Did you know that there are major health benefits to drinking water?
Water supports every system in your body and also does wonders for our skin and hair. Our bodies crave water and it’s often confused with hunger. Our bodies are 70% water. So feeding our bodies enough fresh clean water makes sense to support all the functioning systems in our body.
Drinking water may seem boring and you may not like the taste of water.
If this is you, then perhaps add a slice of lemon, orange, or cucumber to your glass.
You could also add a bit of mint, if you have good quality food grade essential oils you may want to add a drop to your water.
If you choose the essential oils, make sure that your glass is made of glass and not plastic.
What are the benefits of water?
Water can help relieve fatigue.
Are you aware that fatigue in the middle of the day could be from dehydration?
Fatigue is one of the first signs of dehydration.
Without the proper hydration our blood levels may drop, which in turn makes our heart work harder and other organs work less efficiently.
So when you feel fatigued or sluggish throughout the day instead of grabbing a sweet snack or a cup of coffee opt for a glass of water.
Water can lessen mood swings
Did you know the colour of our urine is a key factor to whether you are consuming enough water.
If it’s a very light colour then you have better hydration, the darker the urine the more dehydration.
If you are irritable and angry, then perhaps skip the sugary drinks and go for a glass of water.
Tension headaches can also be a sign of dehydration, and headaches can definitely affect your mood.
A good rule of thumb is to keep a container of water with you all the time to remind you to drink water all day long.
I find that using a vessel with a straw helped me drink more water, also adding lemon, orange or cucumber made the water more palatable.
Water can help with headaches and migraines
Headaches can be a sign of dehydration.
Rule of thumb in our house, if you have a headache drink at least two full glasses of water and as many as four. Depending on the severity of the headache this usually does the trick, but not always. The European journal of Neurology published a study that said drinking more water can help reduce the intensity and length of headaches.
When we become dehydrated our brain shrinks slightly. Remember our brain is a fatty organ which needs water to function.
Before reaching for the pain pills for a headache, give drinking more water a try.
Drinking water helps aid digestion and constipation.
If you are constipated the colon will pull water from your stools to maintain hydration within the body. This will then make your stools firmer and more solid which can make them difficult to pass.
Water improves our gastrointestinal tract by helping to break down food and promotes regular bowel movements.
Did you know that when you consume a large meal, your body requires twice as much water to help digest your food? So if you struggle with constipation perhaps eat smaller portions and drink more water.
Water Encourages Weight Loss
The rule of thumb in our house is if you are hungry, grab a glass of water first.
Often rather than hunger it our body telling us we are dehydrated. To help with weight loss, drinking a few glasses of water before a meal will help you curb your appetite and this can help support a healthy weight and increase weight loss.
Water helps to boost your metabolism, helps to break down fat cells and raises the rate at which your body burns fat.
Water helps to flush out toxins.
Water helps to detoxify our body by getting rid of waste through our urine and sweating.
Water will also help to reduce kidney stones and promotes better kidney health through diluting salts and minerals in our urine that can cause kidney stones.
Be aware though that drinking to much water can cause an electrolyte imbalance so be careful to not consume to much water. An electrolyte imbalance can cause dizziness and nausea.
How much water should you drink? Some experts say that we should be drinking between half an ounce and an ounce of water for each pound of weight. So if you weigh 150 lbs that would be 75 – 150 ounces of water per day. (from Webmed)
Water can improve brain function.
Are you feeling distracted? Perhaps reaching for a glass of water is a better choice than coffee or sugary drinks. Caffeine can deplete your water levels in the body as do sugary drinks. Your brain is a fatty organ and thrives on water to survive. This in turn helps the transmission of electrical signals and communication in the body function better. When the brain is dehydrated, these functions don’t do as well.
I don’t know if there is a correlation between seniors and dehydration. Although I see more dementia and alzheimers in the elderly I often wonder if they were to consume more water if their symptoms would improve. My mother has dementia and I know when she isn’t drinking enough water because she sounds like she’s talking with cotton in her mouth. I encourage my mom to drink more water, but her reply is she doesn’t want to drink more because it makes her go to the bathroom. I do know that most seniors do not drink enough water.
Water can help to prevent cramping.
Have you ever woke up with a cramp in your leg? They come on suddenly and cause excruciating pain. Drinking water can help to relieve cramping. If you work out often then staying hydrated is essential to preventing muscle cramps or spasms.
Water promotes healthy skin.
Would you like to have healthy glowing youthful skin? Perhaps drinking more water will help. Our skin is the largest organ of our body and requires water to hydrate it, improve blood circulation and elasticity of the tissues. Staying hydrated also keeps our skin from drying out which can causes our skin to look dull. Drinking enough water can also help to fight skin damage caused by free radicals. The antioxidants we consume require water to work properly. By staying hydrated it gives the antioxidants the tools needed to replenish youthful looking skin.
Water can help prevent a hangover.
Although not a solution for going out and drinking all night, by drinking lots of water during the evening of drinking and the next morning can lessen the affect of a hangover. Alcohol acts as a diuretic which makes us go to the bathroom more so by staying hydrated is may lessen the hangover the next day. Water will also help your liver process the alcohol and flush alcohol and impurities out.
Please don’t use this an excuse to drink often and to access.
Water can help combat bad breath.
Do you ever get a bad taste in your mouth? This can be a sign that you aren’t consuming enough water. Food and bacteria can sit in your mouth and in between your teeth. Flushing with water or brushing your teeth after meals will help to rid your mouth of the food particles and bacteria. A bad taste in your mouth can be a sign of low water intake. If you drink a sufficient amount of water, the food particles and oral bacteria should wash away with each meal.
Water can help support our immune function.
The more water we drink, the less likely we are to suffer from colds and flu. Drinking plenty of water will help our general overall health by keeping all our systems functioning properly. This allows our systems to ward off bacteria and viruses, and may also help to reduce our chances of more severe diseases.
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