By Franciscan Health
Breathing, circulation, body temperature regulation, and the senses all rely on your body having sufficient water. Being dehydrated can also affect your mood, make you cranky, tired and irritable. Water helps to flush out excess toxins, maintains regularity, transports nutrients and oxygen, plus best of all, increases energy and helps fight fatigue.
Water for Optimal Hydration
Most people reach for a soda or a coffee for a pick me up. Caffeinated or sugary drinks will give you an initial boost of energy, but will you will inevitably crash later. Water will help to keep you hydrated, leading to more consistent energy levels throughout the day.
Do Sports Drinks Help? 
“One issue with sports drinks is that many people drink them instead of water when working out and many drink them without working out at all as a ‘healthy alternative’ to soda,” said Pamela Johnson, BS, HHP-AADP, CFMP, RYT, Franciscan WorkingWell. “The general rule is that unless you work out for 45 minutes to an hour, water is the best hydration. After an hour, electrolytes and salts may need to be replenished. For those who drink them without working out, this is not a healthy choice. The calorie or sugar content is very high in these drinks and even endurance athletes know not to use refined sugar as fuel.”
It’s also important to know the difference between sports drinks and energy drinks. Some energy drinks contain up to 500 mg of caffeine, which can cause heart palpitations and high blood pressure.
It’s easy to guzzle these drinks and often drink more than the serving size. This not only increases calorie and sugar consumption, but also caffeine levels, which can increase dehydration.
Are You Drinking Enough Water?
The Institute of Medicine in the United States recommending a liquid intake at just under 3.2 quarts for men, and just more than two quarts for women. Start with the minimum of eight – 8 oz. (1 cup) glasses of pure water per day. But, another way to gauge how much water to consume is to take your body weight and divide by two, which equals how many ounces of water you should drink per day.
Increase Water Intake
Consider trading one caffeinated or sweetened beverage and replacing with 20 ounces of cold water every day until you are mostly consuming water. Here are a few more tips for increasing your water intake:
- Use a BPA-free water bottle to reuse throughout the day or drink from an insulated cup. These keep water ice cold all day and they help you count how many glasses you drink.
- To avoid artificial sweeteners, stay away from flavored water. You can add fresh or frozen fruit, vegetables, and herbs to add a little variety such as lemon, cucumber, or mint.
- Try unsweetened iced tea with a slice of lemon to give you a different flavor without adding sugar.
- This summer as the temps start to rise, reach for water instead of iced coffee, soda pop or lemonade!
To maintain energy and stamina to finish your 18 holes strong, drink lots of water early and often, during your round.
