At one point or another, everyone has been told to drink more water, but how many of us actually understand how it impacts our overall health, metabolism, and mental states? When we don’t consume enough water, our minds, as well as our bodies, start to malfunction. We may experience lethargy, irritation, and depression. We can become prone to headaches, breakouts, weight gain, and a whole lot of other issues.
That’s because water is absolutely essential for optimum cellular homeostasis, and therefore, invaluable for our wellbeing.
There are different types of water (hard, soft, spring, well, etc.) and it comes in different forms (carbonated, distilled, frozen, and so on). Most of us tend to consume water as a beverage, but we also get it from food and as a metabolic side product. However, the exact percentage of water intake varies from person to person since it is also dependent on the individual’s consumption of fruit, vegetables, or other water-saturated foods. Depending on where a person lives, access to them may be surprisingly limited.
Furthermore, water comprises about 50-60% of body weight in women and around 60-65% of body weight in men. As we go through daily life, we tend to lose fluid through perspiration as well as other bodily processes necessary for waste disposal.
Dehydration essentially means cells are losing their ability to maintain internal stability, which means there can be a disruption in their normal function that in turn can create a wide-range of problems. That’s why people are encouraged to drink more water than any other available beverage.
Drink More Water for Thermoregulation
It’s no secret that staying hydrated is critical for the body’s ability to temperature control since the loss of water via sweat helps us cool off during a workout or in a hot climate. The amount of sweat we produce depends on the temperature and humidity of our environment; our activity levels and types of clothing we wear; as well as how hydrated we are, to begin with.
If we do not replenish the liquids we loose, we can enter what’s called a hypo-hydrated state. When this occurs, sweat output becomes insufficient to offset increases in core temperature and may lead to heat stroke, spiked cortisol levels (stress hormone), and an electrolyte imbalance.
Drink More Water for a Healthier Metabolism
When it comes to losing weight, we always hear about the importance of exercise and proper dieting, but almost never about the importance of water. Turns out that drinking water can improve the body’s ability to burn fat by boosting the metabolism. According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, healthy participants who drank 500 ml of water a day increased their metabolic rate by 30%.
Considering that dehydration can slow your metabolism by 3%, making sure you drink more water for an optimum metabolic function is immeasurably important. Start your day by consuming at least two glasses of water to hydrate your body immediately after waking up from sleep. Also, try downing a glass of water before meals to hydrate the body and prevent overeating.
Drink More Water for Increased Alertness and Mental Health
Mild to moderate levels of dehydration can produce disruptions in cognitive function, impairing short –term memory, perception discrimination psychomotor skills and arithmetic ability. Furthermore, dehydration impairs the transport of an essential amino acid across the blood brain barrier. It’s called tryptophan and it’s incredibly important for the prevention of illness and even death since it acts as a building block in protein biosynthesis and is essential for the making of serotonin. Low levels of serotonin have been directly linked to depression and lethargy. Fortunately, reintroducing water quickly reverses the effects of dehydration.
Drink More Water for Clear Skin
We’ve all heard how consuming lots of water can supposedly wash out toxins from the skin and make it clearer, but there’s not much actual evidence to back up this claim. Rather, because the skin contains approximately 30% water, water consumptions or lack thereof affects its plumpness, elasticity, and resilience.
Skin dryness is usually influenced by dry air exposure, prolonged contact with hot water, contact with certain chemicals, as well as possible medical conditions and medication side effects. Though drinking enough water can definitely improve skin plumpness and its density, it will not safeguard against hormonal fluctuation or significantly protect skin against signs of aging.
Drink More Water for Heart Health
According to the American Heart Association:
“A person who perspires heavily will need to drink more than someone who doesn’t. Certain medical conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease, may also mean you need to drink more water. People with cystic fibrosis have high concentrations of sodium in their sweat and also need to use caution to avoid dehydration. And some medications can act as diuretics, causing the body to lose more fluid.”
Water is amazingly important for optimum heart health since it makes up more than 80% of the blood that carries all of the important nutrients throughout our bodies, as well as roughly 75% of lean muscle tissue. Drinking lots of water increase muscle response and flexibility while making it much easier for the heart to pump the blood.
Final Thoughts
It’s absolutely true that people are the sums of their parts. That’s why it’s incredibly important to pay attention to our bodies, learn how they work, and provide them with what they need to function better. Only those who truly strive to understand the mechanisms that make their life possible can take control of their health and wellbeing.
At Merkaela, we sincerely strive to provide our consumers with products and information that they can directly utilize to improve their lives. It is with this goal in mind that we wanted to remind you to drink more water!
References
http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100152720
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/hydration-affect-metabolism-2886.html
http://press.endocrine.org/doi/full/10.1210/jc.2003-030780
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/PhysicalActivity/FitnessBasics/Staying-Hydrated—Staying-Healthy_UCM_441180_Article.jsp#.V8BxvpMrLeQ
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