Are drinking enough water each day? I’ll be the first to admit that there are days when I don’t drink enough water .. other days, not so bad.
And then there are a gazillion articles on the internet telling us exactly how much we should be drinking. The one I’ve been working on lately is the one where your body knows how much it needs and if you feel thirsty then it’s time for some more water. But what if feeling thirsty is only one of the symptoms of being dehydrated? What if there are other things going on in your body that you put down to tiredness or even getting older?
A British journalist decided to do an experiment to see if she could notice the effects on her body of drinking 3 litres of water each day for a month. Apparently she took 10 years off her looks! Here’s a link to her full article but in the interest of time, I’ve summarised a few of her findings …
Benefits of drinking enough water
- You need to go to the toilet … lots ( oh wait, I’m doing benefits .. ). Drinking enough water helps your body to flush itself out and keeps everything moving along smoothly.
- Can help if you get headaches. We’ve all heard this one before right, if you have a headache go and drink a few glasses of water and it will help.
- Will help your joints move and feel better … here’s the getting older excuse. Work on lubricating those joints and see if it does the trick!
- Improved complexion … another one the beauty therapists bang on about. Dehydration can lead to dry, flaky skin and dark circles under your eyes. No, those dark circles did not just start appearing because you are completely exhausted from the lack of sleep afforded to you by your job, children, partying. Proper hydration will make your skin plumper and look more fresh and clear. It may even help reduce the look of some wrinkles, which of course really are laughter lines right?
- Improved concentration … dehydration can lead to impaired physical and mental performance.
- Can help flatten your tummy … hmmm, could this be because you don’t feel like eating as much because you are fuller from drinking so much water?? Which leads to …
- Possibly helping you to lose weight and even centimetres, especially from around your belly. OK, let’s go with this one …
- Can help to reduce the effects of a hangover … I pulled this one out for the silly season upon us. Alcohol ( and caffeine ) is a diuretic and will dehydrate you faster and ultimately you feel like crap when you wake up the next morning. Alternate drinks with water and this may help reduce the effects of the dehydration. One hand champagne, one hand water .. alternate with one hand water, one hand food and you may eat less too! This of course will not work if you are going really hard .. then that’s your fault if you wake up in the morning feeling like you’ve been licking the bitumen after a herd of stampeding buffalos have run by … then I suggest panadol, water, sleep, on repeat …
- Only water and tea should be included in your water count for the day. Juices can increase your calories too much, water has no calories. Alcohol and coffee act as a diuretic and cause dehydration.
There are also many other benefits of drinking enough water and staying hydrated.
You too can look, and maybe even feel 10 years younger! So, off you go grab yourself and bottle and get yourself hydrated!
I’ve also attached a link to a Nutrition Australia resource sheet on Healthy Hydration.
Are you drinking enough water?
