It's amazing to feel the season change, a reminder that I do not control this world but giving me more reasons that I love living in it. The 20-minute evening walks help me step away the stress of the day, encourage digestion, and keep me in pace with blood sugar balance, hedging diabetes from my plate of life. Recently in class four types of Diabetes were described:
Diabetes Type I (hereditary driven), and
Type II (with its multiple causes including lifestyle), were joined by
Type III, (now identifying Type II as bridging to Alzheimer's), and
Type IV related to polycystic ovarian syndrome.
I'm grateful for the way that education and facts inspire me to keep moving. The after-dinner walk has been a great way to enjoy the weather.
Additionally, a recent interview with my nutritionist challenged my approach to daily hydration. I've long called myself a "gulper," each hour downing some 8-12 ounces of water to ensure that I hit my understanding of ideal hydration levels. I learned, however, from Dr. James that the liver cycles on a 30-minute basis--and consequently my hourly hydration habits leave the liver thirsty complicating its work:
preparing bile for digestion,
cleaning and sourcing nutrition from the blood of the stomach and intestines, as well as
shunting additional nutrition to ALL of the other organs of the body on a twice-daily basis. This article from LiverSupport.com gives a few more insights to the link between hydration and liver function.
Our better habits respond to the Liver's 30-minute cycling, and LESS water, MORE OFTEN has made significant impact maintaining my electrolyte and blood sugar balances--increasing both my work and activity endurance.
How did I know how much to drink for the targeted 10 hours of hydration daily? Grab a calculator:) Here's Dr. James' Half-Hour Hydration Formula:
Body weight divided by 2 multiplied by 0.8, divided by 20.
For me, this reduced my water intake by more than half per half hour. Using this formula, a 200-pound person would drink 4 ounces--about 4 full mouthfuls every 30 minutes for 10 hours of the day.
When I'm playing tennis and sweating, hydration needs necessarily increase--I choose to take 2 ounces each time I cross the net approximately every 10-20 minutes--keeping up with my perspiration but NOT interrupting my game with an overfull bladder.
I've also tested the Half-Hour Hydration Formula during long-distance drives and have been comfortable for HOURS and MILES. Note the article referenced above for other empowering hydration benefits. As always, it's great to counsel with your own medical professionals to personalize practices for your best outcomes. Cheers! Rachel
