Hydration - Why You Should Drink Water

Importance of Drinking Enough Water

Water is a mineral that is necessary for proper bodily function. Your body is made of mostly water and when your body is dehydrated, it does not function properly. The benefits of water include:
· Regulation of your body temperature
· Removal of wastes from the body
· Carry nutrients, oxygen and glucose to the cells to give you energy
· Provides natural moisture to skin and other tissues
· Cushions joints and helps strengthen muscles

So how much water should you drink daily? Because your body looses fluid from ways other than exercising, like breathing, everyone's suggested water intake may be slightly different. However, it has been suggested that the suggested fluid intake for everyone is about 2 liters of water a day. This breaks down to drinking 8 eight ounces glasses of water per day. Often people might wait until they are thirsty to drink water. This is not a good indicator because when you feel thirsty, your body is already dehydrated. They key is to drink water throughout the day to avoid feeling thirsty. Some signs that you are dehydrated may include:
· Dry lips, mouth or skin
· Nausea
· Dark colored urine or infrequent urination
· Constipation
· Increased body temperature or labored breathing

In order to avoid dehydration, here are some tips for ensuring you are getting enough water throughout the day:
· Make sure you are drinking water before, during and after exercise.
· If you are away from home for most of the day, fill a water bottle to take with you so that you can gradually drink while you are out.
· Take water breaks at work instead of coffee or tea breaks.
· Drink water with meals instead of soda or other carbonated beverages.
· Check your urine. If it is clear or pale yellow, you are properly hydrated, if it is a darker yellow, you need more fluids.
· Drink water in between meals.

Some Facts about Drinking Enough Water

1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.

2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it isoften mistaken for hunger.

3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one’s metabolism as much as 3%.

4. One glass of water shuts down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a U-Washington study.

5. Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen.

8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.