If you ask any fit and healthy person for some tips, the first tip they give is to drink plenty of water. This seems strange to many. After all, our body compels us to consume it and it takes no effort to follow it. How can it be a secret to health or well-being?
We may focus on the food we take but often ignore the fact that water is an important part of our diet as well. Drinking a lot of clear, clean water is crucial to your health and for survival. Water is essential for all the processes and functions in the body. It also aids weight loss for those who follow a diet plan.
In this guide, we look at the benefits of water, its role in weight loss and its importance of one’s overall health and well-being.
Functions of Water In The Body
The position of water in life cannot be replaced because it is really important for human health. There are numerous benefits to drinking water. Here are some of the most important ones.
Keeps The Body Hydrated
One of the main functions of water, this is why our body forces us to drink water on a regular basis. Our body depends on water for its everyday functions. It consists of 55 to 60 percent water. In fact, a person can live longer without food than without water.
Our body loses water in different ways like sweating, urination, breathing and bowel movements. It is essential to drink water to keep the body hydrated.
Helps Digestion
Experts suggest drinking water before, after and during meals to help metabolize the food easily. This improves your digestion.
Drinking water before a meal also makes you fuller and eat less, thereby making it easy for the stomach to digest food you consume.
Prevents Constipation
There are numerous ways you can keep your gut health good. One of the most effective ways is to drink more water to stimulate bowel movements.
Drinking a glass of water before eating can prevent constipation. Water also helps the entire process of digestion and dissolves fibres to make your stool soft and easy to pass.
Helps Absorb Nutrients
Not only does water help breakdown food but also aids in dissolving minerals, vitamins and other nutrients from the food you consume. It then transports the components to different parts of the body.
Improves Physical Performance
It is really important to consume a lot of water during exercise. A lot of water is lost through perspiration during physical activity. Hydration also influences your power, endurance and strength. If you get involved in extreme sports or training, you are likely to experience the effects of dehydration.
You can get tired or sluggish and even get seizures if you exercise in heat without sufficient water intake. One can maintain the peak performance level by making sure he takes enough water.
Creates Saliva
Being the primary constituent of saliva, water is essential for saliva production. It is necessary for the breakdown of food items and to keep the mouth healthy.
The body can produce saliva with the fluids you take. If you get dehydrated, your saliva creation can decrease.
Regulates Body Temperature
Keeping your body hydrated is the key to maintaining the temperature. Your body loses water in hot conditions and through sweating. If you don’t replenish the water, your body temperature can rise.
This is because it loses electrolytes when you get dehydrated. Those who sweat too much should see they drink plenty of water to avoid such adverse effects.
Helps Eliminate Waste From The Body
Waste removal from the body is quite essential and drinking sufficient water helps eliminate waste through different modes like urination, sweating and defecation. Different organs like kidneys, intestines and liver use water to excrete waste.
Sufficient water is required to avoid having hard stools and constipation. Insufficient water intake can cause kidney stones and urinary tract infections as kidneys do not perform optimally.
Protects Joints, Tissues & Spinal Cord
When you drink adequate water, your body tissues and other regions like joints and spinal cord stay moist and lubricated. This prevents them from getting stiff and facilitates smooth movement. This also reduces the discomfort caused by conditions like muscle spasms and arthritis.
Water is also needed by the brain and blood and essential for efficient transportation of nutrients and water to different parts of the body. Improved circulation of oxygen in the blood has a positive impact on your overall health.
Makes You Look Great
Water hydrates all the organs of the body including our skin. Regular water intake in sufficient amounts keeps the skin bright and fresh and helps avoid any problems like acne and aging.
Improves Mood
Getting enough water every day is also crucial to your overall mood and behaviour. Dehydration can cause fatigue, stress, confusion and anxiety, impacting your mood negatively. Water can help deal with mood swings and induce feelings of relaxation and calmness.
Aids Cognitive Function
Effective hydration is the secret to maintaining cognitive function. According to research, lack of water in the body can affect your focus, memory and alertness. Staying hydrated brings clarity of mind and helps you focus better.
Keeps You Physically Active
Drinking water influences your metabolism and you may experience a boost in energy level. A study indicates that drinking half a litre of water can raise your metabolism by up to 30 percent.
The physical activity increases as water improves the circulation of fluid in the body and makes sure all the muscles and tissues retain their electrolytes. One can avoid getting dehydrated and experiencing tiredness by making sure he drinks enough water every day.
How Water Can Boost Your Diet?
In the last few years, scientific studies have been carried out to understand the influence of water on weight loss.
A lot of studies support the theory that drinking water aids weight loss. Moreover, staying hydrated is beneficial for different functions that help lose weight including muscle function and digestion.
Here are some ways water can help you lose weight fast.
Water Can Suppress Appetite
Drinking water before meals can fill the space in the stomach to induce a feeling of fullness and decrease appetite. Whenever the stomach feels it is full, it signals the brain not to eat. This way, water can help people eat less and lose weight.
A 2014 study indicates that people who drink some water before meals could reduce their body fat, weight and body mass index.
They also experience appetite suppression. People tend to eat when they actually feel thirsty. It is beneficial to drink a glass of water before grabbing something to eat. It avoids unnecessary snacking, thereby adding a boost to your weight loss goals.
Drinking Water Can Help Burn More Calories
There are many studies that analyzed the effects of drinking 5000ml of water. Most of these found that drinking this serving of water can boost the amount of calories burnt, thereby aiding weight loss. Resting energy expenditure increases by up to 40% in adults in half an hour of drinking water and lasts for about an hour.
These studies suggest that drinking 500ml of water leads to burning of 23 calories extra. That comes to 17,000 calories in a year burning about 2kg of fat. Other studies performed on overweight people drinking 1 to 1.5 litres of water regularly noticed a considerable reduction in body fat, weight and waistline.
Increased Water Intake Is Associated With Reduced Risk of Weight Gain
Water is a calorie-free drink that works wonders if you use it to replace high-calorie beverages in your diet. If you drink a glass of water instead of a milkshake or cold drink with your meal, you avoid taking all the sugar and calories these beverages contain. Studies have found that people drinking water have a lower calorie intake which allows losing weight.
Drinking sufficient water also helps you prevent weight gain. Increasing your daily water intake by 1 cup can reduce the average weight gain by 0.13kg. Moreover, if you replace sugar-containing beverages with water, you can reduce your weight gain by 0.5kg in 4 years. Children should be encouraged to drink more water to save them from getting obese or overweight.
Water Helps Dispose Waste Out of The Body
If there is dehydration in the body, it cannot eliminate waste efficiently in the form of faeces or urine. Drinking more water helps kidneys function better and filter wastes and toxins.
Other organs in the body can retain essential nutrients. Insufficient water in the body also leads to constipation and hard stools. Water helps move the waste out by softening hard stools.
Drinking water also helps boost digestion and recover from any digestion-related problems like diarrhea. If enough water is not taken, waste accumulates in the body and a person can feel swollen and bloated. Bloating can lead to increased weight and waistline.
Water Helps Burn Fat
The body needs water to metabolize carbohydrates or stored fat efficiently. Lipolysis is a process of metabolizing fat.
It involves hydrolysis where water molecules bind with fats to break down into fatty acids and glycerol. It is essential to drink enough water to burn fat from drinks and foods. It also burns stored fat.
Water Aids In Workouts
Apart from a diet plan, exercise is an important part of any weight loss regime. Water helps various organs like the heart, lungs and kidneys to work effectively during exercise. It also helps joints, muscles and tissues to move well.
Staying hydrated reduces any risks getting in the way of workout like fatigue or muscle spasms. It is advisable to drink water before, after and during workout to stay hydrated.
Water Helps Enhance Energy
Drinking a lot of water boosts metabolism. This boost can influence the energy level of a person positively.
A recent study suggests that drinking 500ml of water can improve metabolic rate by up to 30 percent in males and females. Increased energy level helps the person stay active and make efforts to lose weight.
How Much Water Should You Include in Your Diet?
While it is crucial to include plenty of water in everyday diet, paying attention to how much you drink is also important to maintain optimum health. A majority of people consider drinking water when they feel thirsty and this regulates the daily water intake. There is no one-size-fits-all recommendation for the daily amount of water one should drink. Some may need more water than others depending on a number of factors like age, activity, sun exposure, temperature, body size and metabolism.
According to the suggestions by health agencies, the most standard water intake requirements are:
- 2700 ml per day for women
- 3700 ml per day for men
However, this is just a general guideline and water requirements depend completely on personal conditions and body. For example, those who exercise on a regular basis and sweat a lot would need more water than those who are not so active. Pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and elder adults also have different requirements of water.
We also get water from foods and beverages we include in our daily life. Our body obtains water from fruits and vegetables, dairy, fish, meat and beverages like coffee and tea. We get about 20 percent of our daily water intake from these foods.
The remaining need should be fulfilled by drinking water. This means men should take about 3 litres of water daily while women should consume about 2 litres. If you live in a hot region or exercise, you may have to increase your water intake to stay hydrated.
Some of the most effective ways to identify your water requirements include monitoring the color of your urine and your thirst. If you feel thirsty often, it is a sign that your body is not hydrated enough.
Dark colored urine also indicates dehydration. Clear or pale urine suggests proper hydration. As a rule of thumb, you can drink water whenever you feel thirsty and drink adequate amounts to quench your thirst. As suggested by studies, drinking 1-2 litres of water each day should help with weight loss.
What Happens If You Drink Too Much Water?
While drinking enough water is crucial for the body to function properly, it is important to monitor the water intake to make sure you don’t drink too much. Taking too much water can cause intoxication and impact health seriously. Though it is not easy to overdrink water accidentally, it can happen as a consequence of hydration during intense training or sports events.
Water intoxication is also called water poisoning and is a problem caused to the brain as a result of drinking too much water. When the amount of water gets increased in the blood, electrolytes get diluted and sodium levels fall. If the level of sodium in blood goes down, fluids start entering into the cells and cause swelling. This can be quite dangerous and even life-threatening.
If you drink excessive amounts of water, the brain cells start swelling and pressure increases inside the head. This is when you can feel the initial symptoms of water poisoning which include nausea, headache and vomiting. Some of the more serious symptoms include confusion, double vision, high blood pressure, drowsiness, difficulty breathing, muscle cramps and more. In more severe cases, this condition can also cause brain damage, seizures, coma and even death.
To avoid such conditions, it is important to make sure you drink water in moderation as suggested by health institutions. Some sources advise drinking less than 1 litre of water per hour. Though the right amount differs from person to person, you can rely on calorie intake. For example, if a person needs 1500 calories per day, he should consume 1.5 litres of water per day.
Tips To Include Water In Diet
Those who are not used to drinking water may find it difficult to incorporate it well into the routine. They may decide to drink the right amount in the morning, evening or at a suitable time. However, it takes some skills to drink water the right way.
If the ideal recommended intake is 6-8 glasses of water everyday, it does not mean you consume them all at once. Here are some tips to help you drink water properly to stay healthy and active.
Add Water All Through The Day
There are various ways you can make sure you take enough water throughout the day. You can either carry a water bottle containing the required amount and drink all through the day, finishing it before going to bed.
Those who spend time out can carry a smaller bottle and fill it multiple times to fulfil the daily requirement. You can also decide the routine for water intake like before brushing, before meals and after a walk.
Use A Water Tracker
A device that makes it possible to keep track of the amount of water you consume is a great help. A water tracker provides a record of your specified quantity and it gets checked off as you take. You can even use an app or set reminders to make sure you consume water whenever necessary.
Try a water tracker drink bottle.
Get It Through Foods
Fresh, juicy fruits and vegetables contain fluid and should be added to the diet to contribute to the water intake.
You can also include soups, broths and herbal teas which contain less calories but aid weight loss while keeping you hydrated.
Low-fat milk, sugarfree yogurts and other items also help hydration without giving you extra calories. Fruits like oranges, lemons and berries also contain high levels of water.
Flavor Up Your Water
A lot of people like adding flavors to water to make it more palatable to drink. You can consider adding non-caloric flavouring like fruits to stay hydrated while satisfying your cravings for beverages.
You can use infuser bottles and add wedges of your favorite fruits with water to enjoy a relishing drink all through the day and making it easy to stay hydrated.
The Bottom Line
Water is an inevitable part of any diet plan. If you want your exercise and diet regime to work, you should drink plenty of water throughout the day on a regular basis. Water keeps you full, reduces appetite, helps burn fat and gets your body rid of waste to help you achieve your weight loss goals.
It also ensures that all your body organs and systems function optimally without any problem, thus keeping you active and energetic and boosting your overall health and well-being.
A balanced diet is incomplete without the right amount of water intake. If you don’t drink enough water, you are not following a proper diet. Water makes up a huge percentage of an adult body. The importance of water in diet cannot be stressed enough.
We hope this guide has given you a good understanding of how crucial it is to drink sufficient water. So what are you waiting for? Water is available for free. It contains no calories and can be a great alternative to sugary beverages.
It enhances your physical and mental performance, improves mood and prevents anxiety and headache. Start drinking it the right way in the right amount to make sure you get the most out of your fitness and weight loss regime.
If you ask any fit and healthy person for some tips, the first tip they give is to drink plenty of water. This seems strange to many. After all, our body compels us to consume it and it takes no effort to follow it. How can it be a secret to health or well-being?
We may focus on the food we take but often ignore the fact that water is an important part of our diet as well. Drinking a lot of clear, clean water is crucial to your health and for survival. Water is essential for all the processes and functions in the body. It also aids weight loss for those who follow a diet plan.
In this guide, we look at the benefits of water, its role in weight loss and its importance of one’s overall health and well-being.
