The Drinking Challenge

Jonathan and I recently finished watching the documentary Food Matters. It is amazing to see how much nutrition can affect the way you live life, how you feel, what your body can physically do, etc…. You are going to keep hearing me say it: “food is medicine.” I am becoming more and more convinced of it.

The majority of what I drink is water. Every time I was pregnant, it was really hard for me to down the water, especially in the morning. I found this totally odd, because it we simply can’t survive without water. It is physical need number one, and I had no desire for it. I needed bubbly water, lots of ice or lemon…something to make it different from the normal, room-temperature water I was accustomed to. I think the disdain for water in the morning has carried over, and although I do love water from lunch on, I really don’t drink anything in the morning but a small cup of juice to take my vitamin. Since much of the body is made of water, it is essential for us to remain hydrated.

On the flip side everything can be done in excess, including drinking water. People have actually died from water intoxication, also known as hyponatremia, which is drinking too much water, as it throws off the balance of salt in our water. So we need to make sure we are balanced. But generally speaking, most of us, myself included, just don’t drink enough water.

So I am challenging myself, and you to take the drinking challenge.

The Drinking Challenge: Increase your water intake, and work up to 8-8oz. cups a day. If you are only drinking 2 cups a day, increase it to 3 and then 4, incrementally bringing the total up to at least 6 cups a day. If soda is your vice, take 1/2 of your soda and replace it with seltzer water. True, lasting change occurs with slow changes.

I started the challenge last week and have noticed an increase in my trips to the restroom (surprise, surprise!). Jonathan has been drinking more water, too, and he thinks he feels cleaner and clearer. I heartily affirm 1 Corinthians 3:16-17: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” So, shouldn’t we be taking better care of the temple God has given us? Will you join with us in taking the drinking challenge?

Have you read…?