Although water is so important for the body, there is not much scientific research devoted to learning more about water and how it affects human health. This is because water is very cheap for most developed countries. The health benefits of water do not increase the profitability of the giant pharmaceutical companies that typically fund health research.
However, water is a necessary and fundamental part of keeping us healthy and its importance should not be underestimated. Taking the trouble to drink good water and lots of water is essential to achieving your health goals. Here are some major reasons to drink more water.
Water helps you lose weight
Everyone wants to look good and be fit. The easiest way to do this is to drink more water. Here are the two main ways that water can help you lose weight or maintain optimal weight.
Water Reduces Food Cravings
In the center of your brain, there is an area called the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is responsible for regulating hormones in the body, controlling body temperature, and feelings of hunger and thirst. Since your feelings of hunger and thirst come from the same region of your brain, you can sometimes confuse your thirst with your desire to snack on something. This is why if you want to eat, you should try to drink a glass of water and wait 15 minutes. Most of the time, the urge should go away and reduce your calorie intake, which helps you lose weight.
Water boosts your metabolism (calorie burn)
Did you know that drinking water boosts your metabolism and increases your calorie consumption? Especially if you drink cold water. Drinking cold water forces your body to burn calories to warm the water to body temperature.
Research has shown that in 14 healthy and fit people, drinking 500ml of water increased their metabolism by 30% in just 10 minutes. Another study found that drinking 2 liters of water a day could increase calorie expenditure by up to 400 calories.
Water must be treated and transported for use by the body, which requires energy. More demand for energy increases the metabolic rate. Just by drinking more water, you will burn more fat and become leaner.
Water increases your mental and physical performance
Fatigue is one of the first signs of dehydration. Even if you only lose 1-2% of your body weight in water, it can affect your physical and mental performance. This is because everything that goes on in your body and your brain requires water.
Physical performance
If you exercise regularly, you need to hydrate yourself even more than normal sedentary humans. You lose water quickly through your sweat and your breath when you exercise. Athletes have been shown to often lose 6-10% of their body weight in water during competition and intense training. Dehydration during training results in reduced endurance, increased fatigue, reduced motivation and increased perceived effort. All of this has a negative impact on performance.
Rehydration reverses all of these negative effects and even reduces oxidative stress caused by exercise and dehydration. Make sure you hydrate before, during and after exercise to promote recovery and maximize your performance. A solid workout with maximum effort also means more calories burned.
Mental performance
Even a simple dehydration slows cognitive functions such as concentration, alertness and short-term memory in everyone, including children (10-12 years), young adults (18-25 years) and (50 -82 years old). The brain contains 85% water, so it’s important to stay hydrated enough to keep your brain working properly. In the morning, instead of going straight to the cafe, try to drink 500ml of water as soon as you wake up. This will help you start your day and go faster. When the afternoon nap starts to get urgent, try to drown it with water.
Water improves the health of your skin
The skin is the largest organ in your body and contains 30% water, which contributes to the overweight and elasticity of the skin. Drinking more water can improve the thickness and density of the skin, helping your skin to look younger, smoother and firmer. Choosing water instead of drinks like sugary sodas, processed fruit juices and even milk will help you get lighter skin. These drinks cause spikes in blood sugar which damage your hormones and cause unwanted flare-ups. Be aware of what you drink, especially for your skin.
Water helps cleanse your body
There are so many toxins that come into daily contact with processed foods, household chemicals, environmental pollutants, etc. It is the job of your kidney to filter your blood and remove toxic waste. The kidneys are dependent on the abundance of fluid available in your body, so even if you lose fluid in your urine, your body can function optimally. Give your kidneys adequate water, they can work effectively and remove all toxins from your blood. The more dehydrated you are, the harder your kidneys have to work to fit all the toxins into a small amount of urine. Leading to the darker and darker shades of yellow in your urine. The best way to make sure you are drinking enough water is to drink enough water until your urine is clear. This will help your kidneys to efficiently remove toxins from your body and you will feel great!