Back to Basics: Hydrating for Health

Water is a life-sustaining, life-giving, vital and beautiful part of life- and it is everywhere. Maybe it is the fact that it is so ubiquitous in nature and presumed to be so plentiful that contributes to people's prerogative to take it for granted. If we are going to talk about all things health and working out and eating well, then it would an injustice to not address the endless health benefits of getting hydrated and staying hydrated throughout the day. Even given the fact that most people know how crucial water is for a healthy lifestyle and for living in general, most people do not consume enough water. This is actively skipping a huge stepping stone towards improving your overall wellness, and it's such a simple feat that is sometimes overlooked when people are attempting to live healthier.

 

People far to often try to put a set quantity on things when it comes to health such as the number of hours of exercise someone needs, how many calories a person should take in, how much sleep is necessary, and other factors. However, much like those factors, water is another element of health that does not have a universally magic number marked as the pinnacle of hydration. Health is personal, and the recommend water intake varies from person to person depending on size, how much they sweat, and how much exercise they get. Despite there not being a magic number, the Institute of Medicine (IOM), an adequate intake for men is approximately 13 cups (3 liters) a day. For women, an adequate intake is around 9 cups (2.2 liters). If you need some type of permitters before you start forcefully hydrating in the name of health..the common phrase"drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day" is a starting place. It works out to be around 1.9 liters, and that is relatively close to the IOM's recommendation for women. Drinking "8 by 8" is an easy-to-remember trick that can help put people on the right track to consuming more water. Sometimes, even tracking how much you already drink and taking a lot at that on paper can help bring you to some realizations about where you fall.

So, why is drinking so much water important? According to Medical News Today, water is fundamental to the smooth functioning of all the cells and organs in your body. And well, the functioning of your cells and organs is what you count on to keep you living long enough to reap the other plentiful benefits of water. It is also used to lubricate the joints, protect the spinal cord and other sensitive tissues, regulate body temperature, and assist the passage of food through the intestines. You lose so much water throughout the day that you are doing yourself a disservice by not replenishing it. It is also vital to the function of kidneys, and you can suffer a plethora of health problems when your kidneys are not functioning properly such as kidney stones and infections throughout the body.

Theres also more surface level benefits but these are the ones that really make water drinking enticing such as clearer skin, more energy, decreases fatigue, boosts immune system, flushes out toxins, is a natural headache remedy, and the list goes on and on. I hope I have convinced you to maybe drink another cup of the magical goodness of water today and everyday and see the benefits first hand!