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I live in Arizona and dehydration is very common here because people simply do not consume enough water. In fact, 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. Truth is good health depends on good hydration. They say we need to drink approximately half our body weight in ounces minimum each day. So if you weighted 140 pounds, then you would need to drink 70 ounces of water. That seems simple enough to remember.
Why is water so important to not only us desert dwellers in Arizona but for the human body in general? Well if you look at the human body it is like a machine, and like any machine in order to work properly, it needs lubrication. Water is the lubrication for the human machine. Water also has the ability to cool the body down so the human machine does not overheat.
How do we know if we are dehydrated?
Since most of us are dehydrated and don’t even know it, learning the signs of dehydration can be important. Symptoms of mild dehydration include dry sticky mouth, thirst, chronic pains in joints and muscles, headaches, dizziness, and constipation. A strong odor to your urine, along with a yellow or amber color indicates that you may be a little more dehydrated then you should be. Eventually nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, sunken eyes, low blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, and fever will follow. Listen to your body, the best sign for dehydration is thirst.
Health benefits of drinking water
There are many health benefits of drinking water. For the weight conscious people, water is one of the best tools for losing weight. It has no calories and is an appetite suppressant. Drinking water could also improve your heart. A study done by the American Journal of Epidemiology found that those who drink more than 5 glasses of water a day were 41% less likely to die from a heart attack. Water helps our digestive system as well because water can help with stomach acid problems and water is also used by the body to help flush out toxins and waste products from the body.
Other health benefits that water can provide is it can protect us from certain forms of cancer. By drinking 5 glasses of water daily we can decrease the risk of colon cancer by 45%, decrease the risk of bladder cancer by 50% and reduce the risk of breast cancer by 70%.
The great thing about water is it is free; it is always available if you create the habit of keeping water with you, and it has no calories. So here’s to you. Let’s drink a toast to better health by drinking at least 5-8 glasses of water a day.
References
Mayo Clinic
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