Health Benefits of Drinking Water

60% of our bodies are made up of water and 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by it. Ask anyone suffering from a major hangover and they will tell you they need to drink water and feel like dry to the bone!

Well it should then come as no surprise that without drinking water we in-fact could not survive and with it, we should be able to flourish, yet still, many of us in modern society doesn’t really understand the benefits, so I have highlighted a few below and listed a few more at the end:

Boost your Immune System & flush out those Toxins (all the by-products we don’t need)

Having a strong Immune System means we are less susceptible to disease and illness. Our bodily functions need to work correctly and for that they need Oxygen. Water carries this Oxygen to all the cells throughout the body and as with a car, if you put the wrong kind of fuel in, OK it might splutter and cough a bit, but the system won’t work that well.

As for Toxins, I used to think it was just following a drinking session but now, in my continued sobriety, I appreciate that these can come from an array of foods and drinks, albeit alcohol is the main culprit. Toxins can be harmful to the body, so it is important to get rid of, for example, the toxins left in the bladder. These are known to be a cause of bladder cancer so get flushing!

Boosts the Skins Complexion

Skin is the largest organ we have in (or on) our bodies and the part that takes the external battering. Skin disorders are a common symptom of dehydration but to explain the apparent benefits of water I will use an analogy; Take a piece of fruit like a Passion Fruit.

On the vine with access to water they grow and when ready to pick they appear smooth and shiny. Leave that in the fruit bowl for a few days and it ends up looking like a prune. I’m not suggesting people who don’t drink enough water are prunes, but you get my point.

Assists with Weight Management & Weight Loss

Obviously, there is no such thing as a water curing diet otherwise most people would be on it, but whilst I wholeheartedly disagree with yo-yo and fad diets, one consistency is Water and here is why; Water helps our Organs work better which in turn helps break down our foods better (think of the car fuel analogy above).

It flushes out what we don’t need and increases our metabolic rate. In one study I read, drinking ½ litre of water boosts metabolism by 24 -30%! In addition, if we drink water before and during a meal it gives a fuller feeling and if taken cold (love the science behind this one) our bodies tend to burn more calories because it needs to heat the water to our correct body temperature of 37 degrees Celsius.

Helps Increase Brain Energy & Function Levels

Thinking back, it’s a good excuse this one: Even mild hydration can impair brain function and as mentioned earlier, we need to get vital oxygen to our bodily functions, and I vote the brain for being the top dog! That said, dehydration of water is detrimental to our memory capability, anxiety, and fatigue, which anyone who has seen endurance training programs where the contestants get dehydrated will know. Therefore, if lack of water impairs all this in our brains, on the flip side more will keep it working at its best and we can all have a massive IQ increase?… Perhaps!

Maximised Physical Performance

Firstly, our muscle is made up of about 80% water which means that any budding Lou Ferrigno’s among you will see the importance, but during exercise or excessive heat, we lose water through sweat and tears (in some cases).

This in turn alters our body temperature as it tries to keep regulated so replacing lost water (sweat & tears) is essential to avoid fatigue and that familiar feeling of physical and mental torture. Most people want to push themselves when training but staying hydrated is one of the main principles of any fitness regime.

Other benefits include regularity (cleaning the pipes), supporting digestion, cushions the joints, helps with cramps & sprains, aches & pains, bad breath, saliva production, mucus and kidney stones.

 Final Analogy

A river flows from higher ground and the speed at which it flows varies as does the areas that thrive along its banks. However, during a drought, the river flows slower and deposits build up behind rocks and in roots, etc.

Some of the vegetation at the sides of the river will take what water they can but this limits other vegetation further down-stream that will suffer. If the river runs dry, then the vegetation and creatures relying on it will surely perish.

With an abundance of water or when it rains again, the river flows quicker with more energy, the vegetation takes the water and flourishes, and the unnecessary deposits are washed away leaving the various tributaries unblocked and enabling the water to infiltrate the ecosystem further.

Like rivers that flow are crucial to its surrounding ecosystem, flowing water within us (as the ecosystem) is crucial for our health and the reason this article is called: Water for Life!

All the best…. Darren

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