This is the story of a boy named Gregory.
Greg, like most kids, didn’t slow down very much to eat or drink much water throughout the day. Consequently, Greg was showing signs of dehydration and improper digestion, including environmental allergies and asthma, as well as periods of low energy.
Greg took it upon himself to try and slow down while eating – chewing his food until it was a liquid (which can be a lot of chewing for a young man!) and drinking about ¼ – ½ cup of water every 30-40 minutes throughout the day to make sure he was getting enough water to help his body function optimally. We also identified and addressed some underlying nutritional imbalances.
Greg continued to work on improving his diet, chewing his food and drinking water for months and months – and his allergies and asthma symptoms started to go away.
We recently did some testing on Greg and it showed that he was perfectly hydrated – he was the first kid his age that we had ever tested that had achieved this state of perfect hydration.
Greg was so excited, that he made up a picture of himself to commemorate this historic event; I love this picture so much, and the achievement behind it, that I wanted to share it with you.
So here he is – Meet Gregory – the perfectly hydrated kid!
what kind of water do you suggest to drink?
noncontaminated artesian water, distilled water, or carbon filtered tap/spring water?
HI Erin,
Great question! Distilled water will provide the best chance at hydration since the surface tension is much lower than any other type of water. Once a person is hydrated, we recommend that you drink the most pure water you can find – from your list I would suggest the following: distilled, non-contaminated artesian, then carbon filtered tap/spring water. No matter what type of water you choose, be sure to drink about 2-4 ounces of water every 20-30 minutes throughout the day to increase absorption, and therefore hydration.
Happy drinking!
Dr. Chad
How do you know how much water to drink for perfect hydration? I know I’m not drinking enough water each day, but how do I determine what quantity is right for me?
Hi Melissa,
Great question – Ideally you should start your day with 1-2 glasses of water upon rising. Then drink 1/2 your weight in ounces throughout the day (not counting the morning water) – for example, if you weigh 150 lbs., drink about 75 ounces throughout the day, ideally 2-4 ounces every 20-30 minutes. If you exercise, weigh yourself before and after exercising; the weight difference is the amount of additional water you need to drink to replace what was lost during the workout (again in divided doses). Said more simply:
1) drink 1-2 glasses of water upon rising, 2) drink 1/2 your weight in ounces throughout the day (in addition to morning water and water needed due to workouts), 3) replace the weight loss during a workout with water in divided doses during/after the workout.
Note: it will take about 3 weeks to become properly hydrated; at that point, you will have to urinate about every 1.5-2 hours.
Drink away –
Dr. Chad