Most people understand that drinking water is good for us. We’ve heard it since we were kids; “drink 8 glasses of water a day”. While we may know we should drink water, it’s not a habit that many people develop. With so many more exciting beverage choices, we rarely focus on our need for clean, healthy drinking water
I’m working towards making drinking water a daily habit. Believe me I love my sodas, beer, coffee and juice so I had to first focus on the “why”. Here are five compelling facts that I found which have helped me develop better habits when it comes to drinking water:
1. Drinking a good amount of water could lower your risks of a heart attack. A study by the American Journal of Epidemiology published in 2002 found that those who drink more than 5 glasses of water a day were 41% less likely to die from a heart attack during the 6 year study period than those who drank less than two glasses.
2. Drinking water is one of the best ways to lose weight. Water often will replace high-calorie drinks like soda, juice and alcohol with a drink that doesn’t have any calories. It’s also a great appetite suppressant. Often, when we think we’re hungry, we’re actually just thirsty. Water has no fat, no calories, no carbs and no sugar. It can be a great tool in your weight-loss regimen.
3. Being dehydrated can sap your energy and make you feel tired and sleepy. Even mild dehydration of as little as 1 or 2 percent of your body weight can sap your energy. By the time you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. This can lead to fatigue, muscle weakness, dizziness and other symptoms.
4. Our digestive systems need a good amount of water to digest food properly. Often water can help cure stomach acid problems, and water along with fiber can cure constipation (often a result of dehydration). If you don’t drink enough water, you can’t properly flush your kidneys or liver and the colon can’t properly move your bowels. This causes your body to retain the toxins it takes in. When waste remains in the body too long, it has more time to reabsorb the unhealthy toxins back into your bloodstream, thus circulating these harmful chemicals to every organ in your body.
Drinking a healthy amount of water has also been found to reduce the risk of colon cancer by 45%. Drinking lots of water can also reduce the risk of bladder cancer by 50% and potentially reduce the risk of breast cancer
5. Drinking water can clear up your skin and people often report a healthy glow after drinking water. Of course it won’t happen overnight, but just a week of drinking more water can have positive effects on your skin.
Clearly, there are not many more things on this earth that can do what water can do for you. I prefer to have filtered water because tap water is not always the highest quality water available. Usually I carry an Aquaspace Stainless Steel Water Bottle that I fill up at home with tap water filtered by my Aquaspace Aquarius Twin Under-the-Counter Filter (available at www.healthywaterunlimited.com). This provides better tasting water than the bottled stuff at the 7/11 and is a lot cheaper in the long run.