byIt’s not uncommon to see someone carrying a bottle of water around with them. It’s second only to soft drinks. Water lovers are very happy because they know the ‘eight glasses a day’ is backed by credible scientific evidence. There are lots of **reasons to drink water. **One of them is that water is the tool to help us slim our waistlines and stay fit and healthy. Here are some of the ways it does this.
Snapshot Survey
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Please subscribe for your personalized newsletter:
1. Maintain Balance of Fluids
We’re made primarily of fluids. These include the fluids found in saliva, digestion, and in various cellular mechanisms. We need water or we die. When we have too much water we need to go to the bathroom more often. When we have too little, the pituitary gland in our brain tells our kidneys to hold the water back.
We need to maintain an optimal balance of fluids. This is especially important when exercising because otherwise, it can cause a large number of problems. It can cause excess water weight, mood swings, and eventually death.
Listen to your brain. When it tells you you’re thirsty, take a drink.
2. Calorie Control
It’s not uncommon to see dieters drinking water to lose weight. Water doesn’t actually help us lose weight in the slightest. It’s designed as a replacement for over beverages with a high number of calories.
Barbara Rolls, a researcher for Penn State and the author of The Volumetrics Weight Control Plan says water helps with weight loss by making us feel fuller. Water doesn’t contain any calories, whereas soft drinks and juices do.
Another point Barbara made is water-rich foods tend to be larger, at least in appearance. They’re absorbed more slowly, therefore we stay full for longer.
Dieters will consume high numbers of broth-based foods, fruits, and vegetables. You’ll probably notice the effect of water by drinking a big glass of water when you feel like you’re hungry. It’s a useful way of checking whether you’re really hungry or your cravings for chocolate have struck again.
Frequently asked questions
3. Energising the Muscles
We suffer a greater level of muscle fatigue when our cells fail to maintain the balance of fluids. They shrivel up and our muscles don’t perform as they should.
Many people underestimate just how much they need to drink when they exercise. This is why they consistently fail to meet their physical goals. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends people should be drinking 17 ounces of fluids roughly two hours before they start exercising.
While people exercise, they should drink fluids early in their routine and drink during exercise, according to how much water they’re losing through sweating. On hot days, for example, they should replace fluids more often.
4. Keeps You Looking Good
Drinking water allows us to look good. Skin contains a high level of water. It also acts as a way to reduce the amount of fluid we lose. Kenneth Ellner, a dermatologist from Atlanta, says over-hydration won’t have the effect of removing wrinkles and fine lines.
He says dehydration will always make our skin wrinkled and dry. Proper hydration can solve this problem. Over-hydration won’t improve skin health even further. At this point, the kidneys will excrete fluids from the body, so you’ll never hold in a larger amount of water.
Drink more water and support fluid retention by using a moisturiser specifically designed to lock moisture in the skin.
5. Improve Kidney Health
Fitness involves more than just the muscles we can see and your skin. Your kidneys are an essential part of health and fitness. The kidneys remove blood urea nitrogen, which is the primary toxin in our bodies. Our kidneys are responsible for cleansing the body and removing toxins.
Urine should flow freely and be a clear or light yellow colour. Drinking too little increases the risk of kidney stones. It also means the kidneys don’t run as efficiently as they should. When this happens, toxins tend to remain in your body and you become dehydrated. Dehydration has a direct impact on our fitness and can quite easily destroy our health in the long-term.
People living in warmer climates should drink more water to maintain their current level of health.
6. Bowel Function
Staying slim relies on your bowels to function correctly. Your bowels are responsible for breaking down the food in your body and removing any waste quickly. Dehydration stops it from working properly and leads to constipation, which can add on more weight. This is because without enough fluid the colon has to take water from your faeces, which makes them hard and sometimes impossible to remove.
To keep your bowels moving, you need a combination of fluid and fibre, so keep drinking that water. And if you ever find yourself constipated and feeling bloated, you know why!