Importance of water to health
Importance of water to the body can better be understood from the fact that the body is made up of about 60% water. Water in the body is used for a number of physiological activities. It is used by the cells and tissues to carry out basic functions. In addition to this, water is used by other body organs like the kidney, heart, and brain to maintain their proper functioning. Water is also used to control the body temperature and the body’s chemical environment. The body loses water through sweating, breathing and waste removal. It is therefore wise for you to ensure that you re-hydrate regularly to keep your body’s water level in check. Hydrating your body can be done by drinking water, other fluids like beverages and eating foods that have a lot of fluid.
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The element of hydrating regularly brings about the question of how much water you should drink per day. The answer to this question depends on a number of factors including, your body activity, the climate in which you live and your health conditions. If you are very active during the day or night, your body will demand much water, meaning that you will need to drink a lot of water. How water works in favour of your health is better explained in the subsequent paragraphs. Read through so that you can understand the importance of water to the body.
Importance of water to the body
1. Water offers protection to your tissues, spinal cord, and joints
Does water lubricate joints? Most of your body organs need to remain moist at all times for them to function well. Organs such as the eye, nose, and mouth, need to retain some level of moisture to avoid unnecessary pain during functioning. Water prevents them from drying out, thus, ensuring that they work effectively and deliver the required results to you. Hydrating your body ensures sufficient supply of moisture to the blood, cells, brain and bones, among other sensitive areas of the body, which rely on water. To add to this, water acts as a lubricant to your spinal cord and joints, thus, protecting these areas from erosion that might arise from friction.
2. Helps in the creation of saliva
Creation of saliva is one of the functions of water in the body. Saliva is made up of mucus, little amounts of electrolytes, enzymes, and water. Water is the largest component of saliva. Saliva is responsible for maintaining a healthy mouth and breaking down food. It is mixed with solid food during the breakdown process, to form a mixture that can be easily swallowed. Drinking water results in an increased production of saliva. However, this may not be the case if you are undergoing certain therapies or medication.
3. Aids in excretion or removal of waste from the body
Urine, sweat and faeces are the main waste products from the body. They are removed through urination, perspiration, and defecation respectively. The removal of these waste matter from the body is only made possible by drinking enough water. In addition to this, the kidney, liver and small intestines use water to eliminate waste from the body. Water softens your stool, aids the movement of food through the intestines and therefore collectively helps protect the body from constipation. However, an increase in fluid intake has not been proven to heal the body from constipation.
4. Helps in digestion
The mouth is the first place where digestion begins. Here, solid food is broken down and mixed with saliva. The enzymes in saliva help break down the food and enhance the incorporation of minerals and nutrients into the body. Food that is properly digested avails all the necessary minerals and nutrients to the body.
5. Water helps maximize physical performance
Drinking water during physical exercise and performance helps increase your endurance, strength, and power. If you are a sports person who engages in high-intensity sports and endurance training, you are likely to be a victim of dehydration. Ensuring that you drink a lot of water during training will give you an added advantage, as it improves your endurance. It is possible to lose up to 10% of your body weight during training or any other physical activity. Hydrating your body helps in keeping your weight and body in check. It is also important to note that training in the heat without enough hydration will put your body at risk of hyperthermia and decreased blood sugar. Therefore, keeping your bottle of water nearby during training is a practice you should adopt if you have not already.
6. Aids in loss of weight and improves circulation of oxygen in the blood
Water has been associated with weight loss in many weight loss conversations. True to this assumption, a number of studies have linked water to weight loss and loss of body fat. These studies showed a significant loss of body weight in both girls and women. Therefore, adding water and exercise to your dieting might be what you need to lose some of your weight. Water also helps in blood circulation. Water transports oxygen and crucial nutrients throughout your body. It is therefore important for you to ensure that you drink enough of it to meet all these needs.
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7. Helps to maintain a bright skin and improves your overall mood
The skin is the largest organ in the body and is the most conspicuous. Keeping it healthy will help you appreciate yourself more. Drinking a lot of water keeps the skin hydrated and encourages the production of collagen. However, to improve your general skin condition, you have to engage in physical exercise and maintain a balanced diet that will supply you with all the right nutrients.
8. Drinking enough water protects your body from general dehydration
Dehydration of the body presents itself in more ways than one. It can be as a result of sweating, or illness that leads to diarrhoea and vomiting. Whatever the case, dehydrating will lead to a reduction in the amount of water in your body. Any loss of water as a result of dehydration should be compensated for by drinking a lot of fluid. It can be beverages, water or any other fluid that will increase your body water content.
9. Drinking water aids in the fight against diseases in your body
Cultivating a habit of drinking lots of water might be your way out of diseases. This adds to the list of numerous benefits of water to the body. Some of the diseases that can be prevented by drinking water include; exercise-induced asthma, hypertension, and urinary tract infection. In addition to this, water allows your body to absorb nutrients such as vitamins and minerals from your food, thus, increasing your overall body health. This keeps you healthy at all times. Pregnant women also have to look closely at their hydration levels. This is because more of their body fluid is used up. It is always wise for you to check with your doctor on how to go about hydrating your body and fluid intake. This will help you maintain your hydration at acceptable levels.
Importance of drinking warm water or hot water
The reason for drinking warm or hot water might not be the same as that of drinking cold water. Hot water plays the same role as cold water and even more. It replenishes body fluid, eases congestion in the body and makes you feel relaxed. You can make the process of drinking hot or warm water more fascinating by adding lemon and other spices to it. Below are some of the benefits of drinking warm or hot water.
1. Eases nasal congestion
There are two concepts behind this. One is when drinking hot water, you inhale the steam coming from the cup, and it flows through your nasal openings to loosen up the clogged sinuses. It also helps to reduce the pain coming from the sinuses. The second concept preys on the fact that you have mucous membrane all through your upper torso and neck. When you drink hot water, it warms this region, thus, soothing a sore throat that might be causing mucus build up.
2. Helps to calm the central nervous system
Drinking hot water in the morning helps lubricate your body and soothe your central nervous system. If your nervous system is at ease, you will have fewer pains and aches throughout the day. In addition to this, it will be accompanied by fewer panics during the day. This is a more helpful strategy to be used by people who suffer from arthritis.
3. Can help to reduce toxins in the body
Drinking hot water or taking a hot shower triggers your body’s endocrine system and you begin to sweat. This is because it raises your body temperature for some time. Your body’s endocrine system triggers sweating. This might be a little uncomfortable, but very necessary to keep harmful irritants and toxins away from your body.
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4. Helps to ease the symptoms of achalasia
Achalasia is described as a condition where your oesophagus experiences difficulty in moving food down into the stomach. If you are suffering from this condition, you will know it by experiencing difficulties in swallowing food. You will feel like food cannot go down your oesophagus. Drinking warm water helps ease this condition. You should drink warm water with meat-like or oily foods.
However, you have to note that drinking hot water will not solve all of your problems. It might provide a temporary solution and sometimes a permanent one. The most important thing for you to do is to follow up and ensure your problem has been solved completely. Drinking hot water might also affect your body negatively. It might cause burns to your taste buds, damage tissues in your oesophagus and scorch your tongue. It is also important for you to avoid drinking hot water when working under high temperatures and working out. This is because drinking hot water makes you less thirsty.
So, why do humans need water? The answers to this question have been well explained above. This article has outlined the importance of water on human health, giving you a deeper understanding of how your body gains from hydrating.
Disclaimer
The information in this article is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content including text, graphics, images, and information contained in or available on this page is for general information purposes only.
Source: YEN.com.gh
