Nobody really cares about water, even though it's the world's most valuable resource. How often do you stand with the door to the fridge open, looking for something to drink, and not even notice the jug of filtered water in front of you?
The truth is that water should always be your drink of choice. The body can live without food for about three weeks, but not without water for more than three days.
Water is needed for every process in the body. Water is the only drink that can keep your body alive, and it needs a certain amount of water to work well.
The brain is mostly water (83%), blood is mostly water (83%), lungs are mostly water (79%), and muscles are mostly water (76%). The human body is mostly water, making up about 75% of it. Each and every part of the body needs a steady flow of H2O to work.
Hormones, chemicals, and nutrients that are necessary for organs to work well are moved around by water. Without water, our bodies would not be able to break down or receive minerals or nutrients, and our kidneys would stop working because they would have too many toxins.
Have you ever thought of water as a kind of miracle elixir, your secret to health?
What Water Can Do For Your Health
- keep skin vibrant and supple
- escort toxins from the body
- support healthy metabolism
- improve energy
- remove body heat
- lubricate joints
- improve mental and physical performance
- support digestion
But wait, there's more - we are just getting started!
Yes, just boring old water. The kind that you might skip over for something more exciting... not only keeps life going, but also has the power to heal. These sixteen illnesses can be avoided or cured with water. We hope that this article has made you more sure that water should always be your first choice for a drink.
Arthritis
It is thought that more than 52 million people in the US have some kind of arthritis, which means "joint inflammation." If you have this condition, the pain and discomfort can range from being a small bother to being a full-on disability. Millions of dollars are spent on pain and inflammation drugs that often have very bad side effects.
Many people with arthritis are stuck taking these strong drugs for the rest of their lives, but there may be a better way. One of the most important things for people with arthritis to do is keep their joints moist. Water can help with this, but it does more than just lubricate. It also cushions joints and lowers the pressure that hurts.
Water from the bone marrow is pulled to the joint space in a way that feels like suction. This makes it easier for the joints to move. When there isn't enough water, it rubs against things and finally hurts. Dehydrated cartilage can die and peel off the surface where your bones touch if you are very thirsty.
Gout
Since gout is a type of arthritis, drinking enough water can also help a lot, if not completely keep it away. When uric acid and other toxins build up in the joints, they hurt and swell. Water helps get rid of these toxins.
Osteoporosis
The bones in people with this painful condition are weak and breaking down structurally. A lot of people in the US have low bone mass, which can lead to osteoporosis. More than 10 million people have this disease. Racial and gender are some risk factors that we can't change, but we can change a lot of other things, like how much water we drink. Water not only keeps this condition at bay, but it can also help people who already have it deal with it.
Heart Disease
Killing almost 2,200 people every day, yes, every day. It's often called the "silent killer." There is a lot of heart disease, and it looks like we can't do much to stop it. But it looks like there is a strong link between drinking water and heart health. A study showed that getting at least 5 glasses of water every day can lower the chance of dying from a heart attack by half. The people who led the study say that drinking water is just as important for stopping heart disease as working out and eating right.
Constipation
Millions of people in the United States suffer from the annoying and often painful condition of constipation. This means that you don't have three or more stools a week. There is a big problem if you have less than one poop a week.
Constipation can be caused by a number of things, such as a bad diet, taking too many laxatives, not drinking enough water, or having bad bowel habits. Many people with constipation feel so bad that they need to take over-the-counter medicines to feel better. Many of these medicines, unfortunately, can make the problem worse and just cover up the signs.
It's important to eat foods that are high in good fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, but it's also important to drink enough water. Water not only helps the body get rid of waste, but it also helps digestion. If you drink enough water, your stomach will take out less water, which makes stools softer and easier to pass.
Hypertension
A lot of people don't know they have high blood pressure. Naturally, a healthy diet, exercise, and losing a few pounds can all help keep blood pressure in the right ranges. But did you know that drinking water is also very important?
When you don't drink enough water, your body holds on to salt to keep the fluids it needs. When you're dehydrated, your capillary beds close down. This puts a lot of pressure on your vessels and capillaries, which raises your blood pressure. So, drinking plenty of water is a key part of avoiding high blood pressure.
Fever
A lot of the time, people say, "Feed a cold, starve a fever." What about drinking water to treat a fever? If you have a fever, it means your body is fighting off an illness or infection. This is a good sign that something is wrong. The body will drain water from cells when you have a fever, which makes you thirsty. When you have a fever, you lose fluids, and it is very important to replace them. Water is the best choice. Not drinking enough water can make symptoms worse and cause more pain.
Skin Issues
Your skin is the biggest organ in your body and is made up of cells that are mostly water. You might not think of it as an organ. Skin needs water to stay healthy, just like any other part of the body. Many skin problems, like skin that is too dry, flaky, or spotted, can be caused by not drinking enough water. If you don't drink enough water, your face can age faster and get more wrinkles.
Sleep Disturbances
As the name suggests, one in three people have trouble sleeping, which is also known as sleeplessness. Insomnia is a persistent inability to fall or stay asleep. It can get in the way of your work and social life, and it can also lead to major health problems.
A scary amount of people take prescription and over-the-counter sleeping pills to make their pain go away. These pills are, however, very dangerous and can be very addicting. For this and many other reasons, drinking enough water is important for lowering inflammation, which can make it hard to sleep. You can get into a good sleeping pattern without taking medicine if you follow a healthy diet, deal with your stress, and work out.
Yeast Infection
Fusus can cause yeast infections, which are annoying and can be very painful. About 75% of women will get one of these infections at some point in their lives. Some will get it more often than others. A lot of people use garlic and yogurt to treat these infections, but water is one of the best things you can use.
The more water you drink, the more sugar that can lead to yeast diseases you flush out of your body. For people who get yeast infections often, drinking a lot of water and taking care of their stress can be one of the best ways to keep the infections away.
Colds
American adults get more than a billion colds every year, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, MD. Many people feel down when they have a cold because of their runny nose, sore throat, lack of energy, and other unpleasant symptoms that come with it.
Most over-the-counter medicines only seem to dull the pain, and some of them don't work very well at that. When you have a cold virus, there's not much you can do but try to stay as comfortable as possible until it's over.
On the other hand, you can avoid getting a cold in the first place by doing things like washing your hands and eating well. Even though you do these things, it's easy to forget that drinking water is one of the best ways to stay fit. For example, water helps the body get rid of waste and make mucus. When you have a cold, your body needs more water than normal and it's easy to become dehydrated.
Blood Sugar
French researchers say that drinking four or more 8-ounce glasses of water every day can keep you from getting prediabetes, which is high blood sugar. This dangerous condition is present in one third of Americans and can lead to diabetes.
Researchers say that vasopressin, a hormone that helps the body keep water in check, helps keep water absorption in check. The amounts of this hormone rise when we're thirsty, which tells the kidneys to store water. Studies show that the liver has vasopressin receptors. The liver makes glucose for the body, and higher levels of vasopressin may make blood sugar go up.
Bladder Infection
The bladder needs water to do its job, even though it gets rid of waste. With its flexible muscle fibers, the bladder can get bigger and hold up to 750 ml of water. When the walls of the bladder are pressed on, you have to go to the bathroom. When germs get into the urine, they cause bladder infections, which make you want to go to the bathroom just like you would when your bladder is full. Every day, drinking 6 to 8 glasses of water can help keep the bladder healthy and free of germs.
Kidney Stones
Getting enough water is important for keeping the kidneys working well. The liver, kidneys, and urinary system are all in charge of getting rid of waste from the body. Metabolic toxins would build up and damage the body if the kidneys stopped working for just two days. Crystals (bacteria and proteins) form when they build up. These are very painful and can be hard to pass. Studies show that being dehydrated can make stones more likely to form.
Asthma and Seasonal Allergies
Studies show that not having enough water vapor in the lungs can make the airways narrow and make mucus, which can lead to an asthma attack. Because of this, people with asthma need to make sure they drink a lot of water every day. It is best to have at least ten 8-ounce cups.
Additionally, it is very important to drink plenty of water if you have seasonal allergens. Water helps the body get rid of allergens, thins mucus, and clears out the sinuses.
What Kind of Water Should I Drink?
Some people drink a lot of water, but it's not the right kind of water. There's a chance that you think your tap water is safe because the government says it is. In fact, your tap water could have up to 80 so-called "regulated" contaminants and a lot more that aren't monitored.
There is a big problem with misleading labeling in the bottled water business, which is why you might buy bottled water to stay safe.
Advertisements that say the water comes from a spring or a clean pool are not telling the truth. Water in a bottle is just water, and it's a huge business. Over $75 billion is spent on drinking water every year.
When it comes to the US, the FDA is in charge of bottled water. The FDA doesn't have to check on bottled water because more than 70% of it never crosses state lines to be sold.
Tests on bottled water have found small amounts of chemicals that can cause cancer, drugs, fluoride, arsenic, and other things. No matter how much we recycle, bottled water is not a good deal and makes a lot of trash that ends up in our oceans and dumps.
Toxins in Drinking Water
Flouride in the water
Fluoride is added to the water supply, which ends up affecting both public and bottled water supplies. It is a very dangerous poison. In some countries, adding fluoride to the municipal supply is illegal, but it is still popular in many American cities, even though some have been against it since 1990.
Arsenic in the water
A heavy, dangerous metal called arsenic is called a Category l carcinogen by the International Academy for Research on Cancer. This means that the metal is known to cause cancer. The Environmental Protection Agency said that 10 parts per billion of arsenic in tap water was a safe level. This is not the case in many places.
Chlorine in the water
It is bad for you to breathe in chlorine and even worse to eat it. To get rid of some bacteria, chlorine is put to water. When chlorine gets into the body, it mixes with other chemicals to make Trihalomethanes. These make free radicals, which damage cells. In a recent study, rats were given water with chlorine added to it. The rats then got tumors in their stomach, liver, and kidneys.
It is said by the US Council on Environmental Quality that people who drink water that has chlorine in it are over 90% more likely to get cancer than people who don't. The government has been told about the results of this study and others like it, but chlorine is still being added to water.
What Are My Options?
After reading this, you might be wondering what to drink if I can't drink water from the tap or a bottle. Feel free to look over these choices and make sure they meet your needs. As always, do your study before buying anything. Different systems do a better job of getting rid of dangerous contaminants than others. Plan to have your tap water checked so you know what you need to filter out.
If you want to make your drinking water better, you have a few choices. It might cost some money to get a whole house water filter, but it is worth it in the long run. A good system will remove many contaminants, including chlorine, from your water source and only needs simple upkeep like filter replacement.
Different types of reverse osmosis systems, like tabletop, under-the-counter, and whole-house models, can be pricey. These systems remove many things from water, including healthy trace minerals. You shouldn't use a reverse osmosis filter device unless you want to add trace minerals to your food. Pitcher filter systems that fit in the fridge are cheap, but many of them don't get rid of all the contaminants in the water. We have, however, found one type of pitcher filter system that really does work and makes the water taste great.
How Much Water Should I Drink?
You are probably on the right track if your pee is pale and doesn't smell bad. There are different opinions on how much H2O you should drink every day. Some say ten glasses, while others say half of your body weight in ounces.
It goes without saying that you need to replace the water you lose when you sweat when you work out or spend time outside in the heat. You can test this by pulling on the skin on the back of your hand. It means your tank is probably low if it stays up for a while. Get a glass or two of water.
Clearly, the next time you really want something to drink, don't drink soda, fruity juice drinks, energy drinks, or anything else. Instead, drink clean, natural water. Your body will thank you.