Chapter 8: Benefits of Drinking More Water
There is no doubt that drinking water is an essential and beneficial habit. It helps to ensure that we don’t choke when we eat. Yet, there are more perks to enjoy when you drink a lot of water. Here are other advantages of drinking more water.
Cartilages are present in joints and discs of the spine. Interestingly, they contain 80% water. So, long-term dehydration can reduce the shock- absorbing ability of the joints. This is one of the reasons people experience joint pain. Scientists have discovered long ago that the human body is like a machine with various parts carrying out specific operations.
Just like cars, our bodies need to be maintained to ensure that they keep functioning at optimum levels. Water does the same thing engine oils do in a machine. They lubricate the joint by hydrating the cartilages. Therefore, one of the ways you can ensure that you avoid joint pain is by drinking more water. This relatively cheap and easy habit can save you the cost of getting an appointment with a doctor later.
You need saliva to aid the digestion process. Besides, it is crucial to ensure that your nose, mouth, and eyes are moist. The benefit of keeping these body parts moist is that it prevents friction and damage to them. When you drink more water, you are also keeping your mouth clean. Moreover, you cannot wash your mouth without using water.
Sweets and candy are sumptuous, but they can lead to tooth decay. We can hardly avoid them because they are given to us on special occasions. Still, it is crucial to limit their impact on our dental set. Drinking more water can help you to avoid tooth decay. Choosing water above sweetened beverages can also help in this regard.
Reduction in Chance of a Hangover
The list of the side effects of excessive consumption of alcohol is endless. There are short-term and long-term negatives impacts of taking this depressant. One of the short-term effects is a hangover. A hangover is that undesirable physical condition following the heavy consumption of alcohol. It is often characterized by nausea and headache.
People often experience this effect in the morning after heavy drinking the previous night. It can be avoided by alternating alcoholic drinks with unsweetened soda water, ice, and lemon when partying. Don’t let the enjoyment of the moment make you damn the terrible consequences the following day.
There is a lot of pressure for many people to lose weight today because of the prevalence of subtle or obvious body-shaming jabs at plus-size people. Nonetheless, there are many benefits of losing weight apart from getting a dream physique. It staves off obesity and its negative impacts. So, you can choose to lose weight for the right reasons.
If that is the case, there are many effective ways to go about it. Thankfully, there are even free ways to do it. One of the cheap and easy methods of losing weight that many people ignore is the consumption of more water. Drinking water before eating will make you consume less food because you will quickly have a sense of fullness.
Enhances Performance During Exercise
Sportspeople have a culture of taking water breaks. It is not a futile activity. They do this because it boosts their performance. According to experts, drinking more water enhances performance, especially during strenuous activities. Indeed, more studies are needed to confirm this suggestion. Yet, there is evidence that this claim might not be far from the truth.
For example, a review discovered that dehydration impedes performance, especially when an activity lasts longer than thirty minutes. One of the reasons you tire easily during the day might be because you have not been drinking enough water. You can turn this negative pattern around by consuming more fluid.
Water helps to make minerals more accessible to the body by dissolving them. It also aids the removal of waste products. Consequently, water is essential to the functioning and maintenance of the kidney. The kidney filters close to 120-150 quarts of fluid daily. Approximately 1-2 quarts of this amount are removed in the form of urine from the body while the bloodstream recovers the rest. Drinking plenty water helps to reduce the risk of developing Urinary tract infections.
Kidney stones are another disease you can prevent by drinking water. People battling this health condition were diagnosed after they didn’t take the required amount of water per day. Note that people dealing with kidney stones are often susceptible to chronic kidney disease. The American College of Physicians issued a guideline in 2014 that increasing fluid intake can reduce the risk of stone recurrence.
Accessibility of Minerals and Nutrients
Taking supplements and healthy meals are meant to help you boost the functioning of your body. However, that purpose will be defeated when these nutrients and minerals aren’t accessible to the organs and tissues that need them. Lack of adequate fluid is one of the reasons the body is unable to get what it needs.
Water dissolves minerals in the body, thereby making them accessible to the body parts that need them. Note that around 60% of the body contains water. So, the more water you take, the more you are increasing the chances of circulating necessary nutrients and minerals all over the body.
The human body is an intelligent system. It makes decisions that it feels are best for it, and you need to understand this process to increase your chances of living healthily. For example, if your body realizes that it doesn’t have enough water, it will make moves to manage what it has. One of the ways it does this is by restricting the airways.
Apparently, this move is dangerous because you will struggle to breathe well. This will make things worse for people suffering from asthma and other allergies. Therefore, you should consume more water to prevent your body from making drastic decisions that can affect your airways.
The last thing you want is high or low blood pressure. Without normal blood pressure, blood will not flow around the circulatory system appropriately. When this occurs, your body won’t be able to get the nutrient and oxygen it needs to carry out its activities. Your body will also lack white blood cells and antibodies that protect it against invading germs.
The fresh blood that is delivered to the organs also helps to pick up toxic wastes and products of metabolism. When you don’t drink enough water, your blood can become thicker. Once this happens, it will increase your blood pressure, which can lead to cardiac arrest.
Regulation of Body Temperature
When your body heats up, water stored in the skin’s middle layers comes to the surface of the skin as sweat. The body cools down as the water evaporate, especially during exercise. Scientists believe that the body will struggle to tolerate heat strain when there is too little water in the body. Heat storage will increase, and it will become difficult for the body to regulate its temperature.
So, you need to help your body by drinking more water. Drinking more water will reduce physical strain on the body when heat stress occurs during exercise. When the body is unable to regulate its temperature, you may need to see the doctor soon.