water – Top Health Today

Water – The Life Giving Elixir

Sometimes it is the simplest and taken for granted activities of life that act as a much needed refresher for our life and prove to be beneficial. Drinking water is one such activity that has long been associated with health benefits. For most, it is just an activity to quench their thirst. But what they do not realize is that by doing so, they are also helping in the improvement of overall body health. Drinking water has all of a sudden become a fad and is now being touted for good skin, weight loss and treatment of many common ailments. In fact water therapy is something that has been in existence since ages and continues to be used in many nations like India, China and Japan. Surely when there is even a therapy based on water, there should definitely be some valid evidence and science behind all this.

Water and Human Body

Though the percentages may slightly vary this way or that, it is an accepted fact that the human body is mostly composed of water anywhere between 55 and 80 percent depending on one’s body size. We all have learnt in science that the human body is composed of cells and every cell needs water to function properly. You don’t need any science to tell you that drinking a glass of water when you are tired or exhausted can actually bring life back into your body and energize your mind.

Benefits of Drinking Water

Water helps to keep your body hydrated that is so necessary for the proper functioning of the vital organs.
Another established fact is that water helps in improving the functioning of your bowel system and prevents constipation.
Water is known to be an excellent detoxifier that helps in flushing out the toxins in your body in the form of sweat and urine.
Drinking water helps to keep your joints and muscles lubricated that in turn helps prevent cramps.
A well hydrated body helps improve blood flow and in turn makes your skin radiate and look healthier.
Drinking sufficient quantities of water help keep painful ailments like kidney stones and urinary infections away.
Water helps maintain your body temperature.

Water – The Unsung Hero

The benefits of drinking water have almost always gone unnoticed till it became a fad. Not for nothing do the doctors suggest you to drink sufficient quantities of water for treating many common ailments. We don’t realize the importance of a glass of water until and unless we find ourselves in a situation where we have no access to it. The very fact that the human body can survive without food, but not without water should tell us how important water is to our lives. It is said that most medicines work well when you have faith in its healing powers. So what stops us from thinking about the good things that our glass of water provides us every time we pick one up? That is certainly food for thought!!

When it comes to maintaining proper hydration levels in your body, nothing achieves this goal better than pure, clean water. At various stages of life and circumstances, this life-giving liquid constitutes 60 to 75 percent of the human body. There is no way to deny that we need water in order to function properly. A person can live without water for about two days before succumbing to acute dehydration and death. Although that takes extreme circumstances, our day to day life is filled with enough physical activity and stress so that appropriate levels of water intake are essential to maximum health and well-being.

How Much Water Do We Need to Stay Hydrated?

Although there are many discussions about the exact volume of water necessary to maintain optimum health, the generally accepted idea is to get a minimum of eight cups or almost 2 liters of water each day.

When you look at hydration from another perspective, we should replace all the water we lose in a day due to normal metabolic processes, urination and elimination, sweating, and for any other reason. This amount varies widely. An athlete taking a jog in Arizona will lose a lot more water than a sedentary person sitting in a climate controlled office in Seattle. Even the two people of similar physiological ability in the same place during the same activity will lose different amounts of water.

Where Can You Get Enough Water?

Carrying around a water bottle all day or having a couple at your desk is always a great idea. However, if you’d rather not guzzle down water, you can get your fluid from other sources. Juices and even coffee and tea count toward your daily requirement. While sodas or soft drinks are made with water and to help rehydrate you, they also include a lot of sugar and other chemicals that can make the water difficult to process.

Some food has plenty of water as well. Fruits and vegetables are often very high in moisture, but things like soups and sauces can also help. This does not mean you can replace a couple of water with a cup of ketchup and call yourself well hydrated. Everything included with the pure water needs to be metabolized out before it can be used for your bodily functions.

What Happens If You Do Not Stay Hydrated?

As mentioned above, if you do not drink water or other water-containing foods or beverages for two days you may die of dehydration. People not in life-threatening situations can also suffer the effects of dehydration in a milder, but still dangerous way.

Consider first that every single process in your body requires water to function. If you do not have enough, things begin to malfunction. The initial symptoms include lack of urination, lack of sweat in the heat, dry mouth, and feeling very thirsty. If you do not take a drink soon, you may develop headaches, dizziness, and even mental confusion and loss of cognitive function. Long-term dehydration can affect your organs and body systems.

In order to avoid these problems, maintain ideal health, and feel and look your best, drinking water is the best way to stay hydrated.

Drinking Water is Beneficial for Health