Are You Drinking Enough Water?

Before doing the research to write this article, I knew water was important. I probably drank more than the average person. One glass immediately when I woke up, then at least a litre of it throughout the day. But now, after more research, there is no way around it…I am going to drink even more and this is why.

Specific Health Benefits of Water

• Water helps build muscle.
• It helps get rid of fat.
• It helps you digest food.
• It flushes toxins out of your body.
• Water makes your skin healthier.
• It curbs your appetite for unhealthy snacks.
• It increases mental alertness & wards off stress and depression.  Because the brain is about 85% water, it doesn’t function well if the body is even slightly dehydrated.

Let’s explore a few of the benefits…

 

1. WATER SUPRESSES THE APPETITE NATURALLY.

Feeling hungry before meal time? It’s surprising how just drinking water can often get you through til the next meal.

When you frequently snack on junk food, you develop a “hunger” for the stuff. This craving is quite different from a genuine craving for food. On the surface, hunger is hunger. But if you just ate a reasonably nourishing meal an hour ago, and now you crave a piece of cake, this could be more of a psychological craving because of the satisfaction derived from the taste of the treat.

By snacking on junk food over the years you have “taught” your body to satisfy itself in a certain way. But by proactively drinking water BEFORE the first sign of a snack craving you will stave off that feeling for a while, sometimes even until your next meal.

At first your body might feel like it is being punished or deprived. And in a funny way, maybe it is! But the more you do this, the more your body learns to accept the solution you provide. And over time you will develop a natural “thirst” specifically for the water, quite naturally replacing some of the previous spikes of junk food cravings. Drinking water between meals will keep the body functioning well and feeling noticeably more satisfied until it truly does need to refuel with food. Snack cravings may not disappear altogether, but their intensity & frequency will be affected because your body is getting something it truly needs.

 

2. WATER HELPS THE BODY METABOLIZE FAT.

Your kidneys need a lot of water to function properly. When they don’t get enough water, the liver helps them out, which in turn means the liver now isn’t able to metabolize dietary fat as well, and the fat gets stored in your body. Quite simply if a person is storing fat, they will have fatty tissue, so they will look fat and are more at risk of disease.

But when we are drinking enough water, our kidneys don’t need the assistance and the liver can better do its job of removing toxins and breaking down fats and nutrients from food. Of course minimizing your bad fat intake to begin with also prevents you from getting fat, but a water deficiency just adds insult to injury…kind of like asking your garbage collector to wash your windows while he’s in the neighborhood. He could do it, but the trash is just going to pile up if he is distracted with other projects.

 

3. IT REDUCES FLUID RETENTION.

Fluid retention can be the result of many factors, such as too much sodium in one’s diet, but it can also stem from not drinking enough water.

When the body isn’t getting adequate levels of hydration, it goes into survival mode and stores water that it would otherwise use and let flush through its system. The result? You gain weight and may notice general swelling throughout your body, or in specific areas such as the ankles, feet, and hands. Strange as it may sound, the solution to having too much water stored up is to drink MORE water!

(Please note that fluid retention may also be a sign of disease, including kidney disease, heart failure, chronic lung disease, arthritis or an allergic reaction, so if you are experiencing symptoms a trip to your qualified health professional is advisable.)

 

4. WATER HELPS BUILD MUSCLE. 

Muscles contain a high amount of water, and they depend on it. Without sufficient water intake, muscle function and development suffer. More specifically muscles are controlled by nerves. The electrical stimulation of nerves and contraction of muscles rely on the exchange of electrolyte minerals dissolved in water. So an adequate water supply lends to proper nerve function and muscle contraction. This crucial water in the muscles doesn’t just magically exist. You have to supply it!

It is commonly estimated that just a 3-4% decrease in overall body hydration can result in a 10-15% decrease in strength, muscle contractions, and workout performance (along with other problems). You can’t afford to be going to the gym, working your hardest, and yet not getting maximum benefits. Better workouts create better results, so optimise your efforts by drinking water before, during, and after your training session.

 

SO HOW MUCH WATER DO WE NEED? 

If you ask 3 experts you might get 4 different answers. But for our purposes we recommend a minimum of about 8 cups a day of straight, clean drinking water.

This does not include any coffee, soda, or the like. Technically those things could count, but remember, we’re wanting you to do more than just stay hydrated…we want you to thrive. And if you’re drinking all that liquid every day it might as well be something that will fastrack you to your ultimate health and fitness goals.

Clean water will do this better than water mixed with refined sugar, pasteurized dairy, preservatives, toxic chemicals like artificial colors and flavors, and other ingredients that do not promote easy digestion and natural tissue development.

Imagine a guy daily drinking 8 cups of water mixed with…umm…let’s say a little shoe polish, then wondering why he isn’t feeling great or achieving his fitness goals. Ridiculous, right? For every cup of hydration he gains, he also consumes something harmful and therefore can never seem to get ahead. Nobody you know is drinking shoe polish, but lower levels of harmful ingredients are present in so many commercially acceptable food and drink items that the comparison isn’t all that ridiculous! Our shoe polishes just happen to be engineered to taste good! So there really is value in keeping your hydration pure and natural.

In addition to your 8 cups or so of drinking water, you will be getting additional hydration through your smoothies, fresh squeezed juice, raw fruits and vegetables, soaked seeds and nuts, and herbal teas. So on a given day you might have seven or eight cups of water, a large fruit smoothie, and a big salad with lunch and dinner. That level of hydration will fuel your body like nothing else can. Every major system, every organ, every cell in your body will benefit from this.

If you are trying to build up some muscle, burn fat, or prevent or cure some type of sickness, then drinking reasonably high levels of clean water will be help facilitate the best results.

BTW….you especially need high levels of hydration if you are:

• Pregnant or nursing
• Overweight
• Training with high levels of intensity
• Fighting a cold or flu

Be sure to check back soon for part 2 of the health benefits of drinking water.

For now, whatever your fitness goals might be, start carrying a reusable water bottle around, clean it daily, and sip from it often. You’ll soon see more of the fitness results you’re working so hard to achieve.