Water, Water, Everywhere...

So lately I’ve been obsessed with water. OBSESSED. To the point where every drop looks like this to me:

Yet this is not so for all. Despite the fact that more than half of a human’s body weight is water, most individuals don’t drink nearly enough water. (Further research is necessary for other species, however if you are an elemental, I’m assuming you’re near 100%...) But alas! I was there too once. In fact, let me start from the beginning:

Wait, wrong story... Ah, here we go... When I was younger, I rarely drank water. My beverages of choice were either sodas or soft drinks of some kind. In college, I switched over to juices. I was in love with apple and cranberry juice, or at least I was in love with the sugar. Buster Bluth and I had very much in common during that time.

Then in my twenties, I switched over to just water. As of 2014, I’ve been drinking mostly water for almost 4 years. I do drink some tea, and I do allow for the occasional adult beverages, but for the most part water is the way to go for me. But what have I discovered in my deepening relationship with water? Just drinking water isn’t enough. You can drink ONLY water EVERDAY and still be dehydrated. My life experiences and adventures have shown me that one factor that can indeed play a significant role in preventing a normal human being from feeling like a SUPER human being, and that is 

  

So in light of that, I’d like to share a few things I’ve learned over the years and how they’ve helped me to unravel some of the mysteries of hydration.

1. Drinking water ISN’T enough. You have to drink a certain amount. 

Paul Chek, in his book Eat, Move and Be Healthy, recommends that the average person should drink half of their body weight in water every day. So if you weigh 140 lbs, you should be drinking 70 ounces a day. (If you measure your weight in kilograms, then multiply your weight in kg by 0.033 and that will determine how many liters to drink a day.) Sounds like a lot, but I promise, it gets easier over time.

2. Temperature MATTERS.

And the temperature is LUKE-IAMYOURFATHER-WARM water. 

This might be more difficult for some than others, but it is easier to drink lukewarm or room temperature water. Cold water actually sits into your stomach until it is body temperature, the temperature needed to absorb it. 

In a nutshell this means no ICE. I know, I know, this makes you feel like this:

and as Chuck Noland implies, you feel as if ice in your glass makes you feel civilized... but your body will thank you if you give it more lukewarm water. 

3. SALT is key.

And No, I’m not just talking about Supernatural.

For some people, drinking adequate amounts of water can be difficult, or can cause them to have to pee ALL the time. This can be helped by added a pinch of UNPROCESSED sea salt, Celtic Sea Salt works best. This also helps make sure that people who don’t intake enough salt, get enough as well. And yes, salt is important to stay hydrated, but like everything else, is just as dangerous if you have too much of it. My advice is to put a pinch of salt in your water, but never enough to taste it. If you can taste the salt, you’ve added too much. And yes, I try to put a pinch of salt in all of my water, and No, it’s not always easy. I carry salt with me everywhere (and not just because I’m a Supernatural fan), and it is a lifestyle choice. So this may not be the first step to attempt if you’re looking to up your hydration levels. But if you’ve done everything else easier than this, I highly suggest it. You will be able to tell the difference. Some people even claim that they prefer the mouthfeel of water when salt is added. 

4. WHEN to drink water

I will not lie to you, this was on of the difficult things for me to adapt to, and I do struggle with it sometimes. In the defense of what I’m about to say, however, I find it makes an INCREDIBLE difference. 

There is a school of thought lead by Dr. BATMANghelidj (No, I did not make up that name,

so how cool is that?!?, and YES I refer to him as Dr. Batman) that it doesn’t matter how much water you drink but also when you drink it. I don’t know about you, but my day can go very much like the doctor’s definition of time, so learning the behaviors of when to drink water has been quite the endeavor. But basically, Dr. Batman suggests that you drink:

30 oz of water right before breakfast

30 oz of water right before lunch

16 oz of water right before dinner

Water as needed in between or after (particularly if you sweat a lot or engage in physical activity)

This is supposed to make sure that all of your water isn't taken in kind with the food you eat (as water in food instead of just water) and is supposed to help with overeating since you’ll kind of be somewhat full just from the water. As I mentioned before, this was a Herculean task for me. Thirty ounces of water is a lot. But once you Master it (you'll be free), if you stick to this schedule, you’ll almost never feel dehydrated.

5. Alkaline Water

This is where I’m at now. Having explored the above four suggested habits, I have recently been introduced to alkaline water. Basically, this water has a higher pH than your normal tap water, which can be a bit on the acidic side of things. I will be completely honest, and say that I don’t know enough about it to heavily promote it or suggest it, but if I notice an undeniable awesomeness about it, I promise to share. However, if you’ve had incredible experiences with alkaline water, I’d LOVE to hear about. I’m at a stage where I’m about to level up in Water-nerdiness, and the more I can know the better. :)

And now for something new: 

What I’m currently obsessed with: Alkaline water, Dinosaurs, Peeta Mellark, CHEK Education Institute & Las Vegas initiatives for Going Green 

What I’m currently reading: Game of Thrones, Paul Chek’s Eat, Move & Be Healthy (for a second time) & The Vampire Academy (Yes, I have book ADHD)

What I’m currently watching: How I Met Your Mother, Classic Who, Warm Bodies ( Please also note that have TV ADHD)

What I'm currently stalking to consider to read/watch/buy: Parenthood, Awkward Season Three, A Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch, Boardwalk Empire.

Welcome!

Hi there!

Welcome to Holistic Health Nerd, where Health, Happiness and Nerdom unite! 

So what’s going on here? How does this work? 

As a nerd, I have always valued my brain and what I put in it (high-quality sci-fi material of course!). In a nutshell: I love my brain; and I want it to last forever while functioning at warp speed. A couple of years ago, I discovered the world of holistic health. And even while playing Scully to most holistic health Mulders, I was won-over by some of several holistic principles, theories and beliefs. I have also discovered that if you put some of this stuff together, something amazing happens: an increase and happiness and well-being. And Chief, you have no idea what that really means until you experience it for yourself. Like Batman? Who doesn’t? Want to FEEL as great as Batman? Now we’re talking.

Why Holistic Health and Sci-Fi Nerdom? 

Let’s just say I’m a fan of both worlds, and almost everything I’m obsessed with falls into one of these two categories. And while many people normally wouldn’t associate these traditionally separate realms, I can’t help but interpret and associate life and holistic health principles into sci-fi concepts with my nerd brain. For example, take the two pictures below. Most people look at life like this:

But like Dr. Ian Malcom suggests in Jurassic Park “Life finds a way...”. I interpret this more  as: “Life finds a way to make things much more complicated.” Such as transforming visiting a theme park into visiting a theme park while running for your life from dinosaurs. Smart ones.  And consequently, I view life in a more entropic and wibbly wobbly timey-wimey perspective as is suggested by the Doctor Who timeline:

And of course, as a nerd (a Whovian in particular), this makes complete sense, maybe even more sense than the first timeline. In a way, I think it’s more real. I’m pretty sure, to me, at least, my life seems more like a Doctor Who episode than what theoretically happens...

I have the same outlook on health. Most people would probably say that health comes from working out, and eating right, and well, that’s it. They would also argue probably a simple theoretical formula: start off healthy, eat well, work out to train or keep off weight = BAM! Great Health! They would also probably say great health and mental well being can be explained by boiling down things to this: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (not to knock Maslow, he’s awesome)

However, in my opinion there’s a couple of kinks in all this normal timeline business, and the generally accepted outlook... What if you didn’t start off healthy?  What if what society has determined as healthy and nutritious, well, really isn’t? Where’s the mental, spiritual, or awareness of self aspects of things? And what, exactly does Maslow’s hierarchy look like on the ground level? For analyzing someone else Maslow’s got it dead on. But when I’m looking at my own life, what does it all mean?

From my experience, holistic health on the ground level, looks a little more like this:

Where overall and holistic health both results from and has impact on  ALL of  its components. This concept also happens to cause a completely reinforcing cycle which can be shown in the really cool diagram above that my nerd brain translates into this:

Or, if you’re not so familiar with the Winchester brothers.  Maybe this:

***Disclaimer: Although holistic health is a powerful force, there is no direct proof that it can protect one from demonic possessions or cylons.***

So what’s in it for me?

Well Maslow got it right when he said that man is a social animal. 

And this is can be seen directly in nerd behavior and obsessions with cons.

However, I have yet to find a subset of nerds that are as obsessed with and enthusiastic about holistic health as I am, which is not to say they don’t exist, just that we haven’t declared ourselves yet.  So like Klaus from TVD (except without the vampire status, but as an original none the less), in the absence of a “perfect” family, I hope to create my own hybrids who care about their holistic health just as much as they obsess over all things in their respective nerd realms. Look what nerds have done around the world to show their love and fandom. Now imagine what they could do for themselves, and the universe if they could unite in taking an interest in themselves, both in mind and body. And they’d also get to feel like Batman. All the time.

So happy reading, nerd on, and may the force of holistic health be with you!

Allons-y!

Sama