You're getting thirrrrrrsty.. water water water

[PCakes]

I know you’ve heard this many times – “Drink more water!”. Yet, 99% of the people don’t heed this advice. Maybe if water was more expensive, people would pay more attention to consume enough of it on a daily basis. We are living in a dehydrated world of carbonated beverages, caffeine and alcohol.

I bet you don’t know how important is water for your health, figure and well-being. But drinking water is not just a trend, it’s essential! Everything your body does it does better with a healthy supply of water, every system in your body depends on water.

So here are 10 reasons why drinking water is good for you and why you should make drinking water part of your daily routine:

1. Get healthy skin.

Nothing will improve the appearance of your skin better than consuming enough water. It’s a pity women spend so much money on skin products, while neglecting the cheapest and most effective one – water. Water is the single most important element for cellular integrity. Drinking water moisturizes your skin from the inside out. Water is also essential to maintaining elasticity and suppleness and helps prevent dryness. The real fountain of youth can be found in a glass of water.

2. Flush toxins.

Water helps remove toxins from the body, in particular from the digestive tract. Our kidney system is unique in its filtering capabilities and totally dependent upon water in order for it to work. Daily fluid intake is essential to its efficient operation, particularly because there is some decrease in function with age. Water helps get rid of excess nitrogen, urea, and ketones, so it is particularly important when following a high protein diet. You need even more water to help your kidneys do their work if you’re eating big to gain weight.

3. Reduce your risk of heart attack.

Researchers at Loma Linda University in California studied more than 20,000 healthy men and women and found that people who drink more than five glasses of water a day were less likely to die from a heart attack or heart disease than those who drank fewer than two glasses a day.

4. Cushion and lube your joints and muscles.

Water makes up a large part of the fluid that lubricates and cushions your joints and muscles. And although not the only element associated with muscle cramps, athletes have long recognized that even mild dehydration can produce cramps. So drinking water before, during and after exercise can also help reduce muscle cramping and premature fatigue.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, adequate fluid replacement helps to maintain hydration therefore optimizing and enhancing performance of those participating in regular exercise. They suggest flavored waters to promote hydration and to increase palatability. Products such as Gatorade’s Propel Fitness Water are, therefore, terrific substitutes for plain water to increase fluid intake and meet the optimum consumption of water per day, thus enhancing performance and lessening the possibility of dehydration.

5. Get energized and be alert.

On average, most adults lose about 10 cups of fluid a day through sweating, exhaling, urinating, and bowel movements. Even minor dehydration can cause impaired concentration, headaches, irritability and fatigue.

Water is also essential for proper circulation in the body. The levels of oxygen in the bloodstream are greater when the body is well hydrated. The more oxygen the body has readily available the more fat it will burn for energy without the presence of oxygen the body cannot utilize stored fat for energy efficiently. Not only will the body burn more fat when well hydrated but because there are increased oxygen levels you will also have more energy.

Drinking more water everyday will help your think more clearly. Research has repeatedly shown that staying hydrated is necessary for the human brain, which is 85 percent water, to function at optimal levels. That is why many school systems throughout the country now encourage students to keep a bottle of water at their desks and to drink it throughout the day.

6. Stay regular.

Water helps prevent constipation by adding fluid to the colon and bulk to stools. Something as simple as fluid plays a major role in preventing constipation. Not only does the liquid encourage bowel movement, but it also softens the stools.

Water is essential for proper digestion, nutrient absorption and chemical reactions. The carbohydrates and proteins that our bodies use as food are metabolized and transported by water in the bloodstream. But no less important is the ability of water to transport waste material out of our bodies.

7. Reduce your risk of disease and infection.

Consistent failure to drink enough water can lead to Chronic Cellular Dehydration. This condition where the body’s cell are never quite hydrated enough leave them in a weakened state, vulnerable to attack from disease. It weakens the body’s overall immune system and leads to chemical, nutritional and pH imbalances that can cause a host of diseases.

When you don’t have enough water in your body, your cells start to draw water from the bloodstream. Your heart has to work harder because your blood gets sludgy, and your body starts to redirect blood away from less vital areas. Dehydration can set in even before you start to feel thirsty. This is a great strain on the body because it impairs the kidneys in their vital function of purifying the blood and helping the body get rid of toxins.

Also Michaud and coworkers found that the incidence of cancer in the urinary bladder was reduced significantly by a high fluid intake in a ten-year study involving nearly 48,000 men. The top 20% of subjects who participated in the study drank 2500 ml per day or more, while the bottom 20% drank 1200 ml or less. The authors concluded that within this range, the risk of bladder cancer decreased by 7% for every 240 ml of fluid added.

8. Regulate your body temperature.

Water regulates the body’s cooling system. Sports drinks are useful when consumed after or during vigorous and prolonged exercise in high heat. But most experts agree that water works better than carbohydrates or sugared beverages for moderate exercise. For instance, if you drink 12 ounces of plain water, your body will absorb 8 ounces of it within 15 minutes. If you drink 12 ounces of a 10% sugar solution, less than 1 ounce will be absorbed in the same period. The typical soft drink is a 10 to 12% sugar solution.

Water is the nutrient your body needs the most. Between 55 and 75 percent of adult body weight is water, and it is critical in regulating all body organs and temperature.

9. Burn more fat and build more muscle.

It has been shown that dehydration decreases protein synthesis. Protein synthesis is what builds muscle. It is an energy costly process. When you suppress protein synthesis, fewer calories end up building proteins and more calories end up in your fat stores. It’s elementary: calories have two possible fates – they either get burned, or they get stored. When more of the calories you eat get burned, less will get stored.

Increased water consumption can help you control weight by preventing you from confusing hunger with thirst. Water will also keep your body systems, including metabolism and digestion, working properly and give you the energy (and hydration) necessary for exercise.

10. Get well.

The traditional prescription to ‛drink plenty of fluids‛ when you’re sick still holds strong. Water can help control a fever, replace lost fluids, and thin out mucus. Water plays a vital role in nearly every bodily function. Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.

Water is the substance of life. Life can not exist without water. We must constantly be adding fresh water to our body in order to keep it properly hydrated. Water can be a miracle cure for many common ailments such as headaches, fatigue, joint pain, and much more.

Be sure to drink even more fluid whenever you increase your physical activity, when eating a high fiber diet, during hot weather, at high altitudes, in low humidity locations, and when you’re sick, especially if you have a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea. The best way to figure out if you’re drinking enough water is to look at your urine. It should be a very light shade of yellow. Drink up if it’s darker. Let your thirst guide you, also. You might not need eight glasses to feel hydrated on a mild day. You could crave nine or 10 if it’s hot or you’re exercising. Bottom line? Your body is 90 percent water and needs it for digestion, healthy skin, blood circulation, temperature control and lots of other reasons.

It is important to know that the body can only absorb 4 ounces of water every 10 minutes, so like many things in life, it is important to be proactive with drinking water. Aim to drink one glass of pure water every hour you are awake. And make the process enjoyable. Many people complain that they don’t like the taste of water, or that it is boring to drink! Try these tips for making drinking water an enjoyable process:

- Add fresh mint leaves, slices of strawberry, apple, lemon, or lime to a pitcher of water. Serve chilled. Keep a pitcher of “fruit water” in the refrigerator so you always have great-tasting water available.

- Try Glaceu Fruit Water, which is distilled water with added fruit essence, without added sugar or artificial sweeteners. It is available at most health food stores. It comes in a variety of fabulous flavors including, watermelon, honeydew melon, raspberry/lime, and strawberry/banana.

- Drink herbal teas. Herbal teas have a variety of healing properties and come in a multitude of flavors. Try green tea, yerba matte, chai, chamomile, mint, raspberry leaf, and cinnamon/apple. In the summer time you can serve them over ice. In winter, drink them hot. Yogi Tea is one of my favorite brands.

- Add a squeeze of lemon or lime to water. Warm water with the juice of 1 lemon taken in the morning on an empty stomach is a great liver detoxifier, and has been shown to aid in weight loss.

By the way the eHow wiki has an interesting entry on how to drink more water everyday. They offer 7 steps for increasing your water intake, along with several useful tips.

Drink your water! Stay well hydrated! Stay healthy!

http://ririanproject.com/2006/09/07/10- ... ore-water/

[Donnchadh]

Amen!

I would like to add that, for me personally anyway, drinking green tea seems to suppress hunger pangs while dieting. Otherwise I am like a beagle at supper time.

CCSVI, after all, is a circulatory disorder and water is the basis for blood.

Donnchadh

[cheerleader]

Really important info! Thanks for the reminder, PCakes.
I've talked to some of the doctors re: hypovolemia (low blood volume due to dehydration and inactivity), and they are making sure patients stay hydrated before and after angioplasty. Here's a thread discussing this---

http://www.thisisms.com/ftopict-15073-hypovolemia.html

cheer

[zinamaria]

Pcakes!! Now I have to pee!! Ha ha...thanks for this and the good food list as well on the other thread.
By the way, just to add, that there is no substitute for water for hydration, like drinking 'fluids' that actually dehydrate, like coffee etc. I add a little lemon and a drop of stevia and down the hatch, this makes the water tasty. Kind of like that new 'vitamin' water sold in stores, with stevia, I just make my own. No sugar, no junk added, and still tasty.
So, that's a tip for anyone looking for a way to drink more water.

[cheerleader]

I add a little lemon and a drop of stevia and down the hatch, this makes the water tasty. Kind of like that new 'vitamin' water sold in stores, with stevia, I just make my own. No sugar, no junk added, and still tasty.
So, that's a tip for anyone looking for a way to drink more water.

We do that too, zinamaria! Learned it from Dr. Amen--"Change your Brain, Change you Body" It's refreshing and my teenager will drink it, too.
cheer

[zinamaria]

I also take a few frozen organic blackberries (or blueberries etc, fresh when available) and squeeze the juice out of them with a fork (then eat the pulp) then pour that into the water with lemon or lime, and I keep a full bottle of it visibly around the house, because 'out of sight out of mind' is one of my problems, but when it's in front of me I'll drink.
But I have to say, that stevia, just a few drops, really does the trick to make it tastier.

That's great that your teenage son will drink the water with stevia, cheer, most kids are so hooked on sugar and are drinking those 'health' sport drinks that are loaded with sugar (then we wonder why they can't focus in school!)

[NHE]

Drink herbal teas. Herbal teas have a variety of healing properties and come in a multitude of flavors. Try green tea, yerba matte, chai, chamomile, mint, raspberry leaf, and cinnamon/apple. In the summer time you can serve them over ice. In winter, drink them hot. Yogi Tea is one of my favorite brands.

Green tea is not herbal tea. The leaves come from the same plant from which black tea is derived. However, instead of being fermented as in black tea, the leaves are usually steamed. The steaming process inactivates the enzymes which oxidize the leaves and preserves the antioxidants in the tea, EGCG etc. One can of course drink decaffeinated green tea. However, some decaf green teas still contain a small amount of caffeine, e.g., 5 mg vs. 30 mg.

NHE

[hannakat]

Cucumber slices added to water also gives a nice flavor....no sugar

[CuriousRobot]

Drink herbal teas. Herbal teas have a variety of healing properties and come in a multitude of flavors. Try green tea, yerba matte, chai, chamomile, mint, raspberry leaf, and cinnamon/apple. In the summer time you can serve them over ice. In winter, drink them hot. Yogi Tea is one of my favorite brands.

Green tea is not herbal tea. The leaves come from the same plant from which black tea is derived. However, instead of being fermented as in black tea, the leaves are usually steamed. The steaming process kills the enzymes which oxidize the leaves and preserves the antioxidants in the tea, EGCG etc. One can of course drink decaffeinated green tea. However, some decaf green teas still contain a small amount of caffeine, e.g., 5 mg vs. 30 mg.

NHE

Yes, green tea comes from the same plant as black tea: Camellia sinensis. I believe, however, that Yerba Matte actually has caffeine in it, despite minimal amounts. It also depends on the gender of the tree, therefore there is no standard (that I am aware of) regarding caffeine levels in Yerba Matte: it may have a little, it may have a lot.

On the other hand, Chai is an Indian herbal tea, if it is brewed traditionally, with aromatic herbs and spices. This is very much like the Okinawan tradition of boiling Tumeric to make Tumeric tea.

However, most contemporary varieties of Chai tea is some form of "Chai Spiced tea," which is merely black tea with some aromatic herbs and spices thrown in for an extra kick--it's not true chai, and has caffeine, courtesy of the black tea... so be careful purchasing at the store.

[zinamaria]

And most Chai drinks in the store and coffee shops, like Starbucks, have tons of sugar added to it, kinda cancels out the effect of a soothing tea blend.

[Nunzio]

But then you can die.
My (medical) advice is to drink only when you feel thirsty and you will never get in trouble with that.

Water intoxication, also known as hyper-hydration, water poisoning, or overhydration, is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain functions that results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside of safe limits by over-consumption of water.

Normal, healthy (physically, nutritionally and mentally) individuals have little reason to worry about accidentally consuming too much water. Nearly all deaths related to water intoxication in normal individuals have resulted either from water drinking contests, in which individuals attempt to consume large amounts of water, or long bouts of intensive exercise during which electrolytes are not properly replenished, yet excessive amounts of fluid are still consumed.[1]

Water can be considered a poison when over-consumed just like any other substance. The recommendation from the medical field is to drink at least 1 - 2 liters per day[2] depending upon body mass.

[mavis]

But then you can die.
My (medical) advice is to drink only when you feel thirsty and you will never get in trouble with that.

Water intoxication, also known as hyper-hydration, water poisoning, or overhydration, is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain functions that results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside of safe limits by over-consumption of water.

Normal, healthy (physically, nutritionally and mentally) individuals have little reason to worry about accidentally consuming too much water. Nearly all deaths related to water intoxication in normal individuals have resulted either from water drinking contests, in which individuals attempt to consume large amounts of water, or long bouts of intensive exercise during which electrolytes are not properly replenished, yet excessive amounts of fluid are still consumed.[1]

Water can be considered a poison when over-consumed just like any other substance. The recommendation from the medical field is to drink at least 1 - 2 liters per day[2] depending upon body mass.

That's exactly what I do. I drink around a liter a day and never feel thirsty. I also check the color of my urine and make sure it is not dark.

[PCakes]

But then you can die.
My (medical) advice is to drink only when you feel thirsty and you will never get in trouble with that.

Water intoxication,...
Normal, healthy (physically, nutritionally and mentally) individuals have little reason to worry about accidentally consuming too much water. Nearly all deaths related to water intoxication in normal individuals have resulted either from water drinking contests, in which individuals attempt to consume large amounts of water, or long bouts of intensive exercise during which electrolytes are not properly replenished, yet excessive amounts of fluid are still consumed.[1]

Water can be considered a poison when over-consumed just like any other substance. The recommendation from the medical field is to drink at least 1 - 2 liters per day[2] depending upon body mass.

Thank you Nunzio.
A recent increase in posts advising that we all pay attention to hydration forced me to come to terms with my lifelong dehydration.
The only time I can ever remember feeling thirsty, in my 50+ years, was time spent hiking in a very hot and dry climate. Water till now was not a part of my daily life. 3 weeks ago I tooks steps to change this. Did a lot of reading. Started slowly, first day 1 glass working up to now, about 6 per day. I am shocked at the results. Yes, my bladder has awakened but this too is leveling out as I learn how to pace myself. I feel more alert. Less light headed. My digestion has improved wonderfully. The dark circles under my eyes are dissappearing.
Yesterday I talked with my siblings.. I was curious as we share similar connective tissue issues/symptoms. Turns out they also share my poor hydration habits and they too lack a 'thirst' reflex.
So my question to you.. what of people like us? No thirst?

Thanks much.. pc

[PointsNorth]

I find that I get an almost instant improvement in fatigue by drinking water. Has to be straight H2O, though.

[Nunzio]

. Turns out they also share my poor hydration habits and they too lack a 'thirst' reflex.
So my question to you.. what of people like us? No thirst?

Thanks much.. pc

I have the same problem; I can go a full day without drinking and you have to remind yourself to drink at least a liter of water/day. In some people overloading the system with fluids increase the vascular volume and might help with blood flow in the brain, so my advice for those people is after the first or second liter of water you should only drink something like Gatoraid which will replenish the electrolytes lost in the urine and avoid the serious problems that can arise from water intoxication.