If I had a dollar for every single person that chugs down the recommended 2 litres of water a day, well… I’d be broke.
We’re all guilty of it, a whole day with just a few sips of water that ends on the couch with a headache and some aspirin. Drinking water for overall wellness is not a foreign concept to most, in fact if you asked someone right now to name 5 ways to be healthy I guarantee that drinking lots of water would be on their list. But when you come to think of it, most people still let this point slip into the back of their head- filed away under ‘to do later’ in their brain storage cabinet.
Getting our daily does of sun light is the other half of the ultimate health duo that everyone seems to be forgetting. Between home, work, school, shops, cafes, umbrellas, clothes, hats, and an understandable fear of the carcinogenic properties of the sun, getting our daily dose of Vitamin D can become a task of difficultly.
The Facts
The benefits of water consumption are endless. Every single biochemical reaction in the human body occurs in its presence, and us humans we are made up of over 60%. So other than practically making us more mermaid than human, water is responsible for regulating all bodily processes; blood pressure, temperature, digestion, waste excretion, nutrient transportation, energy release, the list could go on. The hard truth is however that everyone already knows this, and yet, still no change.
Sun exposure may be a little less coveted than water. All we hear is the dangers of its exposure and that sun is practically the devil incarnate. But have we gone too far? Studies are starting to show that Vitamin D deficiency amongst global societies can cause a myriad of consequences, and should not be underestimated1.
So you might be wondering how this is possible, can’t we get Vitamin D from other sources like food? Well the answer is yes, of course food sources can provide Vitamin D, but what most people aren’t aware of is that 70-80% of our Vitamin D comes from the sun- so relying on food alone can become an invaluable source. Some of the most prevalent acute and chronic diseases that Vitamin D is associated with include childhood dental caries, cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes, varying cancer types, and even some neurological disorders such as dementia and epilepsy. Ensuring that adequate Vitamin D intake is occurring daily may assist in the prevention of these common societal diseases plaguing our nations currently.
How much water and sun should you be getting?
The current recommendations are as follows:
In litres, you should be getting minimum 0.03 x your weight (kg) of water. So for someone weighing 70kg they should be having 2.1L per day of water
For sun exposure an exact amount is yet to be uncovered, but getting around 15 minutes of SPF free sun (so no sunscreen of sorts as this extremely minimises absorption of Vitamin D) in the morning or afternoon daily is recommended. Having your palms facing up to the sun will also absorb the most Vitamin D.
Health is simple, we as humans over complicate it. Forget the supplements and the superfoods that cost you an arm and a leg, and just go back to the basics. Eat real food, laugh a little more, be happy by doing things you love, and for goodness sake- DRINK MORE WATER AND DANCE UNDER THE SUN.
If you find water boring and want some quick tips on how to make drinking it more interesting, check out our article here. Otherwise grab yourself a cup of H20 and go spend a few minutes in the suns rays!
References:
The vitamin D deficiency pandemic: Approaches for diagnosis, treatment and prevention. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28516265
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