athlete, competing in 13 races in one day, finishing not worse than third in any one of them, I weighed 167 to start, 154 at the end of the day. By coincidence, I averaged a loss of a pound a race.
 

Almost without exception, a domestic animal, horse, cow, pig, dog or cat, will upon arising take a drink of water if it is available. The custom of early morning drinking of water should be universally followed.
 

Most people do not drink enough water. When taken by the glassful, a fair measure is consumed, but when drinking fountains are present, a drink is usually a small mouthful.
 

With every meal, about a pint of saliva, which is over 99 percent pure water, is secreted by the salivary glands of the mouth and swallowed to make possible the digesting of food.
 

Approximately 96 percent of one’s perspiration is water, so when I lose an average of four pounds in an hour of weight training and running, I have lost mostly water, but the other four percent represents a loss of calories and fat also.
 

The quantity of water excreted by the kidneys is almost in direct proportion to the amount of water taken into the body. The quantity eliminated by the kidneys varies from three pints to one gallon daily, although in certain forms of physical irregularity, notably diabetes, as much as three gallons of water is eliminated in 24 hours.
 

Increased elimination by the kidneys will lower blood pressure. R. Lincoln Graham, M.D. who spent his life practicing hydrotherapy instead of drug therapy, stated that “...thus it is a very splendid rule in all conditions of excessive blood pressure, to drink on an empty stomach, large quantities of water, which will result in excessive stimulation of the kidneys, long after the water is eliminated. In this respect water is a remedy without a rival.” When a doctor finds that the diastolic blood pressure is very high, he looks for kidney trouble.
 

More water in the system is a great help to elimination. When there is too little water in the system, it is taken first for necessary processes and there is not enough to materially aid elimination. The stool is hard and dry, and defective drainage, which many authorities call “the disease of disease” is the unfavorable result.
 

It is so much better to have too much water in the body than not enough. The kidneys will eliminate any surplus with surprising speed, but nothing but harm to the efficiency of the body will accrue when there is not enough water.

You will notice that we say drink more water. Not more sugar laden soft drinks or more coffee. Most soft drinks are strictly a chemical product. When the sugar is not used in their manufacture, only a synthetic sweetener, the manufacturers of such products advertise that the drink contains less than one calorie. This indicates that it indeed has no food value. Good water is the best answer.
 

The Department of Agriculture book on water states, “How far most of us have strayed from the old family spring. Generations of men and women have grown up without experiencing the joy of satisfying their thirst from cool, sparkling spring water.”
 
You will be wise to drink more water, much more water. Too much water is not harmful, as the kidneys remove the surplus, but too little water can indeed be harmful to the body, which of course is YOU. 

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For more information, see:

• Tips to help you Drink More Water!
• Constipation anyone?
• WATER! How Eight Glasses A Day Keeps Fat Away

Why you don’t drink water—another Top 10 list

Top 10 excuses for not drinking water:

1. I don’t get thirsty.
2. I don’t like the way water tastes.
3. It makes me have to go to the bathroom—a lot.
4. I forget to drink it.
5. I don’t sweat, so I don’t need much water.
6. I’ve never been a water drinker, and I’m doing fine without it.
7. It makes me feel bloated.
8. When I walk around, my stomach sounds like a washing machine. (Someone actually told me this!)
9. I don’t have time to drink all the water I need to.
10. The water in my city doesn’t taste good, and I don’t want to buy water.

What are your excuses? People have many reasons for not drinking enough water, but I hope you will forgo these—regardless—and drink more water!

Perhaps you have the best of intentions yet still don’t seem to get enough water in the day. For some helpful ideas to get more water down in the course of your day, see:

• Tips to help you Drink More Water!  
• Quick Tip to have fresh lemon juice at the ready—always (for a little zest in your ‎‎H2O)
• WATER! How Eight Glasses A Day Keeps Fat Away

A Quick Tip to have fresh lemon juice at the ready—always

I love lemons, lemon juice, and my little electric fruit juicing machine I purchased many years ago. I have a real juicer, but the machine I’m talking about just juices fruit. It’s super easy and not a pain to clean like a real juicer.

Since I love to have real lemon juice squeezed into my water, or in tea, or when I make the Master Cleanser drink (lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper), I pretty much always have lemons in my kitchen.

I’m also lazy, or perhaps it’s because I’m practical. No matter, I simply don’t love juicing 1/2 of a lemon, leaving the other half sitting around (no doubt losing potency) as well as having to constantly clean my little fruit juicer.

So I came up with a great idea (I am sure I’m not the first): putting fresh squeezed lemon juice into ice trays, then freezing for future use. That I am not the inventor of this was evidenced by the amount of photos of lemon juice in ice cube trays when I went searching for a photo for this article, along with countless blog posts. For me, it’s new—and I love it, even if I didn’t invent the thing!

Nevertheless, it has worked wonders for me and my ability to have lemon juice at the ready—always. I now put fresh squeezed lemon juice in an ice tray and make lemon ice! Each cube measures out to be a little over two tablespoons of juice, which is perfect. I can pop one in my water and the juice eventually melts as I’m drinking. The lemon cube easily melts in the hot water of tea. It may be a silly thing, but this has been a revelation for me! 

The greatest aspect about juicing for ice trays is I can juice many lemons all at once, therefore not having the endless clean up day after day that I had before. Plus no lemon goes unjuiced right after it’s sliced in half. So I must be getting more nutrients from all the lemons since none are sitting on my counter waiting for their turn to be juiced.

This photo is of a fruit juicer similar to the machine I use. Mine is so old, I’m sure they don’t make the exact model anymore. But most of the fruit juicers I looked at online were around $20 or so, and worth every penny. So get out your ice trays and start juicing some lemons—for your health!

A little extra tip: If I have other citrus fruit in my kitchen, I will juice some of those along with the lemons. The other day I juiced 3 lemons, a lime, and 1/2 of a grapefruit. So now I have mostly lemon cubes with a little extra flavor!

For more information, see:

• Hot water and lemon to the rescue to understand more about the importance of lemon juice
• Tips to help you Drink More Water!
• Water—It’s Important!: all links so far

UPDATE: I have found getting the individual lemon ice cubes out of the tray a bit difficult. I’m sure it is due to the sticky nature of the lemon juice. Now, after the cubes have solidified, I transfer them into a little plastic leftovers container. The amazing thing is the cubes, once in the container, don’t stick together. It makes it infinitely easier to put one cube into a glass of water.

Problem skin profile: Donna—constipated with problem skin

Donna has blackheads on her nose and rarely gets whiteheads. She experiences most of her breakouts in the hollows of her cheeks. She complains of oily eyelids. Other than her normal daily routine, she uses a peel-off mask now and then.

For breakfast, she has oatmeal or cereal, and sometimes a bagel and eggs. On a normal work day, she has fast food for lunch. The sugar she knows she eats comes in the form of muffins, which is just like cake in terms of sugar content—no matter how healthy they may appear to be. Donna says she is “very constipated.”

Donna used Proactiv for three months; then she said it stopped working. This is something a lot of people have told me. But I will say this: No matter what regime you are using product-wise, if you don’t change your eating habits, there is no guarantee your skin troubles will exit your life.

Donna’s case is actually easy to help. She wasn’t really aware of how much sugar she was getting just by eating cereal and muffins, which are loaded with sugar, let alone other sugary foods she did know about. Fast food is not good for either her skin or her colon. Without eating at least as much good food as bad food in her diet, she shouldn’t expect constipation and problem skin to be out of the ordinary. Diet is key here.

Preparation is going to be Donna’s challenge as well as her saving grace. Usually the reason we eat fast food is convenience. If she were to be very organized and prepare lunch for herself, which would also include healthy snacks for her work week, she would be able to eliminate a lot of her problem foods. Getting away from all the sugar is a little harder. Sugar is physically addicting and an acquired craving not so readily dismissed by the body.

I would recommend Donna immediately start taking both chlorophyll and acidophilus. Chlorophyll, if taken regularly, can really help with constipation and elimination. Because of the buildup of old debris in her colon, there is no doubt an unhealthy amount of bad bacteria growing there as well. Taking acidophilus will help to restore a healthy balance of good and bad bacteria.

Above all else, water is essential to Donna’s skin care program. I can’t stress this enough: Drink more water! For Donna, it will help with her constipation (keeping her colon hydrated will help things to move along), it will help with her skin (it takes water to eliminate toxins from the body), and it will indeed help every cell in her body function better (each cell contains up to 2/3 water). Without adequate amounts of water, our entire body’s health is compromised.

I believe with conscientious design, Donna’s skin problems can be a thing of the past. She has to be willing to let go of old patterns of eating and accept some new lifestyle changes. If clear skin really is a priority for her, Donna will make these all-important changes.

For more information, see:

• How chlorophyll can help your skin (and ease constipation
• Tips to help you Drink More Water!
• “I don’t eat much sugar”—really?

Tips to help you Drink More Water!

Drinking enough water can sometimes feel like a daunting task day in and day out. Before I give you water drinking tips, I want to offer you a different way to look at water in the foods you eat. Let me illustrate this point with an example. When I asked a client of mine if she drank much water she said, “I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.” Although these foods do contain a good deal of water, it still takes water to digest them. Fruits and vegetables are high water-content foods and are fairly easy to digest but still don’t count toward your eight glasses a day.

Concentrates such as sugar, salt, pasta, bread, and even meats take a lot of water to digest. These foods are low in water-content, and your body requires a lot of water to assimilate and break them down. Everything except water requires water in order to be digested in the body. Coffee, tea, and even sodas don’t count as water intake. These, too, require water to be digested. In fact, caffeine and alcohol act as diuretics and actually leach water from your body. Sodas contain water but loads of chemicals as well, so it takes a lot of water to flush these toxins out of your system. Drinking clean, filtered water is the only water that counts toward your daily intake. Remember, the normal recommendation is to drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses per day. Most people don’t get enough water, so I’m including a few tips that may help to remind you to drink more water.

Visual stimulants or timing cues can be helpful reminders to consume water. Using drinking glasses you like will help to stimulate your reflex to drink water. Recently I purchased some great eight ounce drinking glasses. They are short, so it seems like I don’t have to drink a lot of water. It’s a visual thing. I love these glasses, and I actually like going into my kitchen and grabbing one, filling it with clean, filtered water, and drinking one or two glasses. (I’m not a sipper. I drink a whole glass at a time.) I always keep an empty glass on my kitchen counter to remind me to fill it up, then I down another eight ounces of the clear stuff.

There are countless ways to get yourself to drink more water:

• When you first get up in the morning, try drinking one or two glasses. It will put some water immediately into your system and hopefully get you started on a day filled with water consumption
• When you arrive at work, drink a glass
• Before you leave for the day drink another one
• Eleven a.m., 3 p.m.—one glass each. In just doing that, you’ve gotten several glasses in without much effort
• On the commute to and from work, drink bottled water you keep in the car (or your bag, briefcase, backpack, etc.)

Wherever and whatever works for you, find creative ways to get more water into your system. It’s a constant battle, but visual stimulants and timing cues can help ensure you drink enough water every day. It’s all for your long-term health, so it’s worth it!

For more information, see:

• Part I: The Importance of Drinking Water
• Quick Tip to have fresh lemon juice at the ready—always
• Why you don’t drink water—another Top 10 list

Hot water and lemon to the rescue

I went on a 3 ½ hour hike today up to Green Mountain in beautiful Boulder, Colorado. I ran into a few hikers who were feeling the effects of the night before. In other words, they were hungover. I wondered if they took any “hangover helpers” before they went to bed last night or if they did anything this morning to help their bodies—specifically their livers—recover from too much alcohol.

If you’ve had a night of drinking (too much) or even if you’ve just had one or two, the next day is a good time to treat your liver to a little pick-me-up. It’s simple and you can get it anywhere: Hot water and lemon. The lemon juice is a good liver tonic and can help it recover from alcohol consumed the night before. Water is obviously hydrating, and since alcohol acts as a diuretic, leaching water from your body, it is essential during and after drinking alcohol.

This lemon-water drink really tastes good too—if you like lemons! Simply squeeze ¼ to ½ of a lemon in a cup of hot water. Not only will you receive detoxifying benefits, but lemons are high in vitamin C.

If you can, drink one or two glasses of water in between each glass of wine, beer, or liquor. Also, taking evening primrose oil before you go to bed will help with the inflammation and dehydration caused by alcohol, helping to allay a hangover the next day. And do try to drink hot water with lemon juice to give your liver a pick-me-up the morning after.

For more ideas to help you after a night of overindulgence, see 

• A Quick Tip to have fresh lemon water at the ready—always
• Holiday Hangover Helpers
• The Many Uses for Evening Primrose Oil 
• Emergen-C—a little effervescence for your health

Summit marker with the names of the 12’ers, 13’ers, and 14’ers to the west of Green Mountain in Boulder CO.