20 Reasons Why Water is Essential to Living a Longer, Healthier and Happier Life
When you’ve decided that you are going to live your best life, drinking water is likely the simplest, yet most impactful habit one can address. Despite our body being 60-70% water, most people prefer to drink liquids other than water. Although there is no taste to water, many claim they don’t like the taste of water.
Why is it better to drink water than other drinks? Drinks such as coffee, soda, juice, or tea may actually cause further dehydration. If you remember from science class, osmosis is the movement of particles from a higher concentration to a region of lower concentration in the direction of equalizing. Therefore, when you drink liquid with a higher concentration of particles than your body, that liquid will actually draw water out of our system, further dehydrating our body.
Our body uses water as the substrate to nearly every function. Because of this, a lack of water can affect the function of the body in every organ. When we are dehydrated, there are consequences that limit our potential and significantly decrease the simple functions of our body.
Simply drinking ½ our body weight in ounces can lead to profound improvements. These benefits will lead to the single most important lifestyle change needed to transcend your struggles and live a long, healthy and happy life.
1. Energy Levels
Energy in our body is produced at the cellular level. Water creates magnetic and electrical energy in each cell. Water also conducts electricity which improves the movement of the energy which is produced.
Drinking energy drinks containing high levels of caffeine and sugar will only give a short burst of energy and typically leaves the individual with less energy after the chemicals have worn off.
Drinking more water has been shown to reduce fatigue and boost sustainable energy levels overall. When you are well hydrated, it provides your body with the foundational needs, which allow you to function at a much higher level, utilizing your energy more efficiently.
2. Reduces Blood Pressure
Drinking enough water, allows for the proper fluid concentration in the blood. When this happens, the fluid is able to flow appropriately in and out of the blood to achieve proper volume. With the proper volume of blood, vessels are able to relax which lowers the blood pressure.
The imbalance of salt or sodium will cause our blood volume to expand or contract to adjust for the variation of concentration. Although this is only one factor for blood pressure, it does have an affect.
3. Prevents Headaches
Those who struggle with frequent headaches may be experiencing them as a symptom of dehydration. The brain consists of nearly 80% water. Water conducts electricity and serves as the substrate for all brain activity. When you are dehydrated, you may experience brain fog, headache, irritability, mood changes, difficulty making decisions and challenges staying focused. If you are experiencing these symptoms, try to drink more water instead of taking medications that have harmful side effects such as liver damage.
4. Aging Process
Try to imagine what happens when a grape gets dehydrated….it becomes a raisin. Now apply that to humans. The same thing happens to us as we are chronically dehydrated. Without the proper amount of water, none of our organs work properly and as a consequence, we age faster. The additional stress and demand on our organs causes them to wear out faster. The skin in particular will begin to shrivel up causing wrinkles when you are dehydrated, which will make you appear older than your chronological age.
Water to humans is like oil for your car. It acts as a lubricant as well as the substrate for the transportation of the important building blocks of life.
Aging is essentially the accumulation of waste and toxins in our body. Drinking the proper amount of water will allow your body to flush out the toxins and maintain proper function for a longer period of time. It’s almost like changing the oil on your car to maintain the engine. The kidneys and the liver work like filters for cellular waste and toxic material that enters our body. If you want to live longer and look younger, drink more water.
5. Moisturizes the Skin
Just as a grape will shrivel up into a raisin through dehydration, our body and skin will shrivel up as we become more dehydrated. With the lack of water, our skin will dry, wrinkle, crack, become less elastic, is more prone to stretch marks, more likely to tear, unable to eliminate toxins and less capable of protecting us from the sun and physical damage.
Water helps reduce the signs of aging apparent in the skin. I plumps the skin allowing for fewer wrinkles and a tougher more elastic outside layer. The addition of water in the skin allows for easier removal of toxins for smooth, soft flexible skin.
Drinking more water will make a dramatic improvement in your skin. It’s also important to use moisturizing lotions to further capture and keep moisture locked in the skin.
6. Water and Weight Loss
When your body is unable to properly eliminate toxins, they can build up, like a sludge or muddy water. Without water, our organs will struggle to function properly. If your organs are not working efficiently, this will lead to a slower metabolism and difficulty losing weight. If you’re trying to lose weight, consider detoxifying your body and drinking more water. Our body knows how to work, all we need to do is create the right environment for our body to thrive.
It’s also common that you may feel hungry, when in fact, you are actually thirsty. Drinking more water will keep your belly full and lead to less hunger.
7. Immunity
Among the greatest benefits of drinking water may be the ability to improve our immune system. Our lymphatic system requires water to circulate and aid in the removal of waste from our body to help fight off infection. Drinking water helps every aspect of our body to function better. The combination of all organs of our body functioning properly will determine our level of immunity and how we are able to fight off disease. With a better ability to fight off disease, you can live a healthier life, with the physical ability to do the things that you want for a much longer time.
8. Diabetic Treatment
For those who are diabetic or pre diabetic, water is extremely important to your long term survival. When you are diabetic, the body is not capable of processing sugar properly. With higher concentrations of sugar circulating through your body, it is much easier to become dehydrated and further perpetuate your problem.
As a diabetic it’s very important to drink enough water so that your body can function at it’s highest level. Dehydration complicates the diabetic condition and drinking more water is a simple and easy way to live a longer, healthier life.
9. Reduces Acne
Those who suffer from acne will likely search for solutions through medications, creams or ointments to solve their problem. In truth, drinking more water can actually reduce the appearance of acne as well as decrease acne scars. Since acne is toxin being eliminated through the skin, more water will significantly improve this process, therefore reducing the acne.
Coupled with a healthy diet to reduce the toxic load, more water and good hygiene habits will make a significant improvement to acne. It’s possible to reduce the toxins, eliminate toxins and achieve clear and healthy skin.
10. Reduces Water Retention
As stated above, water will help your body to normalize and equilibrate your salt or sodium levels. When you are dehydrated, your body may hold a higher concentration of sodium. This will cause the body to absorb more water and hold onto it to retain more fluids. This results in swollen hands, feet, legs, joints and a general feeling of stiffness.
It may seem counterintuitive at first to drink more water, when your body is retaining water, but that is exactly what needs to be done. Our body has what’s called in medicine a “third space.” When we retain water, it goes to this space. Drinking water will draw sodium out of the third space and allow for the body to excrete the excess fluids through urine and sweat.
Coupled with drinking more water, compression, walking/moving and a diet low in sodium, it is possible to significantly reduce water retention without medication.
11. Joint Health
Our joints are the cushions to support our body weight. Water plays a role in the viability of the cartilage as well as the production of an oily material called synovial fluid. This fluid lubricates the joint and allows for them to move smoothly and last much longer. Without the proper amount of synovial fluid, our joints don’t glide as smoothly and consequently could damage the joint surface from irregular rubbing.
When the joints “dry up” it’s almost as if you have sandpaper on the surface of the joints. As the two surfaces rub together, it wears down. As the joint surface wears, it causes inflammation which we call arthritis.
12. Cancer Prevention
When you allow your body to become dehydrated, it affects all of our detoxifying organs. When the dehydration becomes chronic, the effects compound over time. The body becomes more and more toxic at a cellular level. As the cells become more toxic from decades of chronic dehydration, our normal cells may begin to act erratic. It’s believed that those damaged cells may begin to multiply and get out of control, leading to cancer.
Scientist believe that drinking enough water can help prevent certain types of cancer, like leukemia. Some studies claim water may also help reduce the risk of colon and bladder cancer as well.
The basic premise is that drinking enough water will help to eliminate the toxins and reduce the chances of rogue cells becoming cancerous. Drinking more water could essentially allow the cells to maintain a normal function.
13. Eye Health
The eye consists of more than 80% water, which makes water essential for proper function. If you work at a computer and require the use of your eyes throughout the day, it’s imperative that they are well hydrated in order to meet your needs.
When you are dehydrated, we produce fewer tears. This leads to itchy, dry eyes which are uncomfortable. When you rub your eyes regularly, they are much more prone to scratching the cornea, particularly when there is a dry surface. External drops may temporarily lubricate the eyes, but it will not solve the problem.
14. Neurological Disorders
As stated earlier, the brain is 80% water and requires water to function at full capacity. Dehydration also makes the blood thicker, which secondarily causes issues with the small blood vessels called capillaries that are located in the brain among other places. When these blood vessels become damaged, it leads to plaques and potentially bleeding in the brain. These simple issues are the base for many neurological disorders including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease or parkinson’s. As we age, drinking water becomes more important to maintaining our normal function.
15. Eliminates Body Waste
In every aspect of life, we are exposed to toxins which affect our body and lead to an unhealthy body. Through our diet there are many toxins such as pesticides, chemicals, hormones, and heavy metals. We also put lotions, creams, toothpaste, gels, shampoos, conditioners, make up, sunscreens and deodorants on our skin which contain toxins. The water we drink and shower with has chemicals, toxins and hormones. The air we breath is also toxic with pollutants. All of which affect our long term health.
Fortunately, our body is designed to eliminate waste and toxins which we are exposed to throughout the day. Organs such as the liver, kidneys, bowels and skin all play a role in collecting and removing the waste and toxins that our body is exposed to as well as those we produce.
The base foundation for the removal of toxins in all these organs is water. Therefore, if you are not drinking enough, you will become toxic and unhealthy. If you are like this for years or decades, it’s easy to see how your body will develop diseases from the excess toxins. Imagine trying to take a shower without using water or very little water. Water is necessary for every bodily function
16. Depression
When you are dehydrated, it can cause your body to have low energy levels. If you are consistently running on lower energy levels, it can easily lead to bad moods and depressed thoughts. As stated previously, the brain requires water to function properly. In particular, water is required for the production of serotonin, the “happy hormone.” We are more likely to experience depression in lower levels of serotonin.
Therefore, when you’re feeling down and depressed, drinking water can help improve your mood. Staying hydrated will help reduce the chance of depression occurring in the first place.
17. Improves Sleep
Our entire system is connected. When there is a shortage of water, our body doesn’t produce the normal chemicals which help with our basic functions such as sleep. Melatonin is responsible for regulating our sleep patterns. Just as we produce less serotonin, we also produce less melatonin for the same reason. Consequently, this affects our sleep patterns, which leads to a lack of energy, bad moods and further perpetuates a depression.
18. Digestion
Water plays an important role in the digestive process. It helps to break the food down as well as transport through the system. Again it works as the lubricant to aid in the entire digestive track and the movement of food and nutrients. Water can speed up the digestive process as well as improve efficiency. When you are dehydrated, you will likely experience bloating, back up of gas and feces, leading to constipation. Drinking plenty of water coupled with eating a high fiber diet will ensure regular bowel movements and a healthy digestive system.
The gut also serves as a detoxifier. Our body draws out the necessary nutrients while excreting any waste. When we are dehydrated, the waste product or feces can build up and remain in our colon. This can further increase our toxic loads. (Colon cleanse is good for cleaning out this build up of waste)
19. Lowers Cholesterol and Decrease Risk of Stroke and Heart Attack
If our body is properly hydrated, water will help to reduce your cholesterol levels. As you are able to lower your cholesterol, this will inherently decrease your risk of developing clogged arteries, which is the precursor and cause of the blockage of arteries. As stated above, the water helps the vessels relax, and this further limits the potential affects of blocked vessels.
Especially if you have heart disease or stroke indoor family, drinking water is essential to reducing your chances and giving you the best chance of avoiding life threatening diseases.
20. Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is the thinning of the bones, which could lead to fractures in the elderly. Research has shown that dehydration may lead to loss of calcium. Since calcium is necessary to rebuild new bone, the lack of calcium could lead to brittle bones. In order to prevent the affects of osteoporosis, it’s recommended to drink plenty of water as well as performing weight bearing exercises to stress the bones and encourage new growth.
Conclusion
Clearly water is very important to our body. Without water, we would not be alive. Water is Life so take it more seriously when it pertains to your life. Chronic dehydration can lead to malfunction in every part of your body. While it may not be the only issue, it serves as the foundation and substrate for nearly all functions of life.
If you are having any health issues, there is a chance that chronic dehydration is playing a role in the problem. Now is the the best time to take action. Drink more water to ensure that you are doing all that you can do to give your body the best chance of thriving.
How to fight dehydration and live a longer, healthier and happier life.
- Drink ½ your body weight in water. Drink ONLY water. ex. if you weigh 200 pounds, you should drink 100 oz of water per day.
- Track how much you drink. If you don’t track it, you are likely not getting enough. It also helps to create the proper habit for drinking enough water.
- Choose better water. Reverse osmosis, Alkaline, Filtered, Spring water, well water. It makes a difference so do your research and choose wisely.
- Get a water bottle and always have water on you. Be Prepared. Most people don’t drink enough water because it’s not convenient. Don’t make this mistake.
- Use lotion for dry skin. Lotion is another way to increase the moisture in the skin and further assist in hydration
- Conditioner to hydrate hair. This is meant to aid in hydration specifically of the hair.
- Humidifiers to increase humidity in your home. We lose water simply through breathing. Those who live in dry, desert like environments should use Humidifiers to further assist in hydration.
- Eye drops for dry eye. Aids in the symptom of dry eyes.
