#9: 50 Life Secrets and Tips

This is a great reminder for all of us.

Drink water. Hydration is tremendously important for overall health. Soda has absolutely ZERO nutritional content; it's like pouring a punch of sugar into your cup. Instead, fill it with life-replenishing water. It may taste plain at first if you're coming off of a heavy soda-drinking streak, but you'll soon find yourself addicted to it. 10 glasses per day us optimal, how many have you been getting lately?

I'm currently trying to kick a cold, so getting enough water is especially imperative for me right now. What I like to do to "remind" myself to drink water or to gauge how much I've had is to fill up a big metal canteen and keep it on my desk at work. I know that I should go through AT LEAST one full canteen just in the time that I'm at work. When I am regularly practicing Bikram Yoga (which I am right now), then I need probably double what I think I can handle. Soon it becomes second nature to just take gulps throughout the day. You realize that times you thought you were hungry for a snack, your body was actually just thirsty!

Right now with my sore throat, I struggle to drink a lot of water because the water at work comes from a chiller. Cold water on a sore throat is NO fun. So hot tea has been my go-to. But water in it's pure form is really important. Try to have room temperature water as much as you can, because the body actually absorbs it faster. (The body has to heat up everything to body temperature before it can be absorbed, so it takes longer for the body to really drink in the cold water.)

While I don't ever drink soda, I know it's a big "thing" for some people. If you care about your health at all, you won't drink that crap. As for juice - if you MUST drink the concentrated stuff, at least cut it in half with water to wean off of it. Otherwise, you should really invest in a juicer. Veggie juice in the morning gives me more energy than coffee.Oh, and coffee? Kick that to the curb too. Not only is it addicting (in more ways than one - I'm looking at you people who make the cup in the morning and then let it sit out), but it also leaches vitamins and minerals from the body. Particularly, it leaches calcium from your bones. And you will die. Just kidding - but really, drink more water!!!