H2O: More Important Than You Think

Why is water so crucial to the body? Here’s why you should increase your water intake.

Photo by: Elizabeth Harris

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H2O — two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen — also known as water.

Everyone knows that water is an essential substance for the human body, but it’s often overlooked.

Don’t worry, I struggle with this too. Guilty of charge, I often take a nice bubbly soda over a glass of water.

I’ve heard the story over and over that water makes everything better.

So I decided to do a little research and find the benefits out for myself.

Here is what I found:

♦ Clear healthy skin. Drinking enough water will help hydrate your skin.

This will reduce wrinkles, giving it a more youthful look.

As well as smoothing skin, water can also help reduce the risk of pimples by flushing out toxins that cause the skin to inflame and clog pores.

Drinking water will also help your body regulate temperature by sweating the proper amounts.

♦ Increases energy levels. Approximately 60 percent of your body weight consists of water.

Since water is vital to your organs, even the slightest bit of dehydration can slow your bodily systems down.

♦ Boosts immune system. Your body uses water to create lymph. Your body uses lymph to bring white blood cells throughout the body to fight off diseases.

It also keeps your eyes and mouth clean by flushing away dirt and parasites that can cause infection.

♦ Headache remedy. Headaches and migraines are often caused by dehydration and this is because your brain is made up of mostly water.

When your brain is lacking water, it causes the muscles around it to tense up, in turn causing headaches.

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These are just a few of the many benefits to increasing your daily water intake. I suggest that you try it out.

Evaluate how much water you drink on a daily basis and set a goal for how much you would like to drink a day.

One way to calculate this is to multiply your weight by two-thirds (67 percent). The number you get should be roughly how many ounces your body needs per day.

Keep in mind that for every 30 minutes you work out, you should add 12 ounces to your normal daily number.

Good luck, and happy drinking.