Why is Water Essential for a Healthy Body?

If your body had a secret superhero, tirelessly working behind the scenes to keep you at your best, it has to be water, the unsung hero of hydration and health. This crystal-clear liquid is more than just a thirst-quencher; it's a vital force that powers every cell, tissue, and organ in your body. From energising your muscles to flushing out toxins and giving your skin that healthy glow, water is the ultimate multitasker and the best thing for dehydration. So, let’s take a dip into the world of hydration and discover why sipping on H2O is the simplest yet most powerful way to boost your well-being.

What is the Relation between Hydration and Health?

The first step to maintaining a healthy body is to ensure adequate hydration. Maintaining hydration works like a magic wand to cure several health issues stemming from bad metabolism, lack of energy, lost appetite, and more. Despite being a simple step, people often ignore or undermine the benefits of being hydrated.

Have you ever kept track of the amount of water or hydrating drinks you take in a day? If the question raises guilt, you have landed just at the right place. In this article, we will explore the relationship between hydration and health, focusing on the importance and benefits of staying hydrated while also exploring drinks for dehydration.

Exploring the Benefits of Hydration

Every cell and organ in a human’s body needs liquid to function properly. A human body's capacity to absorb liquid is known as hydration. Let’s explore the everyday benefits to staying hydrated:

1. Improved Metabolism

Hydration is the key to enhanced metabolism. It helps break down fat without increasing the sugar level. Drinking adequate water can help you digest your food smoothly, thus aiding fat loss and improving appetite.

2. Better Physical Performance

Do you also feel drained after walking a few steps or have you felt lethargy kicking in every time you have had a sweaty day at the field? Well, the solution lies in hydration. Maintaining an adequate amount of water in your body is the first step towards better physical performance.

3. Brightens the Skin

You must have already heard about the magical impacts of hydration on your skin. Water and hydrating drink intake repairs the skin cells faster helping you achieve clear and youthful skin.

Hydration and Health: Let’s Look Through a Scientific Lens

While you must already know the benefits of hydration for your body, a little scientific evidence makes the case stronger for hydration and ensures that there are never any side effects of hydration. There are thousands of studies and research showing the magical impacts of hydration and how it is directly linked to your health, so let’s look at hydration and health through a scientific lens:

1. Affects Energy Levels and Brain Function

Hydration greatly affects the human brain. Studies prove that a dehydrated body impacts brain and mood function. That feeling of impaired mood and concentration after a tough session at the gym is linked to a minute percentage of fluid loss. Even a 1-3% fluid loss can impact your energy level, mood, and brain concentration, making water and juices the best drink for dehydration in adults.

2. Treat Constipation and Several Other Diseases

Constipation is a common issue faced by many that stems fundamentally from a bad bowel movement. Drinking enough water or hydrating drinks eases bowel movements and thus helps treat constipation. Additionally, an adequate intake of water helps urine pass through the kidney smoothly, resulting in a reduced chance of kidney stones and related diseases. Pregnancy and dehydration also go hand-in-hand and can be cured with adequate water intake.

3. Regulates your Body Temperature

Every time you run, walk or perform any exhilarating physical activity, your body temperature fluctuates. Taking water after a physical activity ensures regulation of your body temperature stopping it from reaching a higher level making it the best drink to drink when dehydrated. The simple science behind this because your body is meant to lose plasma and electrolytes that can be replenished with enough water intake. In addition, it is advised to change your water intake depending on how much you sweat to keep your body hydrated. Make sure to find the best juice for dehydration prevention this summer.

4. Ensures Better Nutrient Absorption

Let’s say that you are eating all the right food and cutting down on junk with the hope of achieving a healthier body. But is the nutrient reaching your body’s cells and organs? Water is the key factor to ensure better nutrient absorption. While breaking down nutrients and vitamins, water also helps in dissolving them to ensure that they reach the right place and get absorbed.

5. Helps Fight Off Illness

Drinking enough water or taking hydrating drinks can prevent and fight off several medical conditions including:

• Constipation
• Kidney stones
• Urinary tract infection
• Hypertension
• Pregnancy dehydration

Note: If you have severe medical conditions, consult your doctor to get accurate treatment and understand what is good for dehydration. When you have a reliable health insurance plan like Care Health Insurance, dealing with a medical emergency at home becomes simpler.

>> Also Read: What is the Ideal Water Consumption Per Day for a Human Body?

Tips to Maintain Adequate Hydration

Despite zillions of advice to drink enough water and keep your body hydrated, you might not be drinking enough water or stuck with what to drink for dehydration. The idea behind ensuring adequate hydration is to make it accessible and fun. Take a look at these practical tips to keep your body hydrated:

• Don’t wait till you are thirsty to drink.
• Add flavours to your water with lemons, cucumber and berries to make the best drink for dehydration. 
• Water is not your only source of hydration, so make sure to explore the best drink for dehydration besides water, such as watermelon and coconut water. 
• If you are wondering what to eat if dehydrated, eat water-rich fruits like melons, berries and peaches.
• Keep a bottle handy to avoid dehydration just because you are feeling lazy.
• Keep track of your daily water intake. Get yourself hydration-level bottles, as they are both fun and efficient. 
• Avoid dehydration from drinking carbonated drinks and focus on natural juices.

How Much Water Do You Need?

How to check the difference between being dehydrated and hydrated? Contrary to popular belief, there isn’t a set measurement of water that a human body needs. Your body’s need for water is going to be different from that of a kid or an athlete who is sweating all day long in the sun and is facing dehydration in summer.

The classic 8 glasses of water a day or calculating your body’s weight to get the exact litres of water you need, despite being popular, lacks solid scientific evidence. Then how do you ensure that your body is getting enough water? Follow the simple rule of drinking water throughout the day with fluctuations depending on how much you sweat. Water needs vary with age, gender and physical activity. You can simply rely on your body’s call for water to understand the adequate measurement.

Summing Up

A well-hydrated body is your first and most crucial step to ensuring a healthy body. While the classic "drink more water" advice might sound dull, benefits of staying hydrated are worth it. You can make hydration fun by following the above-mentioned tips and tracking the changes in your body when you are hydrated. Remember that water is the best drink when dehydrated but not your only source of hydration so explore more on what helps with dehydration. Include fruits and flavoured drinks to amp up everyday hydration. The idea is to make hydration a lifestyle not just a goal to achieve.

For positive impacts on maintaining a healthy body and mind it is wise to create a safety net to meet any medical emergency. Get yourself a health insurance plan from Care Health Insurance to ensure affordable body check-ups and quality healthcare.

Disclaimers: All plan features, benefits, coverage, and claims underwriting are subject to policy terms and conditions. Kindly refer to the brochure, sales prospectus, and policy documents carefully.