“Long-term hydration is the single best thing we can do to prevent chronic illness,” says Dr. Dana Cohen, an integrative medicine specialist in New York and coauthor of Quench
No matter how you take your water – Fiji bottled, str8 from the faucet, good ol’ garden hose – getting enough H2O is an often overlooked key for your health. #foryourhealth #brulesrules
A Win for Skin
“A body that has been suboptimally hydrated will, over time, shunt water toward essential organs like your heart and away from nonessential tissue like your skin and muscles,” says Dr. Charles Passler. “This can lead to wrinkled or drooping skin, as well as reduced muscle strength.”
Researchers found that in individuals with low daily water consumption — those who were dehydrated to begin with — increasing water intake had a positive effect on skin appearance and helped maintain skin hydration levels.
Want to maintain hydrated skin? The Mayo Clinic offers some handy tips here:
Avoid prolonged contact with hot water
Use a gentle cleanser
Say no to deodorant soap and skin care products that contain alcohol, fragrance, or retinoids
Moisturize immediately after taking a bath or shower
Use a humidifier
More Pep in Your Step
Did you know? Drinking enough water helps your body convert carbs into energy and deliver essential amino acids to muscle tissue. Putting down enough H2O might just give you the athletic performance edge you’ve been looking for.
An interesting study found that inadequate hydration can cause extreme fatigue, poor memory, dizziness, constipation, and even mood shifts. The good news – water can have immediate benefits: “That charge increases the cells’ functional efficiency, leading to better energy, clearer thinking, and less brain fog,” says Dr. Cohen. In addition, you can also feel an improvement in muscle cramps and headache relief.
And don’t forget, replenishing your body with fluids as you sweat them out will keep your body moving at its very best.
Mega Metabolism
Boosting your water intake can also boost your metabolic rate – one of the main factors in how many calories you burn in a day. Getting enough water can increase your calorie burning enough for you to drop five pounds in a year without making any other changes. Pretty cool.
Another study found drinking one 16 oz. glass of water a day boosted metabolic rate by 30%, which works out to an average of 200 extra calories a day. By switching to drinking water and vegetable based smoothies, you’re also cutting back on calorie loaded coffee drinks, sodas, alcohol, etc.
Oddly enough – our brains can confuse thirst and hunger. Sometimes when you feel fatigued or like you have a headache coming on, you’ll think you need to eat. But you likely need to drink. Learning to drink when you are thirsty instead of eating will help with weight loss.
Some studies have shown that drinking water before a meal acts as a natural appetite suppressant and could help you eat less. A study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that people ate 13 percent fewer calories than those who didn’t.
Other Benefits
Stay regular 💩
Keep your brain sharp 🧠
Heart works better 💙
Cushioning joints 💪🏼
How Much is Enough?
Now that we’re sold on the idea of drinking enough water, how much do we need to drink to earn our five gold stars?
Eight cups a day?
15 cups for men, 11 cups for women?
Enough to make your urine clear?
Half your age plus seven?
Well, the correct answer…it depends! But those smart folks at Harvard tell us that a general rule of thumb for healthy people is to drink two to three cups of water per hour, or more if you’re sweating big time.
If Harvard isn’t your thing, according to the aforementioned Dr. Cohen, the new general rule of thumb is half your weight in ounces. For example, if you weigh 180 pounds, you need to drink 90 ounces of water a day.
And don’t forget – it’s possible to take in too much water if you have certain health conditions, such as thyroid disease or kidney, liver, or heart problems; or if you’re taking medications that make you retain water.
Another thing we learned – older people don’t sense thirst as much as they did when they were younger. Another fun (not so fun) thing about aging.
Water – Fun Facts!
In small quantities, water appears colourless, but water actually has an intrinsic blue color caused by slight absorption of light at red wavelengths.
70% of the human brain is water
There is the same amount of water on Earth as there was when the Earth was formed. The water from your faucet could contain molecules that dinosaurs drank. Wow!
Water expands by 9% when it freezes. Frozen water (aka ice) is lighter than water, which is why ice floats.
A person can live about a month without food, but only about a week without water.
A jellyfish and a cucumber are each 95% water.
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