The Importance of Adequate Water Intake

Do You Know The Importance of Adequate Water Intake?

We’ve talked quite a bit about food, the correct portions and sizes, as well as the components of food that we eat. However, there’s barely been any mention at all of water and the amount of hydration our body requires. It’s time we remedy that, especially considering just how important water is for our optimal health.

Did you know that water makes approximately 60 to 75 percent of our body weight, depending on our gender, age and body composition? That equates to almost two-thirds of the human body being made up of water.

If that doesn’t give you valuable insight into the importance of water, consider this: Water has multiple roles, like regulating body temperature, lubricating joints, and removing toxins and waste products from the body.

However that’s not all, the real relevant fact to consider here is that being properly hydrated also helps regular your appetite –something that is quite essential for anyone intending to lose any amount of weight.

In fact, here’s something to try - the next time you find yourself with an uncontrollable craving, consider the possibility that you may actually just be dehydrated. Try drinking a tall glass of water before reaching for a snack and see if your hunger or craving abates. We can almost guarantee that it will.

As we mentioned just now, hydration is absolutely crucial for optimal health. Unfortunately however, not only do people not pay the necessary attention to their hydration needs, rather they also opt to fulfil their water requirements by depending on other liquid sources. Ask yourself, how many times has it been that instead of drinking water, you reached for a can of your favorite soft drink, a box of juice, a cup of coffee or tea?

In an ideal weight loss circumstance, it is absolutely mandatory that the majority of your liquid consumption be pure water. You want to lose weight? You’ll have to replace all sodas, fruit juices, and other sugary drinks with water – there are no two ways about it. Moderate amounts of coffee, teas, and broths can also be included in your diet but we recommend drinking at least half of your body weight in ounces, every day.

Although I don’t think many of you would be wondering about the reason why for such an extreme emphasis on drinking water, especially since I just explained that water makes up a major chunk of your body, I’d still like to give you an idea of just how important water is to your body. Read along to find out.

Effects of Dehydration

Water is the maintainer of a regulated body temperature. While helping control the blood circulation throughout the body, water carries away the heat that accumulates near your internal organs during exercise. This prevents a heat stroke from seriously damaging your insides.

The recommended daily water intake is necessary for a human body because it helps balance the water loss such as the one caused by sweating. This in turn aids in maintaining the total water weight. Even the minutest change is registered as a water loss. Feeling thirsty is the first sign that your body is inadequately hydrated. Dehydration has immediate and noticeable effects on the body. If your level of hydration drops by just two percent, it can lead to blurry vision, trouble concentrating, increased appetite, and lower energy. It can also mess with your digestion, resulting in bloating and abdominal pain.

Dehydration is also associated with an increased risk of anxiety, irritability, premature aging, weight gain, cancer, and numerous other health problems. Just a few more reasons to drink up!

Benefits to Staying Hydrated

Water is indeed miraculous when it comes to aiding the body. The following are some amazing benefits:  Staying hydrated will help easy muscle soreness by assisting your body in repairing muscle tissue and removing toxins.  It will boost your energy by improving your circulation  It will help control your appetite. Often dehydration is mistaken for hunger, and we end up reaching for snacks when we are really just thirsty.  Your skin will be smoother.

According to a research carried out in the University of Washington, drinking water can help fight latenight cravings. Ninety-eight percent of participants in the study found relief from drinking just eight ounces of water when cravings hit. Another study carried out by researcher Michael Boschmann revealed that drinking sixteen ounces of water can boost the metabolism by up to 30%.

Start every morning by drinking 10 ounces of water before you do anything else. Fill up a glass at night, set it on your nightstand, and drink it before getting out of bed (or reaching for your phone). Bonus points if you squeeze half of a lemon in. Use this part of your morning to sit up, set a positive intention for your day, and give your body the thing it needs most.

Other Liquids and Recommendations

There is no argument against water as the best choice for staying hydrated. We strongly recommend giving up sodas (especially diet), sugary juices, and unnatural energy drinks all together. These liquids cause inflammation, create false hunger pangs, and lead to chronic diseases like cancer.

However, moderate amounts of organic coffee, green and herbal tea, coconut water, broths, and kombucha can be great to create variety while hydrating your body. Adding herbs like mint, berries, and citrus can help make plain water more exciting and will also give you important micronutrients.

Hints to Keep Yourself Hydrated

Now that we’ve established that water is a man’s best friend in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, it is also important to note that every individual has different needs when it comes to body fluids. The mean environmental temperature of your surroundings, humidity, your choice in clothing, and of course, the rate of physical activity and sweat all make a considerable difference in the amount of water you need to consumer per day.

Having said that, we also realize that it’s not easy keeping track of all the water you drink in one day. Sometimes it just slips one’s mind that one needs to drink a certain amount of water. Hence, we’ve got a few very helpful hints, tips and tricks to help you make sure you stay on track with your water target.

Here’s how:

Don’t allow yourself to reach a point where you actively feel thirsty. Make sure you have a water bottle at hand all day and keep sipping. Take cues from your body! The number of times you go to relieve yourself and the color of your urine are both great indicators of your level of hydration. You shouldn’t be waiting six or eight hours between bathroom breaks and your urine shouldn’t be dark yellow, cloudy or even too smelly. Invest in a good quality, bigger sized bottle. While having a water bottle at hand is a good step, we all know you’ll never get round to refilling a small 12-ounce water bottle multiple times a day. Instead, opt for a larger, 1 or 1.5 liter bottle. Set water goals. Start small. If you have a large bottle of water at hand, make it a goal to finish it before the work-day ends. If you feel that you have the tendency to submerge yourself in work and are likely to forget all about taking a sip, try setting a regular reminder or alarm that goes off every two hours or so to prompt you into taking a few swigs. Add drinking water to your workout and eating routine. For light, limited duration exercise, drink some water before, during and after you’re done. Same goes for the meals. Drink a glass full of water before and after each of your daily meals. Track your daily intake of water. Much like you track the number of steps you walked or the miles you ran, digital media makes it extremely easy for you to record just how many glasses of H2O you’ve drank a day. You can even use your food journal to do the same. Switch things up. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to drink all two or three liters of water every day. Incorporate foods that are high in water content in your daily diet and compensate your water intake with those. Apples, watermelons, cantaloupe, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, and zucchini, are all called fluid-rich foods for a reason. What’s more, they’re absolutely delicious. Water intake and scrumptious taste, it’s a win-win!