Drinking adequate quality water is a fundamental building block to living your best life. Our bodies consist of up to 60% water when adequately hydrated. To achieve optimal water intake, AgeWellMD uses the 8×8 rule, which states we should drink eight 8-ounce glasses daily. Dehydration causes our body’s physical performance and mood to be adversely impacted. For example, dehydration can cause symptoms like brain fog, fatigue, mood swings, and dizziness. Dehydration is influenced by various factors such as environment, physical strain, and diet. Our bodies consistently lose water from things like urination and sweat. More water is depleted in hotter and drier climates, so continually replenishing the water in your body is essential to maintaining good health. Proper hydration is the foundation for peak performance and significant mental and emotional well-being.7 Health Benefits of Water:
Curb fatigue and improve brain function:
Because a lack of water can affect our physical and mental energy levels, staying hydrated equips our body systems to improve alertness. Even mild dehydration can cause individuals to feel sluggish and less responsive. Also, dehydration contributes to increased stress and decreased cognitive ability. By making sure you drink minimally 64 oz each day, you help lower stress levels and improve your overall brain function.
Promote weight loss:
Drinking plenty of water throughout the day can increase your metabolic rate and decrease hunger cravings. Consuming colder water makes your body expend more calories to heat it to body temperature. Moreover, drinking water before eating may help achieve satiety or feeling fuller earlier, thus potentially resulting in lower caloric intake.
Improve athletic performance:
The body compensates for water lost through sweating when we exercise by causing us to feel thirsty. Drinking an adequate amount of water before a workout can increase exercise endurance, reduce muscle cramps, and lubricate the joints.
Treating and relieving headaches:
Dehydration can trigger headaches and even migraines. Drinking water can reduce it’s duration and intensity and can also eliminate the issue in some individuals. Preventing dehydration is the best defense against dehydration headaches.
Promoting healthy skin:
Water can help to maximize blood flow to your skin, giving a fuller and glowing effect. Drinking an adequate amount every day also allows toxins to be flushed from the skin, helping to reduce acne and hyperpigmentation.
Supporting digestion:
Water can dilute waste and eliminate toxins from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and kidneys. When your body isn’t getting plenty of fluids, it conserves the water in your body, which can cause bloating and constipation.
Supporting kidney health and preventing kidney stones
Drinking plenty of water can dilute the salts and minerals in your system, reducing the concentration of minerals in the kidneys, and helping to prevent the formation of kidney stones, a painful condition. A good rule of thumb for optimal kidney filtration and adequate hydration is making sure your urine is a pale-yellow color. Any color darker could indicate dehydration.
The amount of water an individual should be drinking is highly subjective, but a good gauge to start with is the following the “8X8 rule” aforementioned — eight 8-ounce glasses per day. More importantly, listen to your body and recognize the signs of dehydration, which include: fatigue, lack of alertness, decreased physical performance, muscle cramps, headaches, skin conditions, constipation, and kidney stones.
At AgeWellMD, we understand the foundational importance of balanced pH hydration. We combine our proprietary approach to nutrition, hormonal homeostasis, detoxification, and PRP toward a more vibrant, ageless life free from immunodeficiencies and joint inflammations. Try Dr. Hope’s Kangen water therapies and see how AgeWellMD can help you live a healthier and more ache-free life.