Guest guest Posted March 31, 1999 Report Share Posted March 31, 1999 Well...since nobody got mad at me for encouraging water I'll add just a few more notes. Drinking very cold water is harder on the body because the body has to bring it up to body temperature. Now...in the winter you might want this..more work for the body. But drinking cold water in the summer as wonderful as it feels in the mouth, makes the body work harder and thus get hotter, not cooler. I know...seems strange....but works. Now...I do drink ice water whenever I have it in a restraunt because I can't stand the taste of tap water. Whenever possible I put two lemon wedges into the water so that I can even drink them. Bad water is the only thing that upsets my tummy when pregnant (except for pregnancies nu number 8 and 9 when I had normal lady morning sickness.) Reverse Osmosis is a method of taking stuff out of the water. Some people use a distiller, which we did for years, but we prefer the RO. We rent our from Culligan, lots of different companies have it. Filtered water helps but isn't as good. We have used the Britta Water filter system when canning because it is so fast. You can even hook up an RO unit to your refrigerator. Speaking of water...here is a suggestion I got off my Large Family list and something I had considered but am really seriously thinking about now...that is to get a water fountain, one for inside the home and another for the yard. You know...the really nice kind like at church etc? When using containers for storing water, like jugs, be sure that they are not made in Mexico. Some years ago it was discovered that many of the containers from Mexico (and I would imagine from other foreign countries) contained lead. With Y2K coming...I know, we don't know how bad it might be but it is our responsibility as mothers to help our family through any crisis, especially ones we see MIGHT happen. Please store water. The water systems are run by micro chips and may be seriously effected. Keep in mind these things: Store 1 gallon per day per person, store 2 gallons per day per person if you need it for more than just drinking/cooking. Do not store on a concrete floor.; Buy or make wooden slats or shelves to store the water. Water will pick up the flavor of the concrete and be totally undrinkable. Do not store water in a container too heavy to life and use. Sparkletts water in plastic bottles is made to last 5 years unopened. You can store the water you purchase in the stores, unopened. If you add your own water to containers than be sure and treat the water with minute amounts of chlorine. If you are planning on cooking things that take a lot of water like food that needs reconstitution, beans, noodles, etc...then store extra water. If you have a water bed and do not treat it with certain chemicals then it is usable. Some water is usable for things other than drinking and cleaning. Look around your home and decide what other needs you might have. If you need to use the toilet than you need water to flush, having water in a bucket and emptiying it into the toilet works. Hopefully any water problem will only last days but the recommendation for any serious emergency is to store 2 weeks worth of water. I recommend that you store extra for other people around you if possible. Cherie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 31, 1999 Report Share Posted March 31, 1999 I have heard that about not drinking cold water.. but i figure... at least I can get it down that way. Sometimes it is a matter of drinking it ice cold or not drinking it at all. I used to live in the desert where there was well water and I loved it but the water in sacramento is yuky city water.. oh well:) I drink what I can:) Thanks for the great info Cherie:) you are also a great advice/experience giver:) Jenn At 01:56 PM 3/31/99 -0000, you wrote: > > >Well...since nobody got mad at me for encouraging water I'll add just a few >more notes. > >Cherie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 1, 1999 Report Share Posted April 1, 1999 <html> At 01:56 PM 3/31/99 , you wrote:<br> & gt;From: & quot;Cherie Logan & quot; & lt;chenille@... & gt;<br> & gt;<br> & gt;Well...since nobody got mad at me for encouraging water I'll add just a few<br> & gt;more notes.<br> <br> Cherie,<br> <br> I don't think anyone would get mad at someone who encourages drinking more water. <br> <br> What I posted was from La Leche League ( & quot;drink to thirst & quot;), and I understand that most Americans could stand to drink more water, but it's also not going to ruin your milk supply if you don't. Think of all the mothers in the other parts of the world with inadequate drinking water. Where I live now, in Portugal, drinking water is the pits. Women rarely drink enough water whether or not they're pregnant or lactating. Women who suffer through draughts and famines manage to provide sufficient milk for their babies as well.<br> <br> The original note about drinking enough water asked this:<br> <font face= " Comic Sans MS " color= " #800080 " ><b><blockquote type=cite cite>For instance - I just found out that I should have been drinking lots of water when breastfeeding. I never knew that and water is my least favorite of drinks. Needless to say breastfeeding didn't last long with any of my first 4 babies. So I was determined to drink all the water I'm supposed to this time to avoid the possibility of losing my milk supply. </font></b><br> <font color= " #000000 " > <br> </font><font face= " Comic Sans MS " color= " #800080 " ><b>My problem is that I really don't like water. Is there something besides water I can drink - like I know I'm supposed to drink 8-10 glasses per day. Is that & quot;fluids & quot; or just water? Does the juice and non-caffeinated sodas I drink in a day count towards the 8-10 glasses? Does anyone have any tricks to enhancing the flavor of water (like lemon, etc.)?</font></b></blockquote><br> </b><font color= " #000000 " >For many mothers, especially in the US, there are already enough perceived obstacles between them and a good milk supply, that to say that unless they drink & quot;x & quot; ounces of water between meals will set them up for failure, even if it's only self-imposed and not real.<br> <br> Someone told me that since our bodies are at least 70% water, we should make our beverages be at least 70% water, and that's easier for many mothers to accomplish than by saying you can't drink this or this, and you must drink & quot;x & quot; ounces of fluid water. <br> <br> Just as we learn with our babies, since breastfeeding means we can't know how much goes in, we must learn to watch their diapers, breastfeeding mothers must also learn to watch their own urine output. If your urine is pale yellow to clear, you are getting enough to drink. <br> <br> Through all my nutrition and anatomy courses in college, I've never heard that water drank with meals would be bypassed by the kidneys and ignored as if it were simply food. Water is absorbed in the lower intestines whether or not it is drunk with food. There is no direct path to the kidneys from the stomach. <br> <br> Water is a vital resource for our bodies, but it's not paramount to making milk. More water in most people's diets would improve their overall health, but for centuries many people have survived without consuming large quantities of it, too. & nbsp; Nursing mothers are no exception. & nbsp; Water is naturally occurring in most fruits and vegetables; if not, our species would have gone into extinction hundreds of years ago.<br> <br> </font></html> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 2, 1999 Report Share Posted April 2, 1999 Wendi, Actually very little absorption ever occurs in the stomach, and specifically not water, thanks to the highly acidic stomach environment. Water doesn't get absorbed until it reaches the intestines, even on an empty stomach. If your intestines were incapable of absorbing water, or all water was bypassing your intestines by way of your stomach, you'd also have no absorption of essential vitamins, carbohydrates, minerals, lipids, etc. They all need water to be transported through your body via your bloodstream. This isn't to say that I think water should be avoided! It does say that even if your water intake occurs with meals, it still benefits your body. Eating a variety of foods in as close to their natural state as possible is the best way to get nutrition. Drinking water with meals, between meals, or as a component of a meal (juice, broth, etc) is still water that benefits your body. It gets broken down into the smallest components during digestion, and H2O will always be water. I drink mostly water during the day, save one can of soda at some point for the flavor, simply because it's calorie free, and I'm watching my weight. I also drink water because our bodies are composed of more than 70% water and that needs to be replenished and replaced frequently; but not because it will make more or better milk. Do you think women who live in areas outside the US with no access to clean drinking water have smaller volumes of breastmilk? Most, if not all, of their water intake comes from foods cooked in water, like soups, and from naturally occurring sources of water, like fruits. In the US, we take safe drinking water for granted. At 12:25 AM 4/2/99 , you wrote: >Angie, > >I agree with most everything you've said but there is a direct route from the stomach to the kidneys, blood vessels. When water is drunk on an empty stomach it goes directly into the bloodstream and taken to the kidneys. If water is drunk with food it takes until the large intestines for it to go to the blood vessels and then the kidneys. I do all my water drinking in between meals. I drink whatever makes me happy at meals. > >Wendi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 2, 1999 Report Share Posted April 2, 1999 , It is interesting because the things I said I learned in a college level anatomy class. I never said that breastmilk volume was dependent on water intake. I believe that it isn't. I believe that water intake is important to the mother's overall health. If those women in other countries had access to clean drinking water wouldn't you encourage them to drink it? I am not in any way saying that you cannot live you life without lots of water or that women in other countries have any less quality of life. I am merely saying that if clean drinking water is available to us I believe it is healthy to drink it. I also believe it is healthiest to drink it plain. I do believe that your body will adapt to get water from any source, but giving it to your body straight saves a lot of energy. Wendi Re: Water Alternatives Wendi, Actually very little absorption ever occurs in the stomach, and specifically not water, thanks to the highly acidic stomach environment. Water doesn't get absorbed until it reaches the intestines, even on an empty stomach. If your intestines were incapable of absorbing water, or all water was bypassing your intestines by way of your stomach, you'd also have no absorption of essential vitamins, carbohydrates, minerals, lipids, etc. They all need water to be transported through your body via your bloodstream. This isn't to say that I think water should be avoided! It does say that even if your water intake occurs with meals, it still benefits your body. Eating a variety of foods in as close to their natural state as possible is the best way to get nutrition. Drinking water with meals, between meals, or as a component of a meal (juice, broth, etc) is still water that benefits your body. It gets broken down into the smallest components during digestion, and H2O will always be water. I drink mostly water during the day, save one can of soda at some point for the flavor, simply because it's calorie free, and I'm watching my weight. I also drink water because our bodies are composed of more than 70% water and that needs to be replenished and replaced frequently; but not because it will make more or better milk. Do you think women who live in areas outside the US with no access to clean drinking water have smaller volumes of breastmilk? Most, if not all, of their water intake comes from foods cooked in water, like soups, and from naturally occurring sources of water, like fruits. In the US, we take safe drinking water for granted. At 12:25 AM 4/2/99 , you wrote: >Angie, > >I agree with most everything you've said but there is a direct route from the stomach to the kidneys, blood vessels. When water is drunk on an empty stomach it goes directly into the bloodstream and taken to the kidneys. If water is drunk with food it takes until the large intestines for it to go to the blood vessels and then the kidneys. I do all my water drinking in between meals. I drink whatever makes me happy at meals. > >Wendi ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ta Da! Come see our new web site! http://www.onelist.com Onelist: A free email community service ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Breastfeeding is Best!! http://www.mariaann.com/breastfeeding Remember to Vote in our Weekly Breastfeeding Poll!! If you like this list also check out http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/weanedbuddies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.