It has been a fall-like spring, but it does feel nice having longer days, warmer temperatures and the beautiful blossom scent in the air. Our clients have been travelling more after a couple of years of restrictions and life just seems more normal. We went to have an iced latte and sat at the beach watching the people and the beautiful scenery- dogs running around, children playing and adults enjoying their pint and chatting to each other. Beach huts have been open more often and you can take a peek at what the owners have done/built inside them. Brighton’s open houses are up again and if you are into arts/DIYs or simply love wandering around random people’s houses-it is definitely an event to try. Warmer temperatures have always had a good impact on my health- I notice my body less tense and craving more fresh and healthy foods. It is also important to remind ourselves about our water intake as the weather gets warmer…

I have never been good at drinking water, to be honest. You hear everyone talk about it- advertisements, doctors, personal trainers etc, but I found out it comes with a few inconveniences- I always found myself running to the loo every couple of minutes, feeling full and bloated and not enjoying the taste of the water. I found out later that I have been drinking the water wrong. Yes, you can fail at drinking water- life is complicated already, now this? This blog is written for all of you who want to enjoy your water drinking experience more and feel good about it!

1. Sips rather than big gulps. Sipping water, rather than drinking a lot over a short period of time, allows the body to efficiently process the water and hydrate, without the spike in urination we see with gulping water. This tip is a tricky one as it would work great with busy people who hate interrupting their working hours with unnecessary runs to the toilet, however, requires frequent attention given to their water bottles…
2. Adding minerals/salt/lemon to water. Most bottled water (with a couple of exceptions), as well as filtered water, does not have enough minerals to suit our everyday needs, whereas the non-filtered/tap water contains known and sometimes unknown chemicals that can harm our health in the long term. The best way to work around this is by adding minerals to your filtered or bottled water yourself. These can be good quality brand mineral add ons or using something that can be found in most of Britain’s cupboards- some sea salt, vinegar, lemon/lime. Not only does it add the necessary minerals you need, but also helps your body to absorb the liquid better, which means feeling more hydrated, not running to the loo all the time and having a better taste in your water.
3. Warm rather than cold. There is some evidence that suggests the benefits of drinking warm water over cold, particularly when it comes to digestion and stress levels. Warm temperatures soothe the nervous system, which therefore links it to stress and part of the organs and systems that are aggravated when we feel stressed- digestion, reproduction, detox, immune system etc, which is why it connects the water temperature to change in how these systems are working.
4. Avoid late-night water intake. This one is for those late-night loo runners that have had a massive jug of water before going to the bed. Disturbed sleep and overconsumption of water before you let your body go into a good night’s rest do not sound like the best idea. Most of the people that are feeling extremely dehydrated before going to bed have either not had any water during the day, consume too many salty foods or struggle with issues in the body, most commonly-sugar intolerance/pre/diabetes.
5. Checking urine colour. This is my favourite part of the day as weird as it sounds. Urine is a great way of seeing if your body is well hydrated. You must have heard of the fact that your urine should not be dark yellow/orange colour as it signals severe hydration (or other functional issues), so checking on the shades of yellow will give you an idea if you are doing a good job with your water intake. The best colour is a faded shade of yellow or almost clear.
6. Reduce/avoid water during meals. Flooding your body with water whilst digesting food can interrupt the digestive enzyme production as you are chewing, which can lead to indigestion, acid reflux and/or bloating as water dilutes the enzymes that are responsible for preparing your digested food to move towards the stomach and then bowels.

So let this blog be your little reminder to drink more water than you did yesterday or if you do think you are drinking well and enough of it- good job- keep it going!