14 Benefits Of Drinking Water You Need To Know, staying hydrated is critical to health and well-being, but many people don’t consume enough fluids every day. It supports numerous biological processes and ensures homeostatic functioning by acting as a building material, solvent, participant in enzymatic reactions, nutrient and waste carrier, thermoregulator, lubricant, and essential part of the blood.
Drinking water contains nutritionally beneficial minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphate. Humans get most of their mineral needs from food, but water containing these minerals is a useful supplement.
As a result, questions arise about how much water you should drink per day, the benefits of drinking water in the morning, the benefits of drinking water at dinner, the benefits of drinking plenty of water, and whether drinking a liter of water a day day day can deliver all of the benefits. benefits of hydration.
About 60 percent of the body is made up of water and about 71 percent of the earth’s surface is covered with water. It is generally recommended to drink eight 8-ounce (237 ml) glasses of water per day (the 8 × 8 rule). Staying hydrated is important.
Here are 14 evidence-based health benefits of drinking lots of water:
Helps maximize physical performance
If you don’t stay hydrated, your physical performance can suffer. This is especially important during intense training or heat. Dehydration can have a noticeable effect if you lose just 2% of your body’s moisture. However, it is not uncommon for athletes to lose as much as 6-10% of their water weight through sweat.
This can lead to altered body temperature regulation, reduced motivation, and increased fatigue. It can also make exercising much more difficult, both physically and mentally Optimal hydration has been shown to prevent this and can even reduce the oxidative stress that occurs during strenuous exercise. This is not surprising when you consider that muscles are made up of about 80% water. If you work out hard and sweat, staying hydrated can help you perform at your best.
Significantly affects energy levels and brain function
Your brain is strongly influenced by your water status. Studies show that even mild dehydration, such as a loss of 1-3% of body weight, can impair many aspects of brain function. In a study of young women, researchers found that 1.4% dehydration after exercise impacted both mood and concentration. It also increased the frequency of headaches. Many members of the same research team conducted a similar study on young men.
They found that a 1.6% fluid loss impaired working memory and increased feelings of anxiety and fatigue. A fluid loss of 1 to 3 percent equates to about 1.5 to 4.5 pounds (0.5 to 2 kg) of body weight loss in a 150-pound (68 kg) person. This can easily happen with normal daily activities, not to mention physical exertion or intense heat. Numerous other studies involving subjects ranging from children to older adults have shown that mild dehydration can affect mood, memory, and brain function.
It may help prevent and treat headaches
Dehydration can trigger headaches and migraines in some people. Research has shown that headaches are one of the most common symptoms of dehydration. Additionally, some studies have shown that drinking water can help relieve headaches in people with frequent headaches.
A study of 102 men found that drinking an additional 50.7 ounces (1.5 liters) of water per day led to significant improvements on the Migraine-Specific Quality of Life Scale, a rating system for migraine symptoms.
Additionally, 47% of men who drank more water reported an improvement in headaches, while only 25% of men in the control group reported these effects However, not all studies agree and the researchers concluded that due to the lack of high-quality studies, further research is needed to confirm how increasing fluid intake can help improve headache symptoms and reduce the frequency of headaches.
It may help relieve constipation
Urinary stones are painful lumps of mineral crystals that form in the urinary system. The most common form is kidney stones, which form in the kidneys. There is limited evidence that drinking water can help prevent recurrence in people who have previously developed kidney stones. Increased fluid intake increases the volume of urine that passes through the kidneys. This dilutes the concentration of minerals so they are less likely to crystallize and form lumps. Water can also help prevent initial rock formation.
Can aid weight loss
Drinking lots of water can help you lose weight. This is because water can increase satiety and boost metabolism. There is some evidence that increasing water intake can promote weight loss by slightly increasing your metabolism, which can increase the number of calories you burn each day. A 2013 study of 50 overweight young women showed that drinking 500ml of extra water 3 times a day before meals for 8 weeks resulted in a significant reduction in body weight and body fat compared to pre-study measurements.
Timing is also important. Drinking water half an hour before a meal is most effective. It can make you feel fuller so you eat fewer calories In one study, dieters who drank 16.9 ounces (0.5 liters) of water before meals lost 44% more weight over a 12-week period than dieters who did not drink. water before meals.
Prevents Dehydration
Dehydration refers to a significant loss of body water and electrolytes at a rate that is faster than the body’s ability to restore it. Variable degrees of dehydration can manifest themselves with thirst, lethargy, sensory disturbance, impaired cognition, dry mucous membranes, decreased urine output, tachycardia, hypotension, and shock.
Dehydration is caused by increased fluid loss (vomiting, diarrhea, excessive sweating, burns), reduced fluid intake (pharyngitis, other debilitating diseases), or both. Prevention of dehydration can be achieved by drinking enough water every day, as it is generally driven by one’s thirst. when a person engages in intense physical exercise on a hot summer day, they should increase their water intake beyond the minimum required to avoid dehydration.
Carries Oxygen to Cells
The oxygen absorbed by the lungs from the surrounding air is bound to red blood cells which are “dissolved” in the plasma, the liquid component of the blood that allows circulation. Plasma is 90% water, so water acts as a carrier medium that provides blood circulation, which is essential for the supply of oxygen and nutrients to all cells.
Plasma normally makes up 55% of the body’s total blood volume. The maintenance of plasma volume is performed by a complex system involving the renal and neuroendocrine systems. Under normal circumstances, all that is needed is to maintain the plasma volume needed to remove waste products and carry oxygen and nutrients, meet the recommended daily water requirement, and let our body do the rest.
Improves Digestion
Digestion is the process by which insoluble dietary macronutrients, such as fats, carbohydrates, and proteins, are mechanically and enzymatically broken down into micronutrients that can pass through the intestinal epithelium and enter the bloodstream for use in the body. Digestion begins in the mouth with chewing and ends in the small intestine. As food moves through the GI tract, it mixes with digestive fluids (saliva, stomach acid, pancreatic juice, bile acids), breaking down large food molecules into smaller ones that are absorbed.
Water is necessary for proper digestion. It lubricates the mucous membranes in the gastrointestinal tract, helps break down meals in combination with stomach acids and enzymes, promotes gastric emptying, promotes intestinal motility, and aids in bowel control. Dehydration and hypohydration promote poor digestive health and are associated with delayed digestion, bloated stomach acid reflux, and constipation.
Regulates Body Temperature
Body temperature is a measure of the human body’s ability to regulate internal heat. Water is essential for regulating body temperature because, thanks to its large heat capacity, it limits the variations in body temperature in a hot or cold environment. This is especially noticeable with an increase in body temperature due to fever or when the ambient temperature is higher than the body temperature.
Under these conditions, sweating occurs and when the sweat evaporates, the excess heat can be dissipated from the body. A state of adequate hydration is essential for the body’s thermoregulation process, especially during strenuous physical activity, high ambient temperatures, or fever.
Protects Organ Tissue
An organ is a group of tissues, which in turn are made up of groups of cells, which work together to perform the overall function of the organ. In the human body, approximately 66% of total body water (TBW) is contained in the intracellular fluid compartment, with 90% of this intracellular fluid contained in the cells of water-dense organs such as the brain, lungs, kidneys, liver, muscles, and skin; while the remaining 10% is in the red blood cells.
The water in these cells helps maintain their shape and acts as a shock absorber, preventing injury when the cells are under stress. The shock-absorbing properties of water are particularly important for the musculoskeletal system (joints) when walking or running, as well as for the brain and spinal cord, which are surrounded by a protective layer of liquid. Drinking enough water ensures that the body can maintain the right amount of water in the organs
Improves Immune System
The immune system is a complex set of cells, tissues, and molecules that work together to help the body resist and fight infections. Our immune system relies heavily on the circulatory system for the supply and transport of infection-fighting nutrients and white blood cells throughout the body, as well as on the lymphatic system for the elimination of toxins and foreign pathogens. Hydration is an important part of both the circulatory and lymphatic systems, as they consist mainly of water.
Consuming the recommended daily amount of water ensures the proper functioning of our immune system. A Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine study found that dehydration can actually lead to immunosuppression due to reduced function of neutrophils, a common type of white blood cell involved in antigen recognition, the ingestion of foreign pathogens, and the production of bactericidal compounds.
Helps against Depression
According to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, depression is a mood disorder that causes persistent feelings of sadness and loss of interest. Drinking water is believed to be good for mental health as it promotes brain function by facilitating signaling pathways and nutrient delivery to the brain, removing toxins and inflammatory markers, and providing energy sources for the brain.
A study from the School of Nutrition and Food Science of the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences found that drinking water may be associated with a reduced risk of depression and other mental disorders, as drinking less than 2 glasses per day was associated with 73 % and 54% increased risk of depression in men and women, respectively. Although the study suggests that the effects of water consumption on depression risk are multifactorial and not well established.
Improves Productivity
productivity refers to the relationship between output and input. It measures the efficiency with which production inputs, such as knowledge and labor, are used by an individual to produce a certain level of output or goal. Physical and cognitive productivity in a variety of occupational settings is often measured by occupational health and safety researchers.
Some studies have evaluated the effects of dehydration on productivity in occupational contexts with high thermal stress. One such study by Robert W. Kenefick, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, found that dehydration can negatively impact employee productivity, safety, and morale.
Improves Muscle Growth
Muscle growth occurs when individual muscle fibers increase in size or hypertrophy. The relationship between water intake and muscle growth is not well understood, but at least one study suggests there is a link. The study from the Carlos III Health Institute in Spain, which examined the role of water homeostasis in muscle function and frailty, suggests that dehydration of muscle cells negatively affects muscle structure and function.
Intracellular proteins of myocytes, leading to their damage. They suggest that water volume in muscle cells may act as a metabolic signal, with cell shrinkage due to dehydration acting as a catabolic signal (breakdown), and cell swelling due to overhydration acting as an anabolic signal (accumulation). . Evidence that hydration can enhance muscle growth by acting as a signal to trigger muscle cell growth.
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“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.”
Loren Eiseley
