Doctors recommend drinking plenty of water, especially during the summer when temperatures rise and the body is more susceptible to dehydration.
The American website “WebMD” enlisted the help of doctors and nutritionists to explain the benefits of drinking water.
“Think of water as a nutrient your body needs,” says Joanne Collemay, RD, “and it’s found in liquids, plain water, and foods. It’s essential every day to replace the large amounts of water your body loses.”
“The body is constantly losing fluids, through evaporation from the skin, breathing and urine, and this loss must be replaced daily for good health,” adds Dr. Stephen Guest, a nephrologist.
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When water intake does not match water loss, a person can become dehydrated. Fluid loss increases in hot weather, during strenuous exercise, at high altitudes, and in older people, whose sense of thirst may not be as acute.
Here are five reasons why you should make sure you drink enough water or other fluids every day:
1. Fluid balance
Drinking water helps maintain fluid balance in the body. The human body is made up of about 60% water. Bodily functions performed by fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, saliva production, transport of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature.
“Through the posterior pituitary gland, the brain communicates with the kidneys and tells them how much water to excrete or retain,” says Guest, who is also an assistant professor of medicine at Stanford University in California.
When your body’s fluids run low, your brain activates your body’s thirst mechanism, Geist says. Unless you’re taking medications that make you thirsty, you should listen to those signals and drink water or other fluids like juice, milk, coffee, or tea.
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2. Helps control calories
For years, dieters have been drinking plenty of water as a weight loss strategy. While water doesn’t have any magical effect on weight loss, drinking it instead of high-calorie beverages can certainly help.
“Weight loss success requires choosing calorie-free beverages over caloric beverages and/or eating a diet of water-rich foods, which are healthier, more filling, and help you cut calories,” says Dr. Barbara Rolls.
Foods that are high in water tend to appear larger, require more chewing, and are absorbed more slowly, helping you feel full. Water-rich foods include fruits, vegetables, broth, oatmeal, and beans.
3. Water helps activate muscles.
Cells that don’t maintain fluid balance wither, which can lead to muscle fatigue. “When muscle cells don’t have enough fluid, they don’t function as well and performance can suffer,” says Guest.
Drinking enough fluids is important when exercising. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that a person drink about 500 milliliters of fluids two hours before exercise. During exercise, the college advises starting to drink fluids early, and at regular intervals to replace fluids lost through sweating.
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4. Water helps maintain good skin appearance.
Your skin contains a lot of water, which acts as a protective barrier to prevent excess fluid loss. But don’t expect over-hydration to erase wrinkles, says Atlanta dermatologist Kenneth Ellner, MD.
“Loss of fluids makes your skin look drier and wrinkled, which can be improved with proper hydration,” he says. “But once you get enough water, your kidneys take over and excrete excess fluid.”
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5. Water helps the kidneys.
Body fluids move waste in and out of cells. The main toxin in the body is blood urea nitrogen, a water-soluble waste that can pass through the kidneys and be excreted in urine, explains Guest. “The kidneys do a great job of cleansing and detoxifying the body as long as you’re hydrated,” he says.
When your body doesn’t get enough fluid, your urine becomes more concentrated, colored, and odorless because your kidneys hold on to fluid to perform your body’s functions.
And people who chronically drink too little may be more likely to develop kidney stones, Geist warns.
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