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Human body consists of 50-70% water. Our body continuously needs water to perform all the activities and functions; therefore drinking water is very good for health. Ayurveda has laid down some essential guidelines for drinking water to help improve your health and to prevent any ailments due to the improper water drinking habits.
Ayurveda: The Right Way to Drink Water
1. It is better to drink water while sitting than while standing.
2. You should drink it slowly and avoid gulping down large volumes of water in a single breath.
3. Tepid water is best to drink and it is advised to avoid drinking ice cold water.
4. It is best to drink when you are feeling thirsty. When you listen to thirst cues and sip water throughout the day you'll be drinking the right amount.
5. You should stop drinking water after you feel satiated as it is a signal from your body to stop drinking.
6. The color of your urine may indicate whether you are sufficiently hydrated or not. The color of your urine should be fairly clear and straw colored. Dark yellow urine may indicate a sign of dehydration.
7. Dry chapped lips may also indicate the lack of sufficient water being supplied to your body.
8. Normally the minimum gap between food and water should be between 1.5 to 2.5 hrs. Though it may vary according to different geographic locations, as the body's ability to digest food depends on external factors like the outside temperature.
9. Though very contradictory, but the right time to drink water while taking food is to drink just the required amount of water, along with your food rather than drinking water before or after food.
10. If really thirsty, one can have fresh fruit juice after morning meal, buttermilk after lunchand milk after dinner. Though these also contain mostly water, the properties are completely different and are good for our digestive system.
11. Ushapan is a famous Ayurvedic practice of drinking water in the morning. A regular ushapaan helps in keeping the body healthy. It also helps to get rid of many diseases and disorders like headaches, blood pressure, anemia, obesity, arthritis etc.
Why shouldn't you drink water after meal according to Ayurveda?
Ayurveda strictly prohibits drinking water at the end of a meal as it kills the energy required by our digestive system to process the ingested food. This allows the food to remain in our system for longer duration which may cause the food to rot inside our system, instead of getting digested, which may lead to the formation of gas and acidity problems.
