Top 5 Benefits of Drinking Water

Water is a crucial aspect in daily life.  It is required for essential body functions and constitutes a large majority of the planet.  Without this compound, life would cease to exist.  Modern era has presented bright water bottles, thermos containers, and flashy sports drinks to help encourage the replenishment of water in the body.  Small infants consist primarily of water, which some infants could constitute about 75 percent water [1].  In addition, older adults have a water composition of about 55 percent, which is on the low end of the human body.  Most adults are generally between 50-65 percent water and when the body is hydrated sufficiently, homeostasis is better maintained.

How Much Water Should I Drink Every Day?

There is much debate as to how much and how often water is needed.  Past recommendations have shown that eight glasses per day is sufficient to quench thirst, whereas some researchers argue that too many variables make such a calculation impossible.  Fortunately, there is a happy medium and a formula has been developed to estimate water needs.  For general purposes, roughly nine cups for women and 12.5 cups of liquid water for men are needed every day to replenish and quench thirst [2].  While this may seem like an over estimation, remember that every time your breath out, every time you cough, sneeze, laugh, and talk, you are excreting water from the body.  In addition, your body sweats more than you may realize.  When all of these factors are added, you need to replenish the water lost every day to prevent dehydration.  This is one primary reason to continue to consume plentiful water every day.  Listed below are some important benefits for drinking sufficient water.

Top 5 Benefits of Drinking Water Every Day

1. Keep your body’s physiology in tip-top shape. Water is needed to lubricate waste in the colon, create saliva in the mouth, transport nutrients, and add volume to blood cells. While drinking water may be a popular trend using your flashy water bottle, consider how cool you look when you continue to live.
2. Control energy levels. Daily fatigue is one of the first signs of dehydration, which is why you may feel tired midday [3].  When you feel thirsty, you are most likely dehydrated, which is something many feel following lunch hour.  When your body is dehydrated, the blood volume decreases and becomes thicker, which makes it harder to circulate.  When the blood is thicker and harder to circulate, the heart can no longer perform its job, which could lead to heart failure quickly.
3. Calorie free. In the era of obesity and many being conscientious about body size and image, a calorie-free beverage is simply the best choice.  Water, either from tap or filtered, when drank by itself offers zero calories and if you are interested in flavoring, try adding a splash of whole fruit to spice it up.
4. It helps to eliminate recurring headaches. If you experience frequent, recurring headaches day after day, first off you should contact your doctor to figure out the root of the cause.  Second, you could be dehydrated, which is why you continue to have headaches each day.  Keeping proper hydration status can quickly eliminate the painful effects of headaches and can have you feeling like yourself in no time.
5. Cleanses the body. One way your body filters out toxins (from environmental pollutants) is through breathing.  Your nose collects dirt and soot and your lungs filter and oxygenate the blood.  Another way to cleanse the body is to drink water.  When the body is hydrated, there is a better chance that the toxins from inside the body are eliminated and excreted in the urine. 

If you feel like you do not drink sufficient amounts of water every day, consider monitoring your daily intake.  In addition, be aware of the amount of diuretics you consume every day.  Caffeinated drinks may be liquid, but if you drink the equivalent of four cups of coffee daily, just be aware that caffeine leaches water from cells, which leads quickly to dehydration.

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