Why is Water so Important?

 Water accounts for a large percentage of what makes each of us “human.” The human body is composed of 60-70% water. Water is the main component of blood, lymph, sweat, urine and digestive juices. Blood is approximately 83 % water, bone is 22% water and the brain is a whopping 74 % water. Consuming adequate amounts of water produces energy, regulates body temperature, builds new cells, lubricates joints and eliminates waste.

 Every day we lose water naturally from breathing, sweating and waste elimination. We also lose water as a result of exercise and/or environmental conditions such as heat and humidity. Water losses are greater during the summer months due to the fact that perspiration, which is used to cool our bodies, evaporates faster in a hot environment. As it evaporates, our bodies produce more perspiration, using up more and more of our body’s water. Once the water level in our bodies has become depleted, we become overheated because our bodies are no longer able to cool themselves, as they should. A serious lack of water causes blood pressure to elevate thus causing the heart to malfunction and leading the kidneys to shut down. This is a very dangerous condition that left untreated, can lead to death.

 How Healthy is Water?

 Forget expensive creams or exfoliates for your skin. The best thing you can do for a clear, healthy, radiant complexion is to drink plenty of water. And that’s just the beginning of water’s many health benefits.

 Water is imperative for your body to digest and absorb vitamins and nutrients. It also detoxifies the liver and kidneys and carries away waste from the body. Water also plays an important role in the process of digestion. Fiber requires water to aid in proper digestive function. The saying, ‘You can’t have one without the other’ applies in this case. They need each other. Good fiber can actually go bad when not accompanied by water. Constipation and extreme stomach discomfort can result.

 Once called “Mother Nature’s healthy cocktail”, it is believed that when it is pure and free of contaminants, water is truly a wonder drug.

 Personal Hydration

 However many people are unaware of the fact that you are ALREADY dehydrated by the time you feel thirsty. Blood becomes thicker when dehydration occurs and the body has to work harder to help it circulate. As a result, the brain becomes less active, the body becomes tired and it becomes harder to concentrate on any task.

 Everyone’s personal hydration level is not the same. It is dependent on many factors including height, weight, age and sex. In order to determine yours, try this formula. Divide your weight in half and drink that many ounces of water per day. As an example, if you weigh 160 pounds, drink 80 ounces of water (about 2 ½ quarts or 10 eight-ounce glasses) every day.

 Benefits of Drinking Water

 Drinking plenty of purified water has many benefits- it increases mental and physical performance; removes toxins and wastes from the body; improves energy; helps with weight loss; reduces headaches and dizziness; helps to keep alkaline levels balanced in the body, and it leads to the contracting of fewer colds and flu’s. Drinking water will also help in other ways. The additional fluoride added to our supply of drinking water provides extra strength and density to bones and teeth. Drinking plenty of water cushions joints (as previously mentioned) and protects tissues and organs, including the spinal cord, from damage and shock.

 Adequate hydration is one of the best ways to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, as water is a natural appetite suppressant. Fat cells become “rubbery” when the body is dehydrated and cannot be easily metabolized. What this means is that it is harder to lose weight when you don’t drink enough water.

 Water is a powerful “healing tool” for people with a history of kidney stones. Drinking at least 8 glasses of water daily reduces the risk of stone formation as water dissolves calcium in the urine. Adequate hydration is also an effective way to prevent urinary tract infections in both sexes as water flushes impurities out of the system. Even a mild case of dehydration makes a person more susceptible to picking up viruses. Water helps the recovery process from illness and disease move more quickly.

 When a body is well hydrated, drainage from allergies and colds doesn’t stick and collect in the throat and lungs, and the cough is more productive in getting rid of the bad stuff. Surprising to some, even cold sores that appear on the lips are decreased by drinking water because the eruptions tend to favor dry areas on the body.

 Make it a Habit

 Remembering, or even getting into a habit of drinking enough water is not always an easy one to put into play but nor is the effort it takes to bounce back from even a mild case of dehydration. Coffee, tea and sodas containing caffeine are dehydrating so after consuming any of these drinks remember to drink a few extra glasses of water to make up for the diuretic effects. We are naturally thirsty (a.k.a. dehydrated) when we first wake up in the morning. In order to assist the body in flushing out the toxins it has been processing while we slept, drink a decent sized glass of water first thing. Your body will thank you for it. It’s a healthy habit that once established, can last a lifetime!