I'm sure you've heard this often, but perhaps you don't know how important this habit is for the health and beauty of your body. Drinking water is essential to keep our body hydrated, inside and out. In addition, water helps detoxify the body.
Main effects of water on your body
Without water, your body would stop functioning properly. More than half of our body weight is made up of water, and we cannot survive without water for more than a few days. Why? Our body requires water to carry out many of its functions. For example, blood, which contains a large amount of water, carries oxygen to all cells in your body. Without oxygen, all of these tiny cells would die, and the body would stop functioning.
Water is also found in the lymph. The lymphatic system is like the "body's purifier", which eliminates toxins and needs to have liquid to be able to do its job. If you tend to retain fluids and have a tendency to swell your legs and or abdomen, you must drink plenty of water for the body to perform this function well. In such cases, it is also crucial to stimulate your lymphatic system through drainage massage.
In addition to a health and wellness issue, fluid retention is the main cause of the appearance of cellulite. Cellulite is mainly an aesthetic problem, but once it appears, it has a progressive effect, which will inevitably increase if we do not act on the causes that produce it. Therefore, to prevent and treat it, it is essential to avoid retention.
Water is also needed to digest food and eliminate waste products. Water is required for digestive juices, urine, and feces.
One of the causes of constipation can be precisely the lack of liquid. For this reason, when a person increases the fiber content in their diet to combat constipation, they should accompany it with an abundant intake of liquids.
And let's not forget that water is the main component of perspiration, a system necessary for regulating body temperature and eliminating toxins.
In addition to being an important part of the body fluids, water is necessary for every cell in our body to function normally.
Is drinking other types of beverages the same as drinking water?
You may be thinking that although you do not get to drink 2 L of water a day, you drink liquid in other types of beverages, even eating fruit, but it is not the same thing.
Some beverages, such as coffee and tea, contain caffeine, have a diuretic effect, and therefore make us dehydrated instead of helping us get the liquid our body needs. In fact, when we drink tea or coffee, we probably need to drink even more water.
Other liquids, such as fruit juices, energy drinks, etc., do not have the same effect as water. They may hydrate us, but they do not cleanse the body in the same way. To give you an idea, imagine washing your hands with orange juice instead of water. Your hands would not stay clean, and the same goes for the inside of your body!
Water is best for cleansing and detoxifying the body, although certain natural juices can help, but in a much slower manner.
The million dollar question, does water make you slim?
Water is very important for preventing dehydration, which can slow down our metabolism. If our metabolism is slower, we will gain weight. Therefore, drinking enough water is also very important to help us lose weight, or at least not gain weight.
However, not only will it help your metabolism, but did you also know that many times when we think we are hungry, we are thirsty? So, always make sure you have consumed enough water before eating, and between meals. If you suddenly become hungry, you can skip it by drinking water.
Should you only drink when you feel thirsty?
In general, it is good to consume water before you start feeling thirsty because once you feel thirsty, it means that your body is already at a certain level of dehydration. In other words, don't be overconfident, the sensation of thirst comes when it is too late.
Can water help me lose weight?
Some studies indicate that drinking water before each meal can help us lose weight. The fact is that by hydrating before eating, we consume fewer calories!! It's that easy. It doesn't cost us anything to drink a glass of water before we start eating, does it?
To understand why it has such a beneficial effect on our figure, it is because of the amount of toxins released by burning fat.
Toxins from the environment and unhealthy foods usually accumulate in body fat. When we start losing fat by dieting and exercising, all those toxins are released into our body, and we can feel pretty bad. That is why many people, when they start eating healthy, feel headaches or discomfort, and many times they give up thinking that their healthy diet "made them sick", and go back to eating unhealthy foods again, to alleviate those symptoms. That's how they can't lose any more weight, and it starts to creep back on.
If this is your case, hang in there and don't throw in the towel!!
To avoid this, it is very important to try to detoxify the body during weight loss.
One of the most important steps to detoxify the body is to drink enough water, between 6 to 10 glasses a day (depending on our height, age, level of physical activity, and the weather, of course).
Do you find it hard to drink 2L of water a day? Here are some simple tricks to help you achieve it!
- Always keep a bottle handy.
- Drink slowly and in sips.
- Add a little flavor if you don't like water too much.
- Drink water before meals.
- Try to keep the water natural and not too cold.
Of course, there are many other advantages of drinking water, but for now remember that it is vital for:
- detoxify your body
- avoid dehydration
- and as a weight loss aid
So, try to drink water EVERY DAY, and reach for water before any other beverage to relieve your thirst.
