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We have discussed why it is important to consume adequate water, how much to drink each day, and how to improve the quality of the water we drink, but we haven’t yet discussed when to drink water, and why this matters.

Drink a big glass of room-temperature water about half-an-hour before meals, earlier if you insist on ice-cold water, and if you have digestive difficulties or heartburn, try adding a capful of raw apple cidre vinegar or the juice of some lemon to that water. Try not to drink water with meals, as this dilutes the digestive juices too much making it harder for them to do their job. Then drink more water a couple of hours after eating.  In summary, drink between meals rather than with meals.

Water is best at room temperature rather than ice cold, as our bodies have to warm up cold water before it can be used. As Paul Chek suggests in his book  How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy!, you can do an experiment to see the truth of this. If you drink a large amount of cold water, and then jiggle your belly around, you will hear and feel the water sloshing around, whereas if you drink a large amount of room temperature water it is immediately assimilated into the body and you won’t get that sloshing sound. Hot water in the form of herbal (non-caffeinated) teas are fine.

Remember that caffeinated beverages and alcohol do not count as water as they are dehydrating. Quality milk, bone broths and fresh-squeezed juice may be healthy, but they won’t rehydrate you either, so only count water in your hydration efforts!

I personally find that I get a headache when I overdo caffeinated beverages and am dehydrated, so when I get that feeling at the base of my skull where my headaches frequently start, I drink lots of water, and usually the headache does not come on.

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