It is that time of the year when most parts of the country are dry with no rains to provide the necessary coolness. The hard hitting hot sun shining through much of the day can be discomforting. It leaves the body hot, dry and in need of moisturizing and nourishing.
The excessive dryness becomes evident in your patched skin, dry throats, chapped lips, harsh wind, and withered greenery. The only solution is to stay consistently hydrated and moisturized.
Staying hydrated is a simple yet critical part of maintaining good health. But most people just aren’t getting the fluids they need every day. As we age, drinking enough water is even more important.
Drinking enough water daily is important for your overall health. Proper water intake helps your body filter and eliminate waste and toxins through urination, perspiration and bowel movements.
As you navigate through this dry patch of the year, here are some of the reasons why you should keep a bottle of water near you.
Helps maximize physical performance
If you don’t stay hydrated, your physical performance can suffer. This is particularly important during high heat. Dehydration can have a noticeable effect if you lose as little as 2% of your body’s water content. This can lead to altered body temperature control, reduced motivation, and increased fatigue. Optimal hydration has been shown to prevent this from happening.
May help prevent and treat headaches
Dehydration can trigger headaches and migraine in some individuals. Research has shown that a headache is one of the most common symptoms of dehydration. Some studies have shown that drinking water can help relieve headaches.
A study in 102 men found that drinking an additional 1.5 liters of water per day resulted in significant improvements on the Migraine-Specific Quality of Life scale, a scoring system for migraine symptoms.
May help relieve constipation
Constipation is a common problem that’s characterized by infrequent bowel movements and difficulty passing stool. Increasing fluid intake is often recommended as a part of the treatment protocol, and there’s some evidence to back this up.
Low water consumption appears to be a risk factor for constipation in both younger and older individuals. Increasing hydration may help decrease constipation. Studies have shown that mineral water that’s rich in magnesium and sodium improves bowel movement frequency and consistency in people with constipation.
May help treat kidney stones
Urinary stones are painful clumps of mineral crystal that form in the urinary system. The most common form is kidney stones, which form in the kidneys. Higher fluid intake increases the volume of urine passing through the kidneys. This dilutes the concentration of minerals, so they’re less likely to crystallize and form clumps.
Water may also help prevent the initial formation of stones, but studies are required to confirm this. Water also helps flush harmful bacteria from your bladder and can aid in preventing urinary tract infections (UTIs).
Affects energy levels and brain function
Your brain is strongly influenced by your hydration status. Studies show that even mild dehydration, such as the loss of 1–3% of body weight, can impair many aspects of brain function.
Many other studies, with subjects ranging from children to older adults, have shown that mild dehydration can impair mood, memory, and brain performance. Dehydration can slow down circulation and affect the flow of oxygen to your brain.
A lack of fluids can also cause your heart to work harder to pump oxygen all throughout your body. All of that expended energy can make you feel tired, sluggish, and less focused. When you stay hydrated by drinking more water, you’ll prevent dehydration and have more pep to get you through the day.
Even mild dehydration—as little as 2% fluid loss—can affect memory, mood, concentration, and reaction time. Adding just a few glasses of water to your daily intake can have a positive effect on cognition, stabilize your emotions, and even combat feelings of anxiety.
Can aid weight loss; control calories
Drinking plenty of water can help you lose weight. This is because water can increase satiety and boost your metabolic rate.
Some evidence suggests that increasing water intake can promote weight loss by slightly increasing your metabolism, which can increase the number of calories you burn on a daily basis.
A 2013 study in 50 young women with overweight demonstrated that drinking an additional 500ml of water 3 times per day before meals for 8 weeks led to significant reductions in body weight and body fat compared with their pre-study measurements.
The timing is important too. Drinking water half an hour before meals is the most effective. It can make you feel more full so that you eat fewer calories.
Food with high water content tends to look larger, its higher volume requires more chewing, and it is absorbed more slowly by the body, which helps you feel full. Water-rich foods include fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, oatmeal, and beans.
Helps maintain the balance of body fluids
Your body is composed of about 80% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature. Through the posterior pituitary gland, your brain communicates with your kidneys and tells it how much water to excrete as urine or hold onto for reserves.
When you’re low on fluids, the brain triggers the body’s thirst mechanism. And unless you are taking medications that make you thirsty, you should listen to those cues and get yourself a drink of water, juice, milk, coffee but not alcohol. Alcohol interferes with the brain and kidney communication and causes excess excretion of fluids which can then lead to dehydration.
Digestive harmony
Your body needs water in order to digest food properly. Without enough, you may experience irregular bowel movements, gas, bloating, heartburn, and other discomforts that can hurt your quality of life. When you make it a point to stay hydrated, it can help get things moving in the right direction again. Water aids in breaking down soluble fiber from your diet to keep your digestion process on track. Mineral water is especially beneficial—look for products enriched with sodium and magnesium.
Better temperature regulation
Research shows that when you’re dehydrated, your body stores more heat. This in turn lowers your ability to tolerate hot temperatures. Hydrating with plenty of water helps you produce sweat when you’re overheated during activity, which in turn cools your body down. This built-in cooling mechanism is critical in preventing heat stroke and other potentially deadly heat-related conditions.
A healthier heart
Your blood is made up largely of water. When you don’t drink enough glasses of water, it becomes concentrated, which can cause an imbalance of vital minerals (electrolytes). These minerals, like potassium and sodium, are key to the proper functioning of your heart.
Improved detoxification
Sufficient water intake supports your body’s natural detoxification systems, which remove waste and harmful substances through urination, breathing, perspiration, and bowel movements. Hydrating with plenty of water supports your own powerful, built-in detox processes and can help enhance your overall health.
Water helps maintain normal bowel function
Adequate hydration keeps things flowing along your gastrointestinal tract and prevents constipation. When you don’t get enough fluid, the colon pulls water from stools to maintain hydration — and the result is constipation. Adequate fluid and fiber is the perfect combination, because the fluid pumps up the fiber and acts like a broom to keep your bowel functioning properly.
