I am sure you don’t need one more person telling you that you should be drinking more water. It is a no-brainer. Drinking enough water is the easiest and the cheapest way to be healthy – directly or indirectly, water influences all the metabolic processes in the body.
Whether you like it or not, drinking water is non-negotiable, so read up some key benefits:
1. Keeps You Alert
Drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water every day is non-negotiable. A report from Loughborough University has shown that in a dehydrated state one is likely to make twice as many mistakes due to mental fogginess. Dehydration can impair your attention span, memory, and motor skills. Don’t take dehydration lightly, it can have frightening consequences.
2. Boosts Productivity
Water helps in the removal of toxins and waste from the body and encourages a regular bowel movement, crucial for a healthy gut. A good intake of water means no more constipation. If taken with salt and sugar, it helps fight fatigue and helps your brain work at a better pace. Just like your car runs smoothly on fuel, your productivity levels increase with proper water supply.
3. Protects Your Heart
Studies have shown that consuming more water decreases the risk of death from coronary heart disease, possibly by keeping the blood viscosity low.
4. Lessens the Urge For Empty Calories, Helps in Weight Loss
Oh yes! A lot of times, people confuse thirst with hunger. Staying hydrated means that you will feel fuller, eat less and will stay away from unnecessary junk your body craves for. Water is also known to boost metabolism, expanding energy, further aiding weight loss.
5. Prevents Certain Types of Cancers
There is some evidence that remaining well hydrated may reduce the risk of colon cancer and breast cancer. Research has found that the greater the water intake, the lower the incidence of bladder cancer. One of the possible reasons could be that the bladder carcinogens are washed out because of frequent urination.
6. It’s Your Healthiest Drink
Say cheers and prevent headaches, migraines and kidney stones. A number of studies have shown that drinking around 400 ml of water can give relief in a migraine attack within 30 minutes. Similarly, water not only prevents kidney stone formation but also flushes out already formed stones provided the water intake is enough to make more than 2 liters of urine.
7. It Gives You Younger Skin
Drinking water flushes out the toxins and bacteria, combating dry skin. So preventing dehydration improves the appearance of skin giving a healthier and more youthful look.
How Much Water Should You Drink?
There is no consensus amongst the world authorities even in modern medicine what to say of others like Ayurveda, Unani and other systems of medicine.
Their premise is that if you’re feeling thirsty you’re already dehydrated so don’t wait to feel thirsty - keep sipping water through the day.
A reasonable medical advice would be to drink about 40 ml of water per kg body weight by an apparently healthy person with sedentary lifestyle. An extra allowance of 10% and 20% respectively to be added for moderate and strenuous activity.
(Dr Ashwini Setya is a Gastroenterologist and Programme Director in Delhi’s Max Super Speciality Hospital. His endeavor is to help people lead a healthy life without medication. He can be reached at ashwini.setya@gmail.com)
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