There's a whole lot of problems with drinking water, both personally and environmentally.

Personal health suffers when you drink water: bones, teeth, joints, skin, hair, digestion, to name a few.

The environment groans when you drink water: endless mounds of plastic water bottles are manufactured, transported, and then thrown away to litter beaches and roadsides.

Personal Health

Do you put water on your face or hands to hydrate them?

Of course not. You probably even know that water drys out your skin.

It drys you out on the inside too.

Water dehydrates.

The more water you drink, the thirstier you are, so the more you drink.

The more water you drink, the more you pee, the more you pee, the thirstier you are, so you drink more water, and pee more.

The more you pee, the less minerals are available to build bone, shine hair, protect teeth, create youthful hormones, and protect your heart.

The more water you drink, the more you pee, the weaker your bones become, the less energy you have, the older you feel.

A recent study of thirteen drinks found water only slightly better than beer or coffee in terms of hydration.

"Skim milk came in first followed by oral rehydration drinks like Pedialyte. Next came full-fat milk, orange juice, soda, diet soda, cold tea, tea, sports drinks, still water, sparkling water, lager, and finally, coffee."

https://www.travelandleisure.com/food-drink/study-says-milk-is-more-hydrating-in-water

Turns out that drinks which contain fat, minerals, sugars, and proteins hydrate best. That's nourishing herbal infusions. I suspect they would even beat skim milk and be proclaimed the best of all at hydrating.

Replace water with nourishing herbal infusions. Your bones and your libido will thank you. So will the environment.

Environmental Health

I'm glad to see more people carrying their own water bottles, but selling water in plastic bottles is big business — global bottled water market was valued at USD 283.01 billion in 2021 — and a big problem for our shared environment.

• Every second, 1,000 people in the United States open a bottle of water. Every second, 860 plastic water bottles become garbage or litter. (Container Recycling Institute)

• More than 17 million barrels of oil are required to produce enough plastic water bottles to meet America's annual demand for bottled water. ("Bottled Water: Pouring Resources Down the Drain" at Earth-policy.org)

• Plastic water bottles contain harmful chemicals which can leach into the water you drink from there or the watershed where they are discarded.

• BPA — a weak synthetic estrogen implicated as a carcinogen — is in single-use polycarbonate plastic water bottles.

• Phthalates — forever chemicals that also disrupt the endocrine system, and are linked to diabetes, obesity, and male fertility— are in water bottles to increase flexibility.

• Micro plastics, arsenic, mold, bacteria contaminate bottled water regularly.

• These are much worse problems for children.

https://green.harvard.edu/tools-resources/green-tip/reasons-avoid-bottled-water

Nourishing herbal infusions are mineral-rich drinks that will help you overcome your addiction to water and make your energy sparkle. Stay hydrated the wise woman way. Just say "no" to water.

How to drink 6-8 cups of liquid a day, without drinking water

• 4 cups of nourishing herbal infusion, rotating through nettle, red clover, oatstraw, linden, and comfrey leaf. Daily.

• 1-2 cups of coffee or tea (black, green, herbal). Daily or as desired.

• 1-2 cups of homemade hot chocolate, beer, herbal wine, elder flower champagne. Daily or as desired.

• 1 cup of coconut water, fruit juice (pomegranate, pineapple, grape), or yogurt/fruit smoothie. Every other day or as desired.

• 1 cup bone broth, miso soup, nettle soup. Every other day or as desired.

Green Blessings

Susun