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Dr Stuart Murray

Water: The Secret To Getting The Right Amount.

13 January

4 minutes read

What we will cover

We are going to look at what water to drink, how much water to drink and the benefits.

Why is water important

Our bodies are made up of 60% water. We are able to stay alive 3 weeks without food, but we can’t get by without water for 3 days. We use water as part of every system of our body. If the body has a change in hydration of just 2%, (your intake of water), there is a cognitive and performance decline in that individual. So its very important that we keep drinking water throughout the day if we want to stay at our best.

What water to drink

We have hard water in Epsom, this means it has calcium and magnesium in high amounts, this makes the water more alkaline (which turns out to be ok).

Our water is made safe from bacteria, fecal contamination and the like by undergoing treatments at different water treatment plants throughout the UK. The products used in these plants make the water safe to drink, but also leave residual disinfection by-products (DBPs). These are shown to be endocrine disruptors and can affect fertility.

A study also shows that high fluoride levels (that above 0.5 ppm) actually can affect the thyroid gland, this affects bone health, metabolism, muscle function and numerous other body functions. Luckily it looks like our local area, seems to have low level fluoride, according to this website. https://www.uk-water-filters.co.uk/pages/maps-of-fluoride-areas-uk

In my home, we use a whole house water filter fitted by a plumber that we got from https://aquatiere.co.uk/. This is quite an expensive option initially, but you can use any tap in the house. You can use a Brita filter unit or the like, they also work well enough, but they do let things through. You can also now get a number of under sink water filters, that do a good job and are relatively cheaper than the whole house option.

How much water to drink

I have found a framework that Dr Andrew Huberman (The Huberman Lab) has researched and discussed in one of his episodes: How to Optimize Your Water Quality & Intake for Health. I have summarised the findings below:

For every 1 hour you are awake, you need to consume 236ml(8oz) for the first 10 hours, which equates to 2360ml(80oz). This is because the needs of the body to take on fluid changes as the evening time arrives. This fluid can be taken on in fits and starts through the day and does not need to be taken per hour.

After the first 10 hours you should reduce your fluid intake to no more than 5oz-8oz for the rest of the evening. The speed/rate in which you drink in the evening hours somewhat correlates to how often you need to urinate at night.

When exercising, you need to consume 2ml per kg every 15-20 min of exercise, you can either sip throughout your workout or take a few gulps as and when. It’s just best not to wait until you’re finished and drink all your drink in one go.

For those of you who like a coffee in the practice, Huberman recommends increasing your fluid intake 2:1 for any caffeinated drink. So for every 8oz cup of coffee you should drink 16oz of water.

Conclusion

It seems very obvious from the literature that enjoying a good life, rich with energy, clarity and vitality is somewhat grounded in taking in quality H2O. What I found when searching the topic, is that the quality of the water is that we get through the tap serves a basic function but has largely been stripped of a lot of important factors. I learned the Hydrogen rich water, that is found in nature has anti inflammatory effects. I learned that there may also even be a such thing as dead water and conversely, structured or alive water. This is a rich topic with growing data. I will attach a few podcasts in the notes below for those that want to go deeper into this.

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-ideal-day-podcast/id1457973622?i=1000679842882