Benefits of being hydrated
1) The brain : the control center.
To avoid feeling dizzy and affecting your short term memory. To stay focused and not feel tired. Water allows you to maintain normal blood pressure and therefore evacuate waste and deliver enough oxygen and nutrients to all your cells, including your brain.
2) Human beings: food lovers.
To fully appreciate and taste your food. Hydration is important to produce saliva (we can produce up to 1 L of saliva per day).
3) The body: a fountain.
Because we do not store liquids. By sweating, breathing, urinating, we lose a lot of the liquids we drink. We have to keep ourselves hydrated. Did you know that it is your feet that tend to sweat the most? Can you imagine that each foot can produce up to one cup of sweat per day! And by the way it is not the sweat that smells bad but the bacteria that grow in your shoes…
4) 10 pounds away from happiness
Drinking helps you avoid overeating. We sometimes can confuse the need to drink with the need to eat. We can eat thinking that we need energy but what we really needed is water.
5) Water before food.
Because drinking is your biggest priority. We can survive 30 to 40 days without eating but we can only survive 2 or 3 days without drinking.
6) CTRL, ALT + DELETE
To be able to go to the toilet. While digesting, the body sends liquid to the stomach and the intestins to facilitate the movement and transit of food.
7) Booster
To energize your muscles. If the cells do not maintain a balance of fluids and electrolytes, they dehydrate ! You’ll feel it because your muscles become weak and tired.
8) Fountain of youth
For beautiful skin. Dehydration makes your skin dry and wrinkled. But this doesn’t mean that drinking more water than you should do will erase the wrinkles you already have.
9) Lubricant
To lubricate your joints. The cartilage tissues that you find at the extremeties of bones and between vertebrae contain a lot of water that is used as a lubricant for the movement of your joints. Water reduces the friction and helps you avoid the deterioration of your joints and the aches that come with it.
What are the differences between bottled waters?
Mineral water :Contains minerals that are dissolved like calcium, magnesium, iron or sodium.
Distilled or purified water : All minerals have been removed from the water.
Sparkling water : Naturally carbonized
Spring water : Comes from an underground source where water runs naturally.
Sterilised water : The cleanest water. Mostly used to prepare newborn formulas or for those people who have an immune system problem at the hospital.
Hydration: common error : You have to drink 2 to 2.5 Liters of water per day. FALSE. Your need varies depending on numerous factors. And it is usually 2 to 2.5 liters of LIQUIDS per day. So any type of liquid counts. Whether this is water, juice, milk, soup, tea and so on. Even coffee counts if you drink less than 4 cups a day.
Of course, it is always better to prefer water to hydrate and avoid sugary drinks.
Note : alcohol does not count as a liquid here. Alcohol dehydrates and it is recommended to drink one glass of water with each glass of alcohol.
Did you know that drinking too much water all the time can be a psychological problem ? It is called potomania.
These are people who have a constant need to drink very large amounts of liquids. Some will drink as much as 10 liters per day and some will even die because of this. Too much water can intoxicate you.
Sad story : There was a radio game once in the USA where listeners were invited to drink as much water as they could to win a Wii. Even though people called to warn them of the danger of this game, they continued to broadcast it. Unfortunately a mother of 3 won the WII but she died from drinking too much water. Here is a LINK for the full story if you want.
Conclusion, like everything else: too much is like not enough !
Sofia Abdelkafi R.D
