Why It’s Important to Drink Water

by Jay | Updated on July 26th, 2022

Mom always tells her kids to drink more water. The doctor says it too. Why is drinking water so important?

The Benefits of Drinking Water Every Day

Never mind that a person’s body is 70 to 75 percent water. Humans should replace the water they expend daily, no matter how much they’ve lost it. It’s more than just replacing lost water, though. Drinking water is essential to people, not simply drinking liquids. Why is water so important to drink?

Water Cleanses the Body’s Toxins

According to WebMD, researchers have recently concluded that drinking any fluids, carbonated or not, caffeinated or not, satisfies a person’s thirst. So for simple hydration purposes, any fluid is good to drink.

So why should people consider making at least some of their daily fluid intake pure water? Disabled World Disability and Health News goes so far as to call water “the most ancient and potent natural detox aid ever known.”

While other fluids might help, they, too, must be filtered through the body’s kidneys. Water, though, is pure and helps the body clean out toxins instead of adding to the problem.

Water Replenishes Fluids Throughout the Day

WebMD also states that the guideline of eight glasses a day is not necessarily a hard-and-fast rule; people should drink when they’re thirsty. So why do people get thirsty? It’s the body’s way of telling a person that she needs to replenish fluids.

Like any animal, human beings must replenish fluids throughout the day. If they don’t, they may become dehydrated. Dehydration can lead to dizziness, fainting, and possibly even death. Therefore, it’s important to rehydrate during the day, and water is an ideal beverage.

Chronic Dehydration

Chronic dehydration is common. Early symptoms are subtle – fatigue, headache, lack of energy, yawning, and hunger. Even a 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory and difficulty with thinking and focusing. Chronic dehydration can cause impaired memory, agitation, and confusion, similar to Alzheimer’s disease. Older adults are often dehydrated and may be wrongly diagnosed.

Mild Dehydration

Even mild dehydration slows down metabolism. So, people need to know that dehydration can also manifest as hunger.

Mild dehydration is a common cause of fatigue which is a problem on our roads. It:

• slows us down
• decreases concentration
• blurs vision
• causes muscle weakness and cramps
• slows reaction time
• reduces vigilance
• lowers our ability to stay in our lane
• makes us tired and dangerous on the road
• causes confusion which leads to unclear thinking and unwise decisions.

Water is Perfect for Rehydrating When Sick or Exercising

Everyone has likely heard by now that drinking water is important when exercising. Why? Because when a person exerts himself physically, he often loses lots of fluids through sweat. Drinking water is a fast, simple way to rehydrate the fluids the body loses through physical exertion.

It’s also likely that most people have heard from their doctor to drink lots of water when ill. Part of the reason physicians emphasize drinking fluids when a person is ill is because running fevers cause people to lose fluids more quickly than usual.

Vomiting and diarrhea also cause fluid loss. So while it’s important to stay hydrated constantly, it’s even more urgent to do so when ill. The body already has enough to do when one is sick.

Exploring the Benefits of Drinking Water and Staying Hydrated

Research shows that drinking the right amount of water can have many benefits. In some cases, doing this can prevent problems and relieve existing ones.

The human body is constantly losing water. In one day, the average person will lose two to four cups of water for breathing, two cups for sweating, and six cups for urination, according to an article at ShapeFit.com called “Benefits of Water.”

Even though someone needs to have lost about 10% of their body weight in liquids to be considered dehydrated, even losing 2% can affect their quality of life. Staying well hydrated can help relieve or prevent problems such as pain in the lower back and joints, brain damage, and unhealthy skin.

Adequate water intake helps prevent lower back and joint pain by keeping the discs that support the spinal column healthy. Conversely, dehydration can cause damage to the discs and result in pain.

Water helps the brain by preventing damage to blood vessels, which could otherwise lead to problems such as Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, decreased skin repair by dehydration leads to dry skin and earlier wrinkles.

List of health benefits of drinking water.

You will be amazed by the benefits of drinking water as follow:

1. Lose weight: Drinking water helps you lose weight because it flushes down the by-products of fat breakdown. Drinking water reduces hunger; it’s an effective appetite suppressant, so you’ll eat less. Plus, water has zero calories.
2. Natural Remedy for Headache: Helps to relieve headaches and back pains due to dehydration. Although many other reasons contribute to headaches, dehydration is the most common.
3. Look Younger with Healthier Skin: You’ll look younger when your skin is properly hydrated. Water helps to replenish skin tissues, moisturize skin and increase skin elasticity.
4. Better Productivity at Work: Your brain is mostly made up of water; thus, drinking water helps you think better, be more alert, and concentrate more.
5. Better Exercise: Drinking water regulates your body temperature. You’ll feel more energetic when doing exercises, and water helps to fuel your muscle.
6. Helps in Digestion and Constipation: Drinking water raises your metabolism because it helps digestion. Fiber and water go hand in hand to have your daily bowel movement.
7. Fewer Cramps and Sprains: Proper hydration helps keep your joints and muscles lubricated, making you less likely to get cramps and sprains.
8. Less Likely to Get Sick and Feel Healthy: Drinking plenty of water helps fight against flu and other ailments like kidney stones and heart attacks. Water added with lemon is used for ailments like respiratory disease, intestinal problems, rheumatism, arthritis, etc. One of the benefits of drinking water is improving our immune system.
9. Relieves Fatigue: Water is used by the body to help flush out toxins and waste products from the body. If your body lacks water, your heart, for instance, needs to work harder to pump out the oxygenated blood to all cells, and so are the rest of the vital organs; your organs will be exhausted, and so are you.
10. Good Mood: Your body feels very good, and that’s why you feel happy.
11. Reduce the Risk of Cancer: Related to the digestive system, some studies show that drinking a healthy amount of water may reduce the risks of bladder cancer and colon cancer. This is because water dilutes the concentration of cancer-causing agents in the urine and shortens the time in which they are in contact with the bladder lining.

Can you see the importance of water to your body after understanding the above benefits of drinking water?

 let’s review the role of water in the human body with this image

Adding Lemon to Drinking Water Adds Other Benefits

If unflavored water from the tap seems too boring for drinking eight glasses of it every day, lemon water has been proven to be a healthy substitute.”

A lemon’s typical repertoire consists of vitamin C, vitamin B, riboflavin., calcium and magnesium. Still, other benefits of adding lemon juice to water include relief from digestive problems, better care for gums, fever reduction, and relief from throat infections.

According to the article, lemon juice helps with digestive problems by reducing heartburn, nausea, bloating, and burping. In addition, it helps the stomach with digestion by allowing the liver to produce bile better.

Putting lemon juice on sore gums can relieve pain and bleed and reduce the bad breath that comes with gum problems. Lemon juice helps with reducing fevers because it aids in perspiration. In addition, it relieves throat infections because of its antibacterial properties.

How to Stay Hydrated

We suggest some ways to increase water intake. Here are a few of the suggestions:

• Drink one or two glasses of water after waking up in the morning.
• Add lemon or lime juice or use an efficient filter to make water taste better.
• Replace coffee, tea, or soda with water during snacks.
• Carry a water bottle.
• Drink water before feeling thirsty.

The human body is between 55 and 78% water. The average human brain is 90% water, and blood is 83% water. It aids in basic metabolic processes by acting as a solvent and transporter for the fats, carbohydrates, proteins, and minerals that make up the cells.

Because of these facts and other reasons, drinking enough water ensures the possibility of maintaining or improving one’s quality of life.

Water is Important to a Person’s Body

While other beverages might not hurt a person, water is the ideal drink. It’s inexpensive and calorie-free. In addition, it aids in cleansing toxins from the body and replenishes lost fluids. Considering a human being is largely made up of water, it makes sense to drink a few glasses throughout the day to maintain good health.

Jay

Self assessed Germaphobe, specializing in everything water, water filters, health and nutrition. Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, I've acquired immense amount of knowledge when it comes to natural, biology, and everything about human anatomy.