Are you hydrated? Top 8 reasons to drink more H2O…
With this heat, it is more important than ever to fuel our bodies with water. We lose a lot of water with elevated environmental temperatures and sweating and this can have detrimental effects on our health and performance. I have an 84-year-old patient who claimed that he was always fatigued on the golf course and his game was suffering. I suggested that he increase his water intake before, during and after his game. He came back after experimenting with this idea and claimed that it was a miracle and in fact, he shot a score lower than his age!
Our bodies are basically water… in fact, water makes up about two-thirds of our body mass, except when we are dehydrated and that’s where things start functioning badly. Often we don’t even realize that we are dehydrated; if you wait until you are thirsty, it’s too late! You are dehydrated.
Fueling up on other kinds of drinks, like soda or coffee, just doesn’t cut it. Because our bodies are composed of so much water it is necessary to replace it with the same substance. Water maintains the body’s fluid balance which helps transport nutrients, regulate your body temperature, digest food and so much more.
The amount of water people need per day is controversial but studies suggest adults need 8 glasses of H2O. However, this number varies depending on activity level, age, and how much water people are consuming in coffee, tea, or water-rich veggies and fruit. Here’s how to keep yourself hydrated: Begin by drinking a glass of water as soon as you wake up, and 30 minutes before eating any big meal. Get in the habit of keeping a water bottle on hand at all times. Need a little taste? Add a little lemon to the glass!
Read on for the amazing things that topping up your body with the liquid fuel it needs to look and perform your best.
- Weight loss. Next time you reach for that snack, STOP! Are you actually hungry or are you thirsty? Filling up with a glass of water is often what we need rather than food. Water makes you feel full!
- Helps digestion. Water is essential to help break down food so that your body can absorb the nutrients. An added perk? Water also softens stool, which helps prevent constipation.
- Fights fatigue. One of the biggest signs that you may be dehydrated is if you are feeling fatigued. Just like your wilted house plants need water, so do you!
- Feed your brain. Next time you have a headache before you reach for the painkillers, try fueling up on a couple of glasses of water. Just like the rest of our bodies need water, so does our brain. Some symptoms that may be a result of lack of water to the brain include problems with focus, memory, fogginess, as well as headaches, sleep issues, anger, depression, and many more. So drink up!
- Makes your skin glow. Do you want beautiful skin? Water lets our skin properly rid itself of toxins and so it becomes irritated, inflamed, and congested, causing a host of unsavoury results ranging from itching, blackheads, redness, acne, and general blotchiness. So take care of your skin – it’s what you have to live in.
- Protects your kidneys. The job of the kidneys is to sift out waste and transport urine to the bladder. However, they need fluid to clear away all of the toxins in our bodies. Keeping your kidneys happy and healthy is as easy as a few glasses of water!
- Fuels your exercise. Your muscles need fuel too. When you sweat, your muscles become dehydrated and a dry muscle doesn’t perform very well. Kinda like your car running on empty.
- Reduce high blood pressure. Dehydration can cause serious health concerns. When the blood loses water content, it becomes thick and viscous which requires the heart to work harder to pump the blood through your cardiovascular system. It also can cause an imbalance in electrolytes like sodium and potassium, which aid muscles and heart function.
Why not experiment and see if you can drink 8 glasses of water a day? Challenge yourself to do this and reap in the rewards of how good your body will feel. Believe me, your body will thank you for it.
Judy Fullerton – Physiotherapist
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