Everyone knows that water is essential to your health. Water is needed to replace the fluids that your body loses through sweating, breathing and going to the toilet. So essentially water is an essential ingredient to prevent you from getting dehydrated which occurs when your putting out more water than your putting in. But apart from the obvious, don't get dehydrated, element of drinking water there are many other benefits that come from keeping your water intake up.
Feeling tired and low on energy? Drink water. When your muscles don't have enough liquid they don't work as well making performance worse and essentially you feel like slobbing on the sofa and doing absolutely bugger all. Drinking more water will help maintain the amount of fluid your muscles need to help you feel energised and ready to go.
Water can also help you focus better. Considering your brain is mainly made up of water drinking more of it will help you focus better and be more alert. Essentially water can help you stop you feeling tired, lethargic and like everything is such a massive effort.
Not drinking enough water can result in feeling bloated. Your body retains more fluids as it is basically scared it's not going to get any more. While it might seem a bit backwards you can often cure water retention by drinking more fluids i.e. water. As you drink more water your body releases fluids leading to feeling less bloated. (N.B bloating isn't always caused by water retention and can be down to kidney problems so if it is a persistent problem you may need to see your GP).
Drinking plenty of water can also keep your skin looking glowy and youthful, though don't expect it to erase wrinkles. Your skin contains heaps of water and acts as a barrier to stop you losing too much so keeping yourself hydrated keeps your skin hydrated and can help prevent break outs and slow your skin from ageing.
And yes, not drinking enough water can lead to constipation. When your fluid intake isn't high enough your colon will draw water from your poop to make up for that which will lead to constipation. Drinking plenty of water keeps everything moving and makes everything feel a lot more comfortable.
Not drinking enough also effects urine and your kidneys. When you're not drinking enough your pee will be dark, smelly and more concentrated. More water means urine flows freely, is light in colour and free of odour. If you are always not drinking enough you may be more likely to get kidney stones.
And of course drinking more water can help with headaches. Again because such a large percentage of your brain is water when the brain hasn't got enough water (without grossing you out too much) it shrinks and pulls away from the skull causing the pain we know as headaches. Therefore drinking water can ease and prevent headaches. Although again, if you are constantly getting headaches and drinking plenty of water go to the doctors.
So how much water should you be drinking? Well experts, of which I am not for the record, say about eight glasses a day is a good amount. I try to drink 3 litres a day as a standard especially whilst I'm in Aus as heat and high altitudes can cause dehydration to be more rapid. If you're exercising drink relatively regularly throughout (roughly every 10 or so minutes) but don't drink heaps during exercise as you may feel sick, drink little and regularly throughout exercise and continue to do so afterwards to ensure you replenish the fluid you loose in exercise.
So, readers, I challenge you to try drinking roughly two litres a day for the next two weeks and see how you feel. Don't forget to let me know!
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