Unlocking the Power of Water: Ayurveda’s Ultimate Energizing Element

Water is considered the simplest and best of all the energizers. It nurtures, lubricates and also detoxifies the body.

According to Ayurveda, how much water you should drink depends on various factors, such as age, workload, stress levels, weather, diet, and your body type and status of health.

How to drink?

Sit, sip, swallow, breathe.

Here are a few indicators you may need more water:

• Dryness: dry lips, mouth, skin.
• Inflammation: skin rashes and burns, clogged pores leading to acne, red eyes
• Urine color: urine is dark yellow instead of light yellow (not clear)
• Constipation: irregular bowel movement; no bowels for a day or longer

How much to drink?

If your body has more heat or you are a Pitta body type or has more dryness, constipation, or Vata body type then you should drink more water ideally 2-2.5 liters.
If you are water dominant or Kapha body type you can satisfy yourself with 1.5-2 liters.

When to drink?

Drink when you are thirsty. Thirst is a natural instinct that you should follow. That means that the body needs water.

Drinking 300ml- 500ml charged water from silver or copper vessels, kept overnight, in the morning after brushing the teeth helps in flushing the toxins in the body and cleanses our intestines.

Copper has numerous antioxidants and anti-bacterial properties that help boost the immune system of the body. Water in the silver vessel has the power to remove free radicals from the body gives a cooling effect in the intestines and smoothens the process of digestion.

After meal, drink sips of water. If you drink too much while you eat, your stomach will not have enough space for digestive action.

Forty-five minutes to 1 hour before or after the meal is ideal to drink lots of water. In between meals or just before or after meals if you are thirsty you can sip the ½ – 1 glass of luke-warm water or spice-water

Remember this rule: During a meal Fill your stomach with 50% food, 25% water (includes juices, curry soups etc), and leave 25% empty space.

What to drink?

Water should be taken at room temperature or hot. It is better to avoid ice-cold drinks, as they suppress the digestive fire.
Boiled and cooled water is highly beneficial as it gets charged with heat.

Water boiled with spices creates an added therapeutic effect by interacting with the water on the molecular level. It becomes easier for the body to flush out toxins and impurities because of the potency of spices.

• During summer or when the fire element in the body is out of balance, water boiled with any of the cooling herbs like fennel seeds, coriander seeds, vetiver roots, rose petals, licorice roots etc will help in beating the heat.
• During winter or when there is a lot of congestion and accumulation of water elements in the body then water is boiled with any of the spices like ginger, black pepper, cumin, mint, lemon etc.
• During autumn or when there is a lot of dryness in the body or air element is imbalanced then water boiled with any of the spices like fennel, coriander, or licorice roots.

If you have slow digestion, lot of gas, bloating then boil l liter of water with 5 gms of cumin, 5 gms of ginger and 2 gms of black pepper, and keep sipping hot.

Sipping hot water is good for losing weight. Spice 1 liter of water with 10 gms of fenugreek for added benefit.

How to make spice water?

Boil 10 gms of spice with 2 liters of water and bring to boiling point. Strain and use.

Aparna K. BAMS, MD, PhD

Aparna is one of the few specialists worldwide with a PhD in Ayurveda. Born into an Ayurvedic family that operates a traditional Ayurvedic Panchakarma hospital in Kerala, India, she grew up observing her father, the renowned Dr Padmanabhan.