Most Popular Topics
The Ultimate Health Drink - Water
The benefits of drinking water are enormous. From making you more productive, to giving you more energy, to making your skin glow. Find out why you should be drinking more.
Water makes up 75% of our muscles, 90% of our brains, 83% of our blood and 22% of our bones. Those statistics should mean that we are all drinking litres of water per day in order to receive optimum performance from our bodies yet only 1 in 8 people surveyed believe that they hydrate their body effectively and 75% of people place water under food as priority for survival.
Margaux Rathbun, a Nutritional Therapist (www.authenticselfnutrition.com) says that "you can go 8 weeks without food but only days without water". How much you drink should depend on your diet and weight. In the past there was a large emphasis on all people drinking 8 glasses of 8 ounces (225ml) or 2 litres per day. Dietitians have realised that this does not make sense. If your diet contains a lot of carbohydrates and processed foods you should drink more water than if your regular diet is fresh and uncooked fruit and vegetables. These items contain a lot of water therefore requires you to drink less to fulfill your daily quota. The calculation for how much you drink should be to take your weight in pounds and divide it by half, that is the number of ounces you should drink. If you work in the imperial system for every 10kg that you weigh you drink 0.25 litres of water. If you weigh 70kg your daily intake should be 1.75 litres.
But what is the point of drinking so much water per day and does it really provide the benefits dietitians say? Morella Devost, a Holistic Nutritionist says that water is the "conductor of electricity... being fully hydrated will facilitate clearer thinking". Nutrients and oxygen can move easier through the blood cells improving circulation and the health of organs. The increase in circulation also attributes to healthier and younger looking skin as more oxygen and moisture makes it's way to the surface removing a dry appearance and promoting collagen production resulting in less fine lines.
Water also increases your metabolism by increasing the effective working of the kidneys and liver meaning that they process fat stores rather than toxins. Food intake is lessened as most people get cravings for food when they feel dehydrated. The main task of water is to prevent dehydration. Rathbun says that "the majority of us are dehydrated due to drinking diuretic beverages such as coffee, tea, soda and alcohol". She goes on to say that dehydration leads to both short and long term health problems such as "depression, anxiety, cravings, headaches, and fatigue. Long term dehydration has been linked to migraines, constipation, joint pain, and heart burn".
If you drink diuretics or consume a large quantity of caffeine you must drink more water to counteract the dehydrating effects.
With water the muscles are able to stretch and contract to their correct levels decreasing the chance of cramps or strain.
It has previously been reported that water flushes out toxins, this is untrue, however water does dilute toxins in the body making them less potent and easier to break down causing less stress for the kidneys. This process means that your immune system becomes stronger as it is not unnecessarily fighting built up toxins.
If you live in a warm climate or exercise you should up your intake of water as you will naturally sweat out a lot of the water that you consume. You can buy waters with added ingredients such as salt, magnesium and potassium which retain water, however this tends to bloat you so you are less likely to drink as much water as you need. The best bet is to continuously drink normal or sparkling water.
With the tap vs bottle debate, tests have shown that there is no difference between filtered water and bottled. It has been shown that people who drink bottled water do drink more due to the fact that they are more convenient so by buying a bottle every few days and refilling it with tap water will ensure that you drink every day.
Sipping water rather than gulping is also proven to hydrate due to the kidneys constantly processing small amounts rather than sporadic large amounts. Try to keep a bottle of water either in your car or by your desk and you will find that you automatically reach for it.
If you do not like the taste of water you can add a slice of lemon to infuse the taste.
The overall health benefits from drinking water are considerable. You will feel more alert, have higher energy, luminous skin and a more efficient system. So get a glass, drink it down and feel the change today.
Botox |
Dysport |
Juvederm |
Recent Articles