21 amazing health benefits of drinking water

What’s 21 amazing health benefits of drinking water? Water is essential for life, yet we take it too lightly. People can go for up to 3 weeks without food, but only a few days without water. Let’s talk about 21 amazing health benefits of drinking water.

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21 amazing health benefits of drinking water

Before going to the list of 21 amazing health benefits of drinking water, let’s discuss the importance of water. Water is vital for every cell to function in the body. Water converts nutrients into an absorbable form. Blood circulation is responsible for oxygen flow, nutrient transportation, and waste removal.

You are about ⅔ water:

• Body – 60%
• Blood – 90%
• Bones – 31%
• Brain and heart – 73% 
• Kidney – 79%
• Liver – 79%
• Lungs – 83% 
• Skin – 64%
• Muscles – 79%

1. Drinking water saves you money

Drinking water makes you full – you eat less. And water is often free. Even if you choose bottled water, it’s still cheaper than sugar-loaded frappuccino! Save money by drinking water!

2. Keep you stay hydrated

Add slices of lemon and make “lemon” infused water. Lemon is a great source of vitamin C, calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, and other vitamins and minerals. Adding lemon enhances the health benefits of water and makes it easier for you to drink more water by taste. Drink lemon-infused water (it provides electrolytes) every morning and before bed.

3. Balancing PH level

To maintain optimal health, adequate pH levels must be maintained. Drink 1 liter of water regularly to maintain proper oxygen levels, boost energy, and promote strong immunity. Even a minor acidic shift may lead to illness or improper processing of consumed vitamins and minerals.

4. Boosting your workout

Remember to drink lots of water: before, during, and after a workout. It helps you to workout longer, avoid muscle cramps and lubricate joints in the body. Drink 5-10 oz of water every 15-20 minutes during exercise. When you sweat in hot weather, drink a lot of water with electrolytes. In long-distance running, runners can lose up to 6-10% of their water weight by sweat.

5. Boosting your metabolism

According to the HFR (Health Fitness Revolution), drinking water first thing in the morning can boost your metabolic rate by over 20 %. The hunger and sugar/salt cravings people get late in the morning are often just the result of chronic dehydration. 

6. Boosting your immune system

The brain uses water to make hormones and neurotransmitters. Water protects the brain and spinal cord by absorbing shock. The brain needs oxygen to work properly. Water is one of the best sources of oxygen for your organs. It helps you focus and think better. Your cognitive abilities have the potential to go up to about 30% if you drink between 8-10 cups of water each day. Drinking water can improve memory, too. 

8. Enhancing waste removal

Drinking warm water increases blood circulation making it easier to break down waste and help eliminate toxins – avoid constipation. Foods and drinks with fiber and probiotics like kombucha are great for digestive health. Warm water helps to sweat. It removes excess toxins and salts – while cleaning skin cells.

9. Flushing toxins

The kidneys play important functions in the body: maintaining water levels, regulating blood pressure, and excreting excess fluids and toxins through urine. When hydrated, urine is light in color and free of odor. When dehydrated, urine concentration, color, and odor increases.

Your body needs even more water when you drink coffee and tea. Drinking more water helps remove these from your body.

More people develop kidney stones due to the excessive intake of sodium in foods. Drinking water can help prevent the formation of stones.

10. Helping kids from allergy and asthma

Children are constantly dehydrated because their body is growing. That’s one of the reasons why children are susceptible to allergies and asthma. When dehydrated, airways are restricted by the body to minimize water loss. Drinking water helps the body to function well. 

11. Helping weight loss

Drinking water makes you full and helps you eat less. It helps separate the feelings of thirst and hunger. Water has zero calories. Drinking water improves metabolism to burn your body fat more.

12. Improving your mood

Dehydration may affect mood and mental performance – negative mood, anger, concentration problems, fatigue and headaches.

13. Keeping your mouth clean

Drinking water also keeps the mouth clean, reduces tooth decay and toothache pain, and prevents gingivitis. Saliva helps to digest food and keeps the mouth, nose, and eyes moist, which prevents friction and damage.

14. Maintaining healthy hairs

Coldwater helps hair become glossier and shinier and removes dirt from the scalp. Soft water in the shower helps prevent your hair color from fading and makes your hair more manageable.

15. Maintaining skins and slowing down aging

Skin is an organ, which is made up of cells. These cells have high water content. Keep drinking lots of water because your organs need it to function well. When dehydrated, the body takes away water from the skin, not from other much more vital organs.

Dehydration makes skin dry and flaky. Drinking water reduces wrinkles and helps you retain muscle tone. Water is a remedy for skin problems: dark spots, rashes to acne, and chapped lips. Use a shower filter also boosts the effects, too!

16. Preventing headaches

A headache caused by dehydration is known as a secondary headache. When dehydrated, your brain may temporarily shrink or contract. This mechanism causes pain in the form of a headache.

17. Eliminating bloating

One of the side effects of consuming too much sodium or fiber without enough water is bloating. Drinking more water eliminates bloating.

18. Regulating body temperature

Blood, which is largely composed of water. Since water absorbs and transfers heat quite well, your body uses it to keep your core temperature stable through sweating and respiration. Water in your cells helps buffer against sudden or extreme changes in temperature.

The human body normally operates at a temperature of 98.6 degrees. However, people can survive when the air temperature is 120 degrees or higher in the desert. In temperatures like this, it may require up to 10 liters of water each day. 

19. Supporting your heart

Heart constantly pumps 2,000 gallons of blood throughout the day. 90% of blood is water and blood needs water to flow through the body. Dehydration causes a decrease in the blood volume in your body with additional sodium. To make up for the loss, your heartbeat increases and causes stroke or heart attack. Drinking water dilutes your blood, which makes your heart pump blood much more easily and efficiently.

In addition, refrain from saturated fat intake. It could eventually damage blood vessels. Clotting blood causes a heart attack or stroke. Drinking an extra glass of water (1 hour before bed) reduces your risk of a stroke or heart attack. 

20. Supporting joint and preventing from back pain

Gravity and the movement of your spine cause discs to dehydrate and rehydrate. Dehydration causes your bones to rub together more frequently and creates painful joints. Water helps rebuild the nucleus pulposus (“shock absorber” cartilage) that helps bones to move smoothly for your spine. Joints are surrounded by cartilage (up to 85% water), which gives them a spongy texture to avoid rubbing and grating together.

21. Supporting nursing moms

Breastfeeding moms need enough fluids for both themselves and their babies. 

How much water to drink daily to get health benefits?

Now you understand the awesome health benefits to drink water. How about how much water to drink daily? We need to drink water daily because we lose water through normal function. It really depends on: 

• Weight The more you weigh, the more you drink water
• Activity level: Extra water before/during/after workout
• Environment High attitude, hot/humid weather
• Pregnancy/breast feeding Drink extra water
• Overall health: Your body loses fluids when you have a fever,
  vomiting or diarrhea. Drink more water.

Ideally, you should drink at least 1 oz of water for every 2 lbs of body weight daily. 

• Adult man 15.5 cups
• Adult woman 11.5 cups 

It is better to drink more water than not enough. Your body will use what it needs and remove what it doesn’t. 

How much water is too much?

Excess water intake could lead to hyponatremia. It’s rare but happens for extreme athletes – when there is little sodium in the blood. Sodium is a vital electrolyte for cell hydration, nerves, and blood pressure. It’s hard to drink too much water, but try to drink water throughout the day.

Symptoms of Hyponatremia

• Confusion
• Fatigue or low energy
• Headache
• Irritability
• Muscle cramps or spasms
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Weakness

When to drink water?

Drink water consistently throughout the day – instead of a lot at a time.

• After wakeup Drink 2-3 glasses of water
• Before a meal ½ hour before a meal because water can dilute your stomach acid for proper digestion and assimilation of nutrients. And wait at least 1 hour after eating. 

• After workout Bring heart rate back to normal
• Before a bath Drink 1 glass of water to help lower blood pressure.
• Before sleep Drink less water 1 hour before bed
  

Be careful about taking more fluid when you develop diarrhea or vomit. It causes dehydration and loss of vital electrolytes.

Symptoms of Dehydration: Drink water ASAP!

When you don’t drink enough water, dehydration occurs. Keep drinking water throughout the day because even minor dehydration creates issues. In addition, don’t wait until you feel thirsty to drink. Thirst occurs when you’re already dehydrated. 

• Thirst
• Dry mouth/lips
• Infrequent urination
• Dark yellow urine
• Dark sunken eyes
• Dizziness
• Dry skin
• Fainting
• Headache
• Muscle cramps
• Poor sleep
• Rapid heartbeat
• Rapid/shallow breathing
• Snoring

Source of water

We could meet the daily water requirements from 

• Food (20%): Watermelon, cucumber, spinach
• Liquid (80%): Water, tea, juice, milk
• Sports drinks: only when you exercise intensely for more than an hour. Avoid energy drinks since it has too much caffeine, sugar, and other additives.

Type of water

TAP

Not all tap water is treated and tested equally – city water and rural water. lt can be contaminated by industrial dumping, pesticide runoff, added chemicals, or from traveling through pipes. Water is treated with toxic chemicals to kill pathogens. However, even at small doses, these chemicals are poisonous to humans.

FILTERED

Filtered Tap water that has gone through some sort of filter that can clear out many safety concerns like bacteria, heavy metals, and pesticides. Figure out what you’re trying to filter out, and then buy the appropriate system. Check out TyentUSA, Waterdrop.

Toxins found in tap water include:

• Chlorine
• Fluoride
• Lead
• Mercury
• Arsenic
• PCBs
• DDT
• HCB

Shower Filter: When you take a shower, your skin absorbs the water (a few glasses of water) along with all its toxins. Further, when water is heated, toxic gases are released into the air. The effects of absorbing toxins are cumulative.

I had zero skin issues till I came to CA. Suddenly my skins broke out – due to the water. The problems were gone after I started using a shower filter. It really keeps my skin and hair smooth and healthy. It’s not expensive, yet it totally worth it!

BOTTLED

Plastic water bottles are not safer than tap water. But, it can cost you up to 1000 times as much. In fact, about 25 % of bottled water is tap water from other places. The bottled water regulations are much less strict than tap water.

Plastic bottles leach toxic chemicals like BPA into the water. Even “BPA-free” plastic bottles have similar toxins. If the only water you have available is in a plastic bottle don’t hesitate. Staying hydrated is more important.

DISTILLED

Distilled water is water that has been boiled into a vapor and cooled and condensed back into a liquid. Any impurities that do not boil at or below the boiling point of water stay in the original container.

Benefits: Free of heavy metals, chemicals, pathogens, and parasites. If your water source
is not safe to drink, distilled water is one of your best options. 

Drawbacks of Distilled Water

• It removes trace minerals, like calcium and magnesium, as well as impurities. Without minerals of its own, distilled water can draw the minerals it needs from whatever it touches like your cells like bones and teeth to maintain a balance. If you drink distilled water, make sure to eat plenty of mineral-rich fruits and vegetables.
• It is difficult to store safely
  Because it pulls toxins from its storage container more easily than regular water. Be sure to save distilled water in a glass bottle.
• It has a bland taste because it lacks minerals.

 What is the best water bottle?

• Glass jar: Toxic free, but it breaks easily. It doesn’t keep water
  cool. Use glass water bottles with outer protectors.
  
• Stainless steel: It contains nickel, a toxic heavy metal. Heavy
  metals can accumulate in the body. Instead, use glass one. Best for camping or hiking. 

How many oz in a water bottle?

• .5 liter = 16.907 oz
• 1 liter = 33.814 oz
• 2 liters = 67.628 oz
  

More Resources

EatingWell: 10 Dangerous Side Effects of Not Drinking Enough Water
Everyday Health: Health benefits of water

Conclusion: Drinking water has so beneficial to keep you healthy. Now that you know tons of health benefits of drinking water, so start drinking more water and stay healthy!

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