Why is Drinking Water so Important?
One doesn’t have to look very far to find persuasive evidence that drinking water is good for your health. As far back as we can remember we have been told to drink eight glasses of water a day and while that actual number has been changed recently, it doesn’t change the fact that water is essential to health and well being. But why is water so important? Why do doctors and nutritionists constantly tell us to drink more water?
The most compelling reason is to ward off dehydration. When our bodies are dehydrated, they cannot function properly; blood flow is drastically decreased which results in less blood and oxygen reaching our organs and causes our bodies to go into shock and shut down. Even mild dehydration can cause us to feel tired and sluggish and it becomes much harder to concentrate.
Beyond dehydration though, there are many health benefits our bodies can derive when we increase our water intake. Many diet plans advocate drinking large amounts of water and their reasoning is sound. Water amps up your metabolism, and when you drink ice cold water your body must work to warm the water up, therefore burning even more calories. Water also helps you feel fuller and since it has absolutely zero calories you can drink all you want.
When we age, our bodies tend to lose water naturally; our muscles and our skin are the biggest contributors to water loss as we age. Older individuals tend to notice that their skin is dryer, tighter and flakier and since dry skin is less resilient and prone to wrinkling, keeping it moisturized it will help them look younger. Using topical moisturizer is going to help some, but considering lack of water is the underlying problem it is considerably more beneficial to hydrate from the inside out. Drinking more water hydrates skin cells and plumps them up helping to make your face look younger. Water also flushes out impurities giving your skin a nice healthy glow.
Drinking water for better health isn’t just a myth, there are considerable health benefits to keeping hydrated. Drinking a glass of water in the morning, one at each meal, one in between your meals and then one more before bedtime is a great starting point. If you are exercising make sure you drink before, during and after to help keep your muscles and your body at optimum performance. It’s the secret to a healthier life, so go drink a glass of water now and feel good knowing you are doing great things for your body.
