Example for a person who weighs 100 pounds:
Divide 100 by 2 and the result is 50. Fifty (50) is the number of ounces of water that a person who weighs 100 pounds should drink every single day. You can only count raw water as water (not other beverages such as soda, juice, tea, etc). If you drink any alcohol or caffeine you need to drink even more water because those are dehydrators.
Here are some of the benefits from drinking the right amount of water every day.
Back Pain – Reduces
Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day significantly eases back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
Cancer – Slash Your Risk
Waters role in long-term health has just come to light in a study of 48,000 physicians and other health professionals conducted by researchers at Harvard University and Ohio State University. Those who drank six or more cups of water each day had a 51-percent reduced risk of developing bladder cancer than people who drank less than one cup daily. Drinking lots of water has also been proven to decrease colon cancer by 45%, and slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%.
Cleanses – Whole Body
Flush toxins and waste products out of your body with water.
Digestive Problems – Cures
Water helps our digestive system digest food. It can cure constipation (often caused by dehydration) when combined with the consumption of fiber, and help cure stomach acid problems.
Energy – Zoops It Up!
75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated, and dehydration is terrible for your body. It can lead to muscle weakness, dizziness, fatigue and other symptoms. If you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. Make sure you always keep a lightweight stainless steel drinking bottle (the healthy alternative to plastic) of water nearby to replenish your body. Lack of water is the #1 trigger for daytime fatigue. You can purchase eco-friendly containers from kleankanteen.com, newwaveenviro.com, or Swiss engineered water bottles from mysigg.com – check it out.
Exercise – Enhances
One of the symptoms of dehydration is lethargy. This could cause you to not even want to exercise which is key to well-being. Obviously exercise assists us to lose weight, but if you don’t drink water the dehydration will considerably restrict your athletic efforts. You’ll be slower and weaker making it harder for you to move or lift weights.
Headaches – Cures
Did you know that 85% of your brain’s tissue is made up of water? One of the major causes of dehydration is headaches, which is simply a matter of not drinking enough water. Water accounts for a large portion of the brain's weight. When your body perceives that it is dehydrated, it borrows from the only oasis in the vicinity … the brain. It takes a specific amount of water for the brain to function properly. Somewhat like spark plugs, 'firing' takes place on a regular basis — this 'firing' requires water. When there's not enough water the 'firing' goes awry and we can become blue, melancholy, and depressed. Things that are really mole hills start to look like mountains and we become overwhelmed; this causes stress and stress causes headaches.
Heart Health
According to a six-year study published in the May 1, 2002 American Journal of Epidemiology, those who drink more than 5 glasses of water a day were 41% less likely to die from a heart attack during the study period than those who drank less than two glasses.
Memory – Improves
Brain tissue is 85% water. With dehydration, the level of energy generated in the brain is decreased. For optimum brain function, we need water. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or a printed page.
Skin Health
Did you know that drinking water can clear up your skin? It’s not going to happen overnight, however the process of just drinking water for as little as 7-days can have extremely positive effects on your skin.
Weight Loss
Water has zero carbs, zero fat, zero calories and zero sugar. Is there any doubt that it can help you lose weight? Of course not! And when you use it to replace high calorie drinks like soda, juice and alcohol you’ll cut your caloric intake considerably. Especially when you consider that it makes your metabolism burn calories 3% faster – it’s a fat flusher. Not to mention the fact that some studies have shown that thirst and hunger sensations are triggered together.
Did you know that if there is a slight dehydration the thirst mechanism may be mistaken for hunger and you may eat even when your body is actually craving fluid? A University of Washington study found that one glass of water shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters.
Most food contains some water, so if you don’t drink much you may subconsciously eat more to gain the necessary water supply. Obviously, that comes with its disadvantages because you need to consume more calories to achieve the same desired affect. Drinking more water can help prevent you from overeating.
That said … when it comes to drinking water, you may want to rethink what you drink. In fact, that’s the title of a very interesting Reader's Digest article that I read online. The link in the previous sentence takes you to an eye-opening article which reveals that more than 25% of bottled water comes from a public source. It discusses the plastic problem and its environmental toll; and the fact that between 1990 and 2007 there were about 100 recalls of bottled water. The article is interesting, to say the least.
|
