Benefits of Drinking Water

The benefits of drinking water are often underestimated and misunderstood. Water is not just a thirst quencher and a critical element for many of the body’s biochemical processes; it is a macro-nutrient. This means that drinking large amounts of water is required to stay alive. The other three nutritional big dogs, carbohydrate, protein and fat, are the only other macro-nutrients. Who knew water kept such prominent company?

Health Benefits

My mother drank very little water twenty-four hours before stepping on a scale. She hoped to see a lower number if her body wasn’t full of water weight. What she did not understand is that the more water you consume, the less you retain. A cleansed inner body retains less and functions more efficiently.

External benefits of drinking water

Water not only affects you internally but it has many external benefits. It can be a major contributor to a healthy, fit body. It adds natural moisture to your skin, giving a fresh glow today and helping the aging process tomorrow.

Keeping properly hydrated during exercise allows you to have a better, more productive workout. When your workouts are better, you feel and look better too.

Cost vs. Benefit

If you are not yet convinced that the benefits far out weigh the challenge of working sixty-four ounces of water into your diet every day, here is what you need to do:

Realize that water is vital to a healthier and happier you
Make it easy to incorporate drinking water into your daily routine

Six tips to drinking more water

Add flavored packets – If water alone bores you, take advantage of the new flavor packets that are sold specifically to enhance your enjoyment of water.
Get fun to go containers – Always have water with you or in the car. Get good size, fun colored containers. The larger the container, the fewer the refills.
Change your daily habits – Wake up to your first glass of water. Make it a rule to order water (with or without lemon) when you go out to lunch instead of a diet soda.
Drink a glass before you eat – Water helps to curb your appetite. It is easy to confuse hunger with being thirsty; so try water first. Drinking water makes you feel trimmer.
Use straws, add ice and a lemon – Make this glass of water feel like a treat.
Always have cold water on hand ready to drink – Make it easy. It is always easier to make the right choices when you have planned ahead and are prepared. Like the saying goes, ‘If you fail to plan, plan to fail.’

Regardless of the “diet” or eating regime, if its focus is weight loss or health, water is always on the menu. Water seems to be the only macro-nutrient that everyone can agree on. Low carb diets preach little to no carbohydrate consumption; low fat diets emphasize the benefit of minimal fat intake; and balanced diets believe everything in moderation. All of these diets stress the importance of drinking water. There has never been a low water diet. So what are you waiting for? Drink eight, 8 ounce glasses of water a day. It’s easy and the benefits are life changing.

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