Water is essential to keeping your body functioning properly and feeling healthy. It does more than just quench your thirst – check out these eight reasons you should drink more water.
Regulation of Body Temperature
Maintaining an internal body temperature is extremely important. Your body’s water acts as a thermoregulator, regulating the overall body temperature by helping dissipate heat. If the body becomes too hot, water is lost through sweat and the evaporation of this sweat from the skin surface removes heat from the body. This is particularly important when you are exercising.
Boost Skin and Hair Health
Drinking enough water helps energize and support hair growth, from root to tip. It also helps prevent split ends and a brittle hair texture and fosters a healthier scalp. That means you have less chance of developing problems like dryness, itchiness, or dandruff. Staying hydrated can fight hair loss and even help your hair to grow faster. Water helps maintain your skin’s elasticity. People who stay well-hydrated tend to suffer less from scars, wrinkles, and soft lines and they won’t show as many signs of aging.
Digestive System
According to the Mayo Clinic, water helps break down the food you eat, allowing its nutrients to be absorbed by your body. Water is necessary to help you digest soluble fiber. With the help of water, this fiber turns to gel and slows digestion.
Maintains Blood Pressure
High blood pressure means that the blood flow through your arteries is higher than normal. Treating and preventing high blood pressure starts with making lifestyle adjustments, such as getting regular exercise and eating a nutrient-rich diet and drinking enough water. 8 – 10 glasses of water a day can help you maintain a healthy blood pressure.
Helps with Weight Loss
Many studies support the theory that drinking more water is beneficial for weight loss. Water acts as a natural appetite suppressant. And, in many cases, you think you are hungry when you are thirsty. Another good reason to hydrate is that some research indicates that drinking water can help to burn calories.
Removes Toxins
Your kidneys have the task of getting rid of toxins from the body in the form of urine. Your current diet and lifestyle may be putting a strain on your kidneys and sufficient water can help to flush out toxins, so your body feels replenished and healthy. Digesting protein from meat and some vegetables causes a natural waste product called urea. Removing this waste product is one of the most important functions of the kidney and bladder.
In addition to urea, your kidneys also remove:
• Food additives
• Excess hormones
• Medications
• Harmful minerals
• Products of intestinal fermentation
Brain function
Water helps your brain cells communicate with each other, clears out toxins and waste that impairs brain function, and carries nutrients to your brain. Staying hydrated has been linked to faster decision making and improved performance on cognitive tests. Your brain, spinal cord, and nerves could be negatively affected by insufficient water in your body. One symptom to watch for is feeling lethargic and lacking energy.
These are not the only benefits of drinking enough water every day. But they are good reasons to make the effort to drink 8 – 10 glasses of good quality, clean water every day. That way you will help your body stay hydrated and function well.
Remember, each body is different. To discover exactly what nutrients and water levels your body needs, find a Nutrition Response Testing ® practitioner near you and get tested.
