The human body contains more water than any other substance. That’s why staying hydrated is critical to good health. Staying hydrated helps the body flush out wastes and stay at the right temperature. Every cell, tissue, and organ in your body needs water to survive. Health experts commonly recommend 6-8 glasses of water a day. Although there is little science behind this rule, staying hydrated is crucial for your health and well-being.
Here are 11 benefits of drinking enough water:
- Removes toxins and harmful substances: Pollution, dirt, fast food consumption, etc., can increase toxins in your body. The presence of toxins can cause memory loss, back pain, choline cancer, nervous system disorders, and low testosterone. Drinking enough water helps remove these toxins and harmful substances.
- Supports weight loss: As drinking water increases satiety and improves your metabolic rate, it can help you lose weight. Studies have found that increasing water intake can slightly increase metabolism, increasing the number of calories you burn daily and promoting weight loss. Drinking water before a meal can make you feel full so that you will eat fewer calories.
- May treat kidney stones: There is limited evidence showing that water intake can help avoid the recurrence in people who have had kidney stones previously. An increase in fluid intake can increase the volume of urine passing through the kidneys. It dilutes the concentration of minerals, and may prevent them from crystalizing and forming clumps.
- May help relieve constipation: A common problem, constipation occurs due to infrequent bowel movements. Low water consumption appears to be a risk factor for constipation and increasing fluid intake is often recommended as a part of treating this problem. An increase in fluid intake may help decrease constipation. Mineral water rich in magnesium and sodium can improve bowel movement frequency and consistency in people with constipation.
- Prevents and treats headaches: In some individuals, dehydration can trigger headaches and migraines. Research shows that headache is one of the most common symptoms of dehydration. Some studies have shown that drinking water may help relieve headaches in those who experienced frequent headaches. However, more research is needed to confirm this potential benefit.
- Enhances mood: Research has confirmed an array of negative effects resulting from dehydration which includes degraded mood, increased perception of task difficulty, difficulty concentrating, and headache symptoms. Dehydration slows down blood circulation, which means less oxygen travels to your complete body. Scientists suggest that thirst impulse is a part of body’s complex warning system, and should not be ignored even at the mildest level.
- Helps balance PH levels: Enough pH levels must be maintained to maintain optimal physiological health. Even a minor acidic shift may lead to illness or improper processing of consumed minerals and vitamins. Drinking one liter of water on a regular basis helps you maintain properly balanced pH levels. It helps ensure proper oxygen levels, enhances energy, and promotes strong immunity.
- Balances hormone levels: Research shows that even mild changes in the hydration status of tissue may have a significant impact on the integrity of the body’s biological systems through changes in hormonal balance, uptake of nutrients, osmolality, or concentration of toxins. If hydration of tissue is affected long-term, it may promote oxidative stress, which leads to DNA-damage, permanent dysfunction of cells, and even end-organ damage. Drinking water helps maintain a healthy hormone balance in the body.
- Good for your heart: Your heart is working the entire day, pumping roughly 2000 gallons of blood. When you are dehydrated, your heart is stressed and the volume of blood in your body decreases. To make up for this loss, your heartbeat increases and you may feel palpitations. You should drink more water than you are losing. Doing that helps your heart and makes it easy for your heart to pump blood much more quickly. It also helps your muscles work more efficiently.
- Improves blood circulation: Having too much saturated fats may lead to high cholesterol and can eventually damage your blood vessels. To prevent circulation problems, blood has to flow through your arteries unblocked. Drinking enough water and eating foods like spinach, celery, citrus fruits, etc., help promote blood circulation and maintain the elasticity of the blood vessels by maintaining their elasticity.
- Moisturizes your skin and keeps it glowing: If your skin doesn’t get enough water, it will become dry, tight and flaky. This will make it prone to wrinkling. Drinking water helps keep your skin moisturized, glowing and smooth.
Staying hydrated is important because even mild dehydration can affect you mentally and physically. Make sure that you get enough water each day according to your conditions and activities. Drinking enough water is one of the best things you can do to maintain your overall health.
