BENEFITS OF HYDRATION
HELPS BUILD MUSCLE
Water is needed to transport nutrients to your cells and transport waste out of the body. Water helps form the structures of protein and glycogen.
In order to move and flex your muscles, you need water.
If your body is dehydrated, your muscles will be deprived of electrolytes and cramp. Since muscles are controlled by nerves, without the proper water and electrolyte balance, muscle strength and control will also be impaired.
It is essential that you stay hydrated if you want to build muscle and experience optimal performance in the gym.
INCREASES MUSCLE TONE
Muscles are made primarily of water. Dehydration can prevent muscles from properly contracting, reducing muscle tone.
Increasing water intake will help prevent muscle cramping, improve the strength of muscle contractions and quicken muscle response.
Preventing dehydration will also help prevent sagging skin, since water will fill out the muscles, resulting in clear, healthy, and resilient skin.
The cartilage is a connective tissue that lines the surface of the joints and acts as a cushion between the bones, absorbing shock and easing friction.
Cartilage is kept lubricated by a gel-like liquid known as synovial fluid, which is formed by glycosaminoglycan bonding with sulphur compounds.
Joint pain usually occurs when the cartilage has been weakened or damaged, which then leads to typical symptoms such as inflammation, pain and stiffness.
Since approximately 60% of joint cartilage is made from water, it is critical that we keep hydrated during periods of joint damage, otherwise our production of synovial fluid will be reduced and we increase our risk of friction pain and cartilage deterioration.
Another way that drinking water boosts the immune system is through the production of lymph.
This fluid runs throughout the human body, with a very simple job – collecting bacteria from the body and transporting it to the lymph nodes, where that bacteria is destroyed like the unwelcome and unhelpful parasite that it is.
If your skin is not getting the sufficient amount of water, the lack of hydration will present itself by turning your skin dry, tight and flaky. Dry skin has less resilience and is more prone to wrinkling.
As water is lost in large quantities every day, you need to replace it somehow. The unfortunate truth about drinking water and skin is that water will reach all the other organs before it reaches the skin.
So, it's important to apply water to our skin and keep it there - this will not only show a visible difference in hydration, but it can prevent wrinkles, as well.
Your brain needs a lot of oxygen to function at optimum levels, so drinking plenty of water ensures that it’s getting all it needs.
In fact, drinking eight to 10 cups of water per day can improve your levels of cognitive performance by as much as 30 percent.
Dehydration is the single most common cause of daytime fatigue, so if your afternoon slump is more like a desperate need for an afternoon nap, guzzle a glass of water.
It can also make you better at your job, or at least prevent you from being bad at a it—just a two percent dehydration level can trigger short-term memory problems and difficulty focusing on a computer screen or printed page
Drinking More Water Helps You Consume Less Calories
It also helps to flush your system out.
It also reduces fluid retention and decreases the appetite.
In fact, people often mistake thirst for hunger, so if you feel like a snack, try first drinking a glass of water. Very often, this satisfies the craving and stops you reaching for calories you don’t need.
Drinking water can boost your body’s ability to burn fat. Studies shows that drinking water (about 17oz) increases metabolic rate by 30 percent in healthy men and women.
The boost occurred within 10 minutes but reached a maximum 30-40 minutes after drinking.
Studies also suggest that drinking one or two glasses of water before a meal can fill you up so you naturally eat less.
Without adequate hydration, bodies can experience more muscle soreness, the need for longer recovery times and less desire to push oneself
As little as 3 percent or more loss of body weight due to dehydration can cause as much as a 10 percent drop in performance level.
Symptoms of dehydration include thirst, dry mouth, weakness, dizziness, confusion and lethargy.
When dehydrated, the fluid loss causes a drop in blood volume, which makes the heart work harder to push oxygen and nutrients through the bloodstream to the brain, skin, and muscles
Dehydration can leave you feeling drained and fatigued.
You don't necessarily have to follow the "eight glasses a day" rule, but you do want to drink enough water to keep your body well hydrated.
Your kidneys need water to filter waste from the blood and excrete it in urine.
Keeping hydrated may also help prevent urinary tract infections and kidney stones.
If you are severely dehydrated, your kidneys may stop working, causing toxins to build up in your body.
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