In the drink

Nothing is better for our bodies, our mental health and our outlook on life than water.  Inside and outside our bodies, we love to spend time with it.  An evening swim, a crisp ice skate, a howling water or snow ski, or just listening to it dance over rocks on a mountain slope or in a pond in our back yard.  We need to have it near us as well as in us.  How simple is that?  Finally, our society is getting more conscious about hydrating oneself properly on a regular basis. 

The perception of fresh cool water all by itself, no sugar, no salts, as satisfying to drink is happily improving for our society as well.  We are about two-thirds water, and that may hold a clue.  Coincidentally, our planet is about two-thirds water.  Funny how that worked out.

Our thirst sense, and the way we read the thirst-desire signals sometimes become mis-translated into mistakenly thinking we’re hungry.  If you feel an untimely desire to grab a bite to eat, a nibble or a snack, try downing some fresh, pure water instead.  You’ll find yourself surprised that it may have held the answer.

When I work outside on hot days, I can put away as much as a few gallons of it over the span of the day.  You don’t want to EVER face dehydration.  Ever.   Yes, we can overdose on water intake -- but I, or anyone I know, have yet to have experienced that malady (It’s not the over-consumption of water in general, but the over-indulgence of water over a short period of time).

Everything in moderation (even excess!)

With that said, I sure love all kinds of drinks.  Milk, I’ll never be too old.  Chocolate milk, my very favorite guilty pleasure.  Juices, how did we ever get along without juice?  Sodas and pop, you can have ‘em, although, there are some, which are better -- if not more thoughtful -- offerings out there.  I’ve never gotten heavily into coffee, although it swims around my friends profusely; but a good tea, combined with the quiet and thought usually accompanying it, is a good part of any day.

When I lived in France, the folks there thought we Americans were a bit loony.  They thought that consuming iced beverages congealed the fats and foods still lurking in the stomach.  They rated our coffee to be more like a dark tea.  Ice was for skating, and milk was for babies.  I had trouble finding places other than tourist haunts that served water, let alone ice water!  It was an uphill battle when I lived there.  But they did get me to thinking.  Now I do allow my chilled drinks to lighten up a bit on cold. 

But I just can’t get down a warm beer.  Never could, and we rallied big time over there about that.