75% of the human body is water, no doubt, it is the most important component of life and a human can live only days without water. But still, most of us neglect its importance and don’t pay proper attention to water consumption.
An adult individual requires 33ml/kg current body weight of water each day for carrying out normal body functions and it is integral for cell life and transportation of essential nutrients throughout the body.
Dehydration or lack of water in the body can have various symptoms such as extreme headaches and migraines, mood swings, lethargy, dark urine, tiredness and hallucinations.
Tips To Increase Water Intake
Drinking same old water throughout the day can get boring at times. So, here are a few tips using which you can increase your water intake gradually.
- Don’t start guzzling 8 glasses of water at a time because you have to, go slow and drink ½ to 1 glass at an interval of 2 hours.
- Make a habit to carry a water bottle where ever you go so that you don’t end up drinking soda to quench your thirst.
- Drink a glass or two of water when you crave junk food or sweets.
- Add flavors to your water by adding a few slices of lemon or a few mint leaves to it.
10 Amazing Health Benefits Of Drinking Water
The 10 points on importance of water benefits for maintaining and improving health need no new emphasis, but still, here we have listed a few of the most important ones.
It improves the functions of the kidney and washes away the salts and minerals that deposit and form kidney stones.
Therefore, it is recommended to drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water every day along with fruits and vegetables that have high water content in order to detoxify the various organs and keep them running efficiently.
Promoting Weight Loss
Although weight loss in a healthy way can be achieved only through a combination of regular exercise and well-planned weight loss diet, yet there are certain foods and beverages that help in speeding up the fat burning process and water is one such beverage that helps immensely in losing weight.
Drinking 1 to 2 glasses of water prior to meals helps in filling up the stomach and reduces hunger, thus, preventing overeating. In addition, increased water intake also speeds up the process of calorie burn in the body and enhances the breakdown and elimination of fat cells.
This is one of the most useful positive effects of drinking water. Therefore, replace sugar laden soda and fizzy drinks with water to promote weight loss.
Aiding Digestion
Yet another importance of drinking water is that it is the most powerful natural remedy for treating digestive disorders. Proper hydration helps in easy and smooth bowel movement and prevents constipation and IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome).
Drinking 8 or more glasses of water throughout the day also helps in improving digestion and enhances metabolism for proper breakdown of food in the intestine that facilitates optimum absorption of the nutrients in the body.
Add a twist to the same plain taste of water by adding a dash of lemon juice or mint to it and enjoy the best natural beverage.
Boosting The Immune System
Optimum water intake helps in boosting the immune system. Lymph is an extremely important part of the immune system that helps in circulating the white blood cells and other nutrients all through the body and water plays a crucial role in the production of lymph.
This is perhaps the most vital points on importance of water in the body.
With inadequate lymph production the disease and infection-fighting immune cells won’t be able to travel through tissues and fight bacteria and viruses. As a result, drinking 8 glasses of water a day is necessary to prevent cold, flu and fever.
Promoting Healthy Skin
Health benefits Drinking water for skin health is extremely important. Water helps in hydrating the skin cells and promoting blood flow through the capillary, thus adding a fresh and youthful appearance to the skin.
Water rejuvenates the skin cells and tissues, moisturizes and hydrates them which help in improving the elasticity and suppleness of the skin.
Proper intake of water is the best way to prevent the appearance of the signs of skin aging such as wrinkles, fine lines and age spots. Because water is an amazing detoxifying agent, it also helps in cleaning the skin and removing germs that cause pimples and acne.
Regulating Body Temperature
Another importance of water to the body is that it helps in regulating body temperature.
Drinking adequate quantity of water is extremely important for athletes and fitness enthusiasts because the thermal property of water helps in maintaining body temperature during strenuous workouts and sports through the release of heat in the form of sweat which helps in staying more energized during workouts.
Lack of water in the body or dehydration can lead to dizziness, fatigue and weakness. In addition, drinking water also aids to keep the muscles well-lubricated, thus reducing the risk of cramps and sprains.
Preventing Headaches
The moment we are struck by headache we pop a painkiller, hardly realizing that these medications have adverse effects on health and do more harm than good in the long run.
In most cases, a headache is instigated by dehydration and electrolyte imbalance which can be easily corrected by drinking a few glasses of water.
Optimum water intake has been shown to reduce the intensity and duration of headaches that are caused by dehydration or migraines.
Therefore, drink a few glasses of water and relax yourself the next time you feel tightness in your head rather than treating it with over the counter painkillers.
Relieve Fatigue
One of the chief reasons of chronic fatigue is dehydration that also affects mood and makes you feel confused and grumpy. If you feel tired often then there is a high possibility that you are not drinking enough water.
When there is deficiency of water in the body, the blood volumes decreases and the heart has to work tougher in order to supply oxygenated blood throughout the body, thus reducing the efficiency of the major organs.
Therefore, it is important to drink sufficient amount of water regularly to maintain proper body functions and enhance energy.
Improve Brain Functions
Importance of drinking water is also linked to improved brain functions. The human brain is 85% water and its proper functioning depends on optimum water intake.
Lack of water in the body causes lack of focus, impaired memory, brain fog, fatigue and depression because water provides energy to the brain cells for carrying out the brain functions.
Therefore, when the brain is working on adequate reserve of water, it improves clarity, focus, productivity and logical thinking. So drinking water for health and improved cognitive functions is extremely important.
Reduce Bad Breath
Bad breath is a problem that can seriously affect your social relations. One of the most evident signs of dehydration is bad breath. Regular water intake helps in keeping the mouth hydrated and removes food particles and bacteria from the mouth that create the foul smell.
It also helps in maintaining healthy gums and teeth by washing away the bacteria that builds on the gum line. Therefore, make it point to drink certain amount of water at fixed intervals, to keep your mouth fresh and prevent the breeding of bacteria in the mouth.
So, now that you know the importance of water for the body, make sure you drink plenty of it every day and also add fruits and vegetables to your daily diet because they are good sources of water as well.