Not only is most of our planet earth covered in it, water is required for the survival of all known living organisms and is one of the three necessary elements (air, water and food) for sustaining your life. A human can survive for weeks without food, but can only survive a few days without water. Your entire body is made up of approximately 75% water which make up organs, the brain, muscles, bones, skin, blood and more. Without it, the cells in our body would die. In addition to being made up almost entirely of it, our essential physical functions like breathing, urinating, digestion, muscle movements, sweating and many others couldn’t be possible without water. Before we consider the amount of water you should be drinking to experience the benefits, it’s important to understand how your body uses it so you can visualize the affects it has on your body.
Other than it being essential for survival, there are many benefits to drinking water. Our bodies use and lose water everyday at an astonishing rate through urine, stool, sweat, movement and all of the biological processes that take place within us. Water is needed to carry oxygen, minerals and nutrients to the cells in the body by diluting or dissolving and making them easily accessible. It fuels the brain with oxygen, keeping it hydrated and less stressed. It helps eliminate the body’s toxins and waste products, especially from vital organs such as the liver and kidneys.
Water helps lubricate mucous membranes such as the lungs, mouth and moisturizes large organs such as the skin but also smaller parts of the body like the eyes, ear, nose and throat. Drinking water helps fuel muscle tissue by transporting vital muscle building proteins that are crucial for increasing muscle cells, hydration and strength. Many biological processes within our body require water to transpire, but there are also countless health benefits for drinking water.
Drinking plenty of water often helps prevent poor health conditions and reduce health issues such as dehydration or other symptoms associated with them like headaches, body aches, tension and more. Dehydration from lack of drinking water, may cause other symptoms like increased fatigue, exhaustion, lightheadedness or dizziness, thirst, swollen tongue and throat. Rehydration with water can reverse these issues along with other fluid deficient health conditions and keep them from occurring. Since there are countless water deficient illnesses and chronic diseases the numerous advantages of drinking water should be greatly appreciated.
Though scientific studies have produced many drinking water facts, the multitude of variables involved contribute to the major gaps in knowledge that we still have. What we do know is that it’s critical for life and the amount of water we drink depends on the environment we live in, foods that we consume, the speed of our metabolism and how active we are throughout our lives. A person in general should drink half of their body weight in ounces of water daily. For instance a person who weighs 220 pounds should drink 110 ounces of water or about one gallon daily. Though it isn’t scientifically proven the amount we should drink, it’s an essential element that holds many benefits when drinking plenty of it on a daily basis as you have read above. The importance of drinking plenty of water cannot be over stated.
After acclimating yourself to drinking plenty of refreshing water on a daily basis, in a few weeks you’ll notice changes in your body and mind that will improve the overall quality of your physical and mental well being, which will better your life.