In terms of volume, water is our greatest nutrient need – second only to oxygen.
One of the main reasons you get tired is because you may be dehydrated.
Dehydration is considered a contributor to more lifestyle diseases than any other single factor, except fat.
By being dehydrated, we compromise the body’s effort to rid itself of accumulated toxins, which affect proper cellular function.
The human body is made up of around 70% water. Therefore, common sense tells us that we should consume a diet containing at least 70% water. Interestingly, 70% of the planet is also covered in water.
Anything you eat apart from raw fresh fruits and vegetables, and seeds and nuts, is a concentrated food; meaning that the water content has been removed, either by cooking or processing.
When food is cooked or processed, it loses its natural water content, and most of its nutritional value. And in case you’re wondering, consuming extra liquid in the form of tap or mineral water does not restore the natural nutrients lost from cooked foods.
Our digestive system prefers food with a high water content, as nutrients are more easily extracted and waste eliminated.
Take a look at the amount of water in these common foods:
Food Percent Water:
– Most Processed Breakfast Cereals (Before Adding Milk) 3%
– Walnuts 4%
– Crackers 4.3%
– Almonds 7%
– Dates 20%
– White Bread 37%
– Cooked Beef 53%
– Cooked Spaghetti 72%
– Baked Potatoes 74%
– Bananas 74%
– Corn 76%
– Grapes 83%
– Carrots 87%
– Sweet peppers 91%
– Spinach 92%
– Watermelons 92%
– Zucchini 95%
– Lettuce 96%
– Cucumbers 96%
– Tomatoes 97%
There are a few tips to help you recognize if you’re dehydrated.
First is checking out how many times you go to the bathroom. You should urinate approximately eight to twelve times in a 24-hour period, including nights.
The next criterion is the appearance of the urine.
Are you urinating enough quantity, and is the urine clear instead of deep yellow or dark?
The correct urine needs to be almost clear in colour.
If you start urinating yellow that means you’re slightly dehydrated. You need to correct that by eating the correct foods.
One common complaint among new raw foodists is the need to wake up and urinate during the night, which isn’t really a problem because you fall sleep quickly afterwards.
If you’re waking up too often at night, you should consider not eating after 6 or 7 p.m. and choosing drier fruits over juicy fruits at your evening meal, if you eat any.
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