In my studies of Ayurveda, I was surprised to discover that the things we often hear about drinking water and staying hydrated isn’t always the right advice. Ayurveda offers a few extremely simple and helpful guidelines that help us stay hydrated without waterlogging our bodies, flushing out nutrients before we can absorb them, or weakening our digestive fire, which is the seat of all health and immunity. We are what we digest.
WHAT WE OFTEN HEAR
Health fads often emphasize the importance just drinking as much water as possible. I myself used to somewhat pride myself on how many giant Nalgene or Yeti water bottles I could drink per day. While being hydrated is certainly better than being dehydrated (which anyone who as worked on my team for floral events or learned with me as a student or mentee in my workshops and courses knows I am passionate about!), the truth is that consuming copious amounts of water (in excess of 3 liters), is actually not great for our health. It can flush out nutrients our bodies need before we can absorb them and it can dampen the "Agni" or digestive fire that is essential to processing and absorbing our food and building our immunity and vitality.
WHAT TO DO INSTEAD
- Ayurveda recommends drinking 2-3 liters per day. Less than this might leave you dehydrated, while more can be too much, as mentioned above.
- Drink water when you get up in the morning and when you are thirsty during the day, but avoid drinking a lot of water 30-minutes before or 30-minutes after a meal to give yourself time to digest. Your body needs the internal heat to process your meal.
- Avoid drinking ice-cold water or water with ice in it. The cold dampens the digestive fire and makes it more difficult to digest (and absorb the nutrients you need) from your food. If you've felt brain fog, heaviness, or low-energy after eating, ice water could be why. If you love your ice, just do your best, and try to have it away from meal times.
- It's totally fine to have sips of water during a meal. Just don't guzzle a whole full glass while your body is trying to receive and digest food.
Making these small and accessible adjustments will have a big impact on your overall energy-levels, your mental clarity, and your overall immunity and vitality. We often hear the phrase "you are what you eat." Ayurveda teaches instead that "you are what you digest." Putting this awareness into practice has made a wonderful impact on my health and wellbeing, and my hope is that it nurtures and supports you too.
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