‘Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink’ is a well-known line from the poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” This explicitly defines significance of water and how impossible it would be to live without water. As we all know that 70% of mother earth is made up of water, but still a major population is deprived of water. The main reason is the scarcity in drinkable water. In most cases, people use their bathing water to drink that could worsen their health conditions. No matter what, we require water at every point. Not just to quench out thirst, water has the capability to satisfy our hunger as well in extreme situations. A chemical composition composed of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms, our body itself contains roughly about 75% to 78% water. Proper water intake is utmost essential in order to get rid of dehydration. A person needs to consume a minimum of 6 to 7 glasses of water to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Studies have revealed that adequate consumption of water helps in eliminating many diseases. It is always better to consume water in its natural form rather than in the guise of beverages and other forms.
Let’s check out why drinking water is utmost essential to our health.
1. Helps in proper balancing of body fluids
We all are very well aware of the fact that body is composed of various fluids with water dominating the most. Body fluids interfere with the body mechanism by performing several functions such as circulation, digestion, absorption, excretion, saliva formation as well as maintaining optimal levels of body temperature. If a person consumes less water, there are high chances that he/she gets dehydrated soon. This would affect the communication between kidney and brain and thus could result in increasing the thirst mechanism of the body. Finally, inadequate water consumption would cause body dehydration.
2. Makes one look and feel smart
Water intake has the ability to interfere with one’s cognitive functions. Oxygen is required at maximum levels for efficient functioning of the brain. With adequate consumption of water, body metabolism ensures that brain receives abundant supply of oxygen. Various studies have revealed the fact drinking a minimum of eight glasses water on a daily basis can help enhance the cognitive functioning by about 30 percent. Not just the brains, even functioning of the nerves are also dependent on the water intake. It is always necessary to maintain high electrolyte levels in the body that enables nerves to conduct messages easily. This is only possible if one consumes plenty of water.
3. Helps relieve headaches and back pain
Headaches are one among the terrible things that we encounter almost every time. Amidst all other reasons, minimal water intake could also result in headaches. If the body does not get enough water, the dehydration could result in headache. Therefore, it is advisable to drink plenty of water that could prevent one from headaches. Similar to headache, the next common pain is the back pain. Studies have revealed that adequate consumption of water helps combat back pain. What could be easier to combat these body discomforts than a glass of water?
4. Helps fight skin disorders
As discussed earlier, water helps maintain suppleness and elasticity of the skin, thereby promotes skin rejuvenation. Not just that alone, water has an additional benefit of minimizing the risk of skin disorders. Skin, which covers our entire body, needs to be protected and maintained properly. Unnecessary ailments could result in the wear and tear of skin leading to such disorders. Adequate consumption of water would thus help in combating disorders such as psoriasis and eczema. Water can also help one fight against the dryness of skin as well as skin wrinkles and spots.
5. Effective in combating cancer
Cancer, one of the most dreaded conditions, could prove life-threatening if not treated properly. Just as the famous saying goes, ‘Prevention is better than cure,’ cancer can be checked before it starts ruining the body system. The most simplest and harmless method would be to consume as much as water possible. Known to reduce the risks of colon and bladder cancer, a good intake of water is capable of warding off all cancer-causing elements. Water helps dilute the cancer provoking substances that would ultimately pass out in the urine. Therefore, such harmful toxins hardly get into contact with the bladder lining thereby eliminating the possibility of bladder cancer.
6. Boosts the body muscles
Muscle fatigue is a common condition witnessed in many individuals. The main reason for this is the loss of fluids from muscle cells resulting in shrinking of those cells. Lack of fluid in the muscles would result in wear and tear as well as inability to perform. As a result, the individual would get tired very soon. Thereafter, it is highly recommended that proper water intake is utmost essential to revive the energy of muscle cells. Hence, it is always advisable to drink water prior to exercising or any other work-outs so as to replenish the fluid which has been lost through profuse sweating.
7. Helps shed off extra calories
Weight management is a very common mantra adopted almost by everyone. Who would not want to reduce that extra fat? Rather than spending long hours in gym, drinking lot of water helps shed off that extra fat from the body. One of the effective weight-loss strategies, water eliminates harmful by-products of fat thereby contributing to the well-being of an individual. Not just that, regular intake of water will minimize the craving for food and thus keeps a careful check on the weight. Being a calorie-free product, water will definitely not add on to body’s calories. So, the ideal option of keeping one’s weight under check would be to consume water as much as possible!
8. A boon to the kidneys
Water is definitely loaded with an umpteen number of advantages. If it would not have been for water, our system would have gone topsy-turvy. Water aids in the proper functioning of one of the most important organ in our body, i.e., kidneys. Amongst all the waste products, blood urea nitrogen is one of the water-soluble toxins that need to be excreted from the body through the kidneys. Proper consumption of water helps discard this unwanted substance from kidneys through urine. Also, adequate fluid intake results in odourless and colourless urine that flows freely without any disruption. There is one another major disadvantage to drinking less water that is formation of kidney stones. When kidney does not get sufficient water, small stones begin to develop that might result in some serious health hazards.
9. Aids in normal functioning of bowels
This is one of the key benefits of consuming water. If the body is properly hydrated, there would be no disruption in the movement of roughage through the gastrointestinal tract. In this way, water helps prevent constipation. What actually happens is that minimal water consumption would result in the colon extracting water from roughage in order to maintain a hydrated state. This loss of water is the main cause of constipation. Adequate intake of water would ensure that bowel movements are normal.
10. Restores the youth and charm
Water is probably the only tasteless liquid that we gulp down in huge quantities. Amidst all the advantages, the biggest discovery is that one could look much younger than his/her age by drinking lots and lots of water. Now, that would be an exciting thing for all. No more spending time and money on salons, instead consume as much water as you can to revive the charm. The skin gets suppler thereby increasing the overall charm of an individual. Not just that, skin also gets moisturized without any dryness. With its detoxifying power, water helps maintain skin elasticity.
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