Healthy Living and... Water

This is my very first post on healthy living. I have purposefully delayed in sharing any information on this, because it is such a passion of mine that I did not want it to be all that this blog was about. Our intentions are to point families to Jesus. While I believe that nutrition in particular is not first on that list, I do feel that if at all possible it should be something we desire to look into for the benefits it might give to those who have been entrusted into our care. I believe in doing this, we bring glory to His name.

Unfortunately, we don't see any difference in the health of the Christian and the health of our culture.

For almost 6 years now I have been learning and growing and changing in the area of nutrition and healthier living. I am no expert. Just a mom who wants to do my part in building up healthy immune systems that can fight off sickness or at least decrease length and severity of sickness.I believe it is my responsibility as one who believes the Bible is our source for all things. Even what we eat.  I do not believe that by adhering to Old Testament laws concerning diet one is considered spiritually unclean or spiritually clean. But, I do believe that God cares about our health and has given us some wisdom about it in His Word.

I have had several people in the past ask my advice on becoming healthier with their diet and how can they go about it. My very first response is so incredibly easy and I don't have to give one thought to it. WATER. This is the easiest and cheapest first step toward healthier eating and drinking. Some of these people are mainly interested in losing some weight. I would still say water. After getting a little information on a close friend of mine's diet, I went on to tell her that if she would switch from sweet tea and coke to water she would have no trouble losing the weight. Just think, that hour at the gym was such hard work only to burn off the calories of that coke or that big glass of sweet tea!! I have always said that I would rather eat my calories than drink them.

You will find that in Deuteronomy 33, God promised His people that they would live, "in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens drop dew." Dew is pure water. God created this precious beverage. Our own bodies contain 65 percent of water. We need water. Water suppresses the appetite naturally. It reduces fat deposits. Are you suffering from water retention? Drinking more water reduces water retention. It does this because your body does not believe that it is suffering from lack of water and does not hold on to it in areas we don't want to see it (such as our ankles). It flushes out excess sodium and rids of body waste. Water helps maintain proper muscle tone and helps reduce the saggy skin you may see on someone who has lost a lot of weight. Water can help with healthy and resilient skin. And on and on and on.

What kind of water am I talking about?
Pure, filter tap water or a spring that has been naturally filtered by the earth. To find a spring near you, visit http://www.findaspring.com/

What about bottled water?
40 percent of bottled water is tap water. The plastic from the bottles are not good for our environment nor our body. National Geographic has cited that in the U.S. we go through 50 billion plastic bottles a year. Yikes! The chemicals in the plastic also leak through into our water and then into our bellies. How many of you have left the case in the trunk for a few days while the sun cooked that plastic and then you had a little extra somethin' somethin' in that very expensive water you just bought. It is a rip-off, costing 1,900 times the price of tap water.

How much water?
 At least 8- 8ounce glasses a day. An easy way to do this is to fill up a 2 qt. container and drink on it all day until it is gone.

What if I don't like water?
You will. Just keep drinking and you will get used to it and then find yourself craving it. For something a little different and for added benefits, add some honey and lemon occasionally to your water. As you learn more, you can add some herbal teas that are not only pleasant to taste, but  beneficial for many different things.

I love to see our children guzzle down a cup of pure water. I love the fact that they crave it. It has taken time, but my sweet tea and coca-cola lovin' husband has enjoyed water so much that he is okay with us not even buying the stuff. It is our beverage of choice!

May it become yours as well.

Nichole