GX-The Guard Experience

My youngest son was in the National Guard, and then spent a year in Iraq. The magazine called GX-The Guard Experience has just arrived, and its very interesting.

Some of the articles in this May-June 2012 issue include: How to build a shelter, a survival expert's step by step guide, The Threat at Home, who and what are the biggest dangers to homeland security?  Inner Strength, it's all about your attitude, and the one I'll talk about today: 9 Reasons to Stay Hydrated.

The online magazine is found at www.GXonline.com

According to two new studies at the University of Connecticut, even slight dehydration can really impact a person's mood, energy and mental performance. They site a figure of just 1.5 loss of the body's normal water level. How one would figure that out mathmatically I don't even know, for me that means when in doubt, drink a glass of water.

Drinking water helps you keep a healthy weight by improving your metabolism.

Another study found losing 2 % body weight due to sweat can decrease performance up to 20%.

Staying hydrated helps prevent things like migraines, kidney stones and hypertension.
It keeps skin healthy and younger looking by flushing out impurities and restoring moisture.

Most men need 13 cups of water, most women 9, according to the Institute of Medicine. This makes sense to me, rather than just saying 8 cups for adults. Pregnant women need more, like 10 cups, and breast feeding women need about 13.

Sometimes hydration means including sports drinks with electrolytes, especially for those doing intense exercise of over an hour's duration. Here in the dry western United States, a body really can't go wrong drinking cold water all day.