Benefits of Drinking Water
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This past week I was struggling with fatigue. All these anxious thoughts were circling through my mind. Was it something I ate? My husband said, “It can’t be something you ate. You eat healthy.” He was right. It couldn’t be that.
Did I get enough sleep? Sure, there are nights I burn the midnight oil on the computer. I need to watch that. But even after eight hours of sleep and a nap, I didn’t feel much better.
Is it this awful, humid heat we are experiencing lately? The beginning of summer this year was wet and cool but now it’s in the eighties and nineties with high humidity. I never suffered so much with the heat though. In fact, I always pictured myself retiring in some hot climate.
Am I going through menopause? I called my sister who is twelve years older to ask her what the symptoms of menopause are. Nope. I’m not there yet.
Do I have cancer? Wouldn’t that be awful? Cancer is such a scary word. Whenever something in my health goes wrong I wonder, “Is it cancer?!”
What was it?!
In my quest to find the cause of my fatigue, I suddenly recalled a time in the past when I drank water and felt my crankiness and fatigue dissipate. An “ah ha” occurred. I downed two glasses of water and like a drooping plant given water, I began to perk up.
How could something so easy have slipped my mind? Well, I don’t really love drinking water. But if it’s what I need to do, then so be it. I much rather feel energetic than fatigued!
The conventional recommendation is to drink at least eight glasses of water a day. In the summer heat, we may need more. If your urine is a very light yellow tint, then you are drinking enough water. If it is dark yellow then you are probably not drinking enough water.
In the book, Your Body’s Many Cries for Water, by Fereydoon Batmanghelidj you can read all about the tremendous benefits of water. Here are some more important ways water benefits us.
Water:
o hydrates internal organs, enabling them to function properly.
o helps prevent hangovers and headaches. Drinking alcohol causes dehydration which then causes hangovers.
o facilitates fat loss.
o curbs your appetite which helps people who are looking to lose fat.
o flushes toxins and other waste from the body.
o helps prevent constipation. When you don’t drink enough water, your body is forced to take it from other organs like the colon which then leads to constipation.
o keeps skin healthy and glowing.
o keeps the immune system healthy. It reduces your risk of disease and infection.
o regulates appetite. People often mistake thirst and hunger, and eat when their bodies are actually craving fluid.
o maintains acid-alkaline balance.
o cushions and lubes your joints and muscles.
So, take water wherever you go. Add a squeeze of lemon or lime for flavor or add ice cubes and a straw to make it more fun to drink. Whatever you do, make sure you drink it. That way you can prevent a whole host of medical issues brought on by dehydration or uncomfortable feelings like the puzzling fatigue I described. It’s definitely worth it.