Drinking water and health benefits: How much should you drink every day?

Yes, it’s true that the amount of water that you consume everyday can have a big impact on your health. While water is essential to good health, the need by each individual may vary depending upon several factors, including your health, body size, how active you are, etc.

The fact that every system in your body depends on water, drinking sufficient amount of it can help cure all sorts of ills. But, sadly, many people don’t just drink enough of it. Not drinking enough of water can result in dehydration characterised by dry skin, headache, dizziness and even fainting.

Health beneefits of drinking water

Here are some health benefits of drinking water:  

Aids digestion

Water has a host of health benefits, including improving the digestive system. It softens stool thereby making it easy to pass and preventing constipation.

Treats headaches

As per a study published in the European Journal of Neurology, increasing water intake can help reduce the total number of hours and intensity of headaches in patients. Dehydration often leads to headaches and migraines.

Detoxifies body

Water helps flush out toxins from the body and waste products in the form of sweat and urine. The problem is that if you don’t drink enough water, your kidneys won’t have sufficient fluid to function properly, and your body holds on to toxins instead of flushing metabolic waste through the bladder.

Good for skin

Water keeps your skin hydrated, look healthy and young by preventing wrinkles and clearing the complexion. By flushing out toxins from your system, water prevents acne and breakouts and thus helps to keep your face fresh and clear.

 Improves mood

Water is essential not only for your physical health, but for your mental health too. When your body lacks the water that it requires to function, it can negatively affect your mood and ability to think as well. Studies have shown that drinking plenty of water improves your mood. In fact, even a mild hydration can cause your moods to swing.

But how much?

Drinking enough water is important, but over consumption of water could potentially be fatal, leading to a condition called hyponatremia, also known as water intoxication.

As per medical research centre the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, men should be drinking 13 cups of water a day on average, while women could aim for nine.

But if you work out regularly, your requirement of water intake would increase as you need to replace the lost fluids through sweat simultaneously.

Your diet also plays an important in helping to keep you hydrated. Hence, focusing on foods that are high in water content, such as watermelon, cucumber and celery, can help you meet your water requirement as well as flush out toxins in your body.