Water
“Why should I drink more water?”
“I drink enough water”, “I drink coffee and tea, they have water in them.” “That’s enough.” WRONG! Coffee and tea contain caffeine, that’s a diuretic, which will cause you to LOSE water.
Now, I realize that most of you already know this, but some of you don’t. Now for you smarty pants people, here are some facts that maybe you didn’t know. The average man of 154 lbs. or 70 kilos has 40 liters of water in him. Lean muscle contains 75% water by weight. Blood is 70 % water. Bone contains 22% water. The brain is 85% water. How do you like that?
Water is clearly a major component of the human body. Just a 5% body fluid loss will cause an increased heart rate, an increase in respiration, an increased body temperature, decreased sweating, decreased urination, extreme fatigue, muscle cramps, headaches, nausea, and tingling of limbs to name a few. A 10% loss of total body fluids is considered severe dehydration and is potentially fatal, just 10%.
Ok, enough with the scare tactics, they don’t work anyway. Here are some of the positive aspects of drinking more water.
1. Weight loss – water helps to flush the by-products of fat breakdown, it is also a hunger suppressant
2. Natural remedy for headaches – because dehydration, along with other causes, is a major contributor to headaches
3. Healthier skin – water helps to replenish skin tissues, moisturize skin, and increases skin elasticity
4. Exercise better – water regulates body temperature and helps to fuel muscle
5. Increases productivity at work – 77-78% of the brain is made up of water, guess what happens when you are dehydrated?
6. Helps with digestion and constipation – water increases your metabolism, hence it aids in digestion, water also goes hand in hand with fiber therefore it helps to keep you regular
7. Less cramps and sprains – water lubricates joints and muscles
8. Less likely to get sick – water when combined with lemon has health benefits which range from helping with rheumatism and arthritis to respiratory disease, ( but more on that topic in another article )
9. Relieves fatigue – water flushes toxins and waste products from the body helping the heart and all body organs to function more efficiently, hence your not as tired from the inside out
10. Better mood – this one is self explanatory, body feels good = happy soul
11. Reduce the risk of cancer – in theory water may reduce the risk of bladder and colon cancer by diluting the concentration of cancer causing agents in urine and decreases the amount of time those agent have contact with the bladder lining
So, there is the research. Now it’s up to you to decide whether it’s important enough to you to drink more water than you currently do, unless you are a water drinker already.