01/30/2024
Drinking Water to Maintain Good Health
Why You Need to Drink Water
Your body is estimated to be about 60 to 70 percent water. Blood is mostly water, and your muscles, lungs, and brain all contain a lot of water.
Your body needs water to regulate body temperature and to provide the means for nutrients to travel to all your organs.
Water also transports oxygen to your cells, removes waste, and protects your joints and organs.
It maintains blood volume in the body which prevents blood thickening, therefore reduces the risk of cardiovascular or heart diseases like high blood pressure, heart attacks, etc.
It flushes out the toxins from our bodies through urination and sweat, and prevents the risks of urinary tract infections and kidney stones.
It helps you lose weight by burning more calories during regular routine activities and exercises.
Drinking a glass of water 30 minutes before each meal will make you feel full, as a result you will eat less, hence enabling you to lose weight fast. This also helps in better digestion of the food and rids the body of excess sodium that leads to fluid retention.
Drinking water helps maintain digestive health, ease or prevent the stomach distress, and constipation.
It improves our skin texture by making it more soft, supple, smooth and wrinkle free. Drinking plenty of water keeps our skin hydrated, enhances our appearance and boosts our energy levels.
Signs of Dehydration
You lose water through urination, respiration, and by sweating. If you are very active, you lose more water than if you are sedentary.
Diuretics such as caffeine pills and alcohol result in the need to drink more water because they trick your body into thinking you have more water than we need.
Symptoms of mild dehydration include chronic pains in joints and muscles, lower back pain, headaches and constipation. A strong odor to your urine, along with a yellow or amber color indicates that you may not be getting enough water. Note that riboflavin, a B Vitamin, will make your urine bright yellow. Thirst is an obvious sign of dehydration and in fact, you need water long before you feel thirsty.
How Much Water do You Need to Drink?
A good estimate is to take your body weight in pounds and divide that number in half. That gives you the number of ounces of water per day that you need to drink. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds, you should drink at least 80 ounces of water per day.
If you exercise you should drink another eight ounce glass of water for every 20 minutes you are active.
If you drink alcohol, you should drink at least an equal amount of water.
When you are traveling on an airplane, it is good to drink eight ounces of water for every hour you are on board the plane.
If you live in an arid climate, you should add another two servings per day.
As you can see, your daily need for water can add up to quite a lot. Twenty percent of your water need will come from the foods you eat. The rest of your water need should come from the beverages you drink. Water is the best choice.
Drink Enough Water
It may be difficult to drink enough water on a busy day. Be sure you have water handy at all times by keeping a bottle for water with you when you are working, traveling, or exercising. If you get bored with plain water, add a bit of lemon or lime for a touch of flavor.
