You probably know already that many professionals say that you should be drinking around eight glasses of water per day. Most of us have easy access to clean water, but still don’t meet our daily needs. After all, your body is comprised mostly of water, especially if you’re young. While the standard recommendation for drinking water on a daily basis is 64 ounces, men and women who are pregnant or nursing should be drinking at least 80, with some needing to drink more than 100 ounces per day.
Unfortunately, it’s only estimated that people drink around 20 ounces of water per day in the United States, where clean water is available in over 90 percent of homes. There’s a good reason why doctors recommend that you get more water on a daily basis, as your body needs it to function. To show you what happens to your body when you drink more water, we’ll look at some of the proven health benefits that you get.
Ultimate Weight Loss Drink
Forget needing to come up with a special concoction with a lot of different foods that you might not like into a blender. Instead, if you want to lose weight, you can simply start by drinking more water each day. Water doesn’t contain any calories, and will help you feel more full throughout the day by controlling hunger. There also aren’t any chemicals in water such as artificial sweeteners that other no calorie drinks contain.
When you drink a large glass of water with a meal, you’re more likely to eat less in between meals, leading to lower overall calorie intake. Certain studies have shown that people who drink the recommended water on a daily basis tend to eat less and weigh less. Those who replace just one can of soda per day with a glass of water can also lose more than 14 pounds in just one year.
Vital Drink
Since a majority of your body weight is made up of water, you need to have enough in your system to make sure everything is functioning properly. If you go without drinking water for an extended period of time, your body will become dehydrated and your brain is the first thing to be affected. Your brain will communicate with the other organs of the body, which includes the kidneys and can lead to holding fluids, which can be dangerous.
Not getting enough water can do damage to your digestive system as you even create saliva from your body water, which breaks down food. It will also make exercising and getting through your day in general easier when you drink water as your body’s temperature will become more regulated. Those who drink alcohol too frequently typically suffer from symptoms of not getting enough water, which is dangerous for all organs.
Looking Good
Another sign that someone is drinking too much alcohol and not enough water can be seen in their skin. When you’re dehydrated, skin can become dry and cracked, even causing wrinkles. Your skin needs all of the moisture that it can get, and drinking enough water leads to a repair and replacement of damaged skin tissue that gives you more elasticity and a youthful appearance.
Many doctors say that no matter how many beauty products you’re using, it won’t matter if you’re not drinking enough water. There are other sources that can damage your skin, including toxins in your body. When you drink more water, you’re getting rid of these toxins and the regulated body temperature will give you a better color. Even using water on your exterior instead of drinking it does wonders for your skin.
Muscle Up
Not only can water help you lose fat by allowing you to help cut down on calories, but it can also help you build muscle to continue burning more calories. Muscles are comprised mostly of water, and need plenty of hydration to get through a workout. If you’re constantly feeling sore after exercising, it could be a lack of hydration that causes your muscle cells to shut down until you add more water, leading to pain and poor performance.
When you go through a vigorous exercise, it’s estimated that you can lose up to 10 percent of the water in your body. That’s why it’s incredibly important to keep hydrated before, during and after exercising to make sure that your body is replacing fluids. A couple of hours before each workout, you should drink up to 20 ounces of water, and then continue to drink water during your workout depending on how much sweat you’re exerting.
Digestive Health
One of the more common ailments that people suffer from in terms of digestion is constipation. Among the causes of constipation is a lack of dietary fiber, but you also need to get enough water to make sure that it isn’t a problem. Water helps the lining of your digestive system, especially in the colon. A lack of water in the digestive system causes the colon to overwork, leading to water being extracted from the waste in your gut that makes you constipated.
Even if you’re getting the daily recommendation of fiber, you might still be suffering problems if you don’t drink enough water. You’ll also be doing a large favor for your urinary tract as you reduce the amount of waste and toxins that could result in kidney stones or infections. Briefly said, you can’t have plumbing without water, and your body is the same way.
Clear Head
If you’re someone that seems to constantly get headaches (whether it be from drinking or not), it could be a result of not drinking enough water. Dehydration is one of the most common causes of headaches, especially those that suffer from migraines. Even if you continue to suffer headaches, it was found that water could make them far less intense and much shorter in length. Another brain benefit from drinking more water is that you’ll get a natural energy and mood boost as all of your organs function more properly.
Summing it Up
Even though you already know the recommendations, you might not have known what water specifically does for your body when you’re drinking more on a daily basis. You’ve probably also heard what happens when you drink too much water at one time, too. For those that don’t know, drinking several gallons of water can be dangerous, leading to overhydration as you flush out all of the sodium in your body.
While sodium is sort of seen as being something bad for your health, your body does need sodium to function properly. Drinking too much water can lead to problems that include heart failure and kidney problems. As long as you’re sticking to the recommended amount of water on a daily basis (or a little more if you exercise), then there won’t be any problems to worry about. Just remember the standard eight glasses of eight ounces each per day, and you’ll enjoy all of the great health benefits that water can bring!