New Year, New You!

New Year, New You!

January is the time of year when people decide to get healthy.  Whether they stick to resolutions long term or short term water can help!

Staying hydrated when you are trying to get healthy, lose weight, or just, in general, is your healthiest option.  During the day your body loses about 8 cups of water.  This is why doctors recommend drinking 8 cups of water a day.  If you are actively trying to lose weight you probably shed a little more than 8 cups of water a day so you should be drinking more water during the day.

Doctors also recommend drinking more water when you are trying to lose weight because it can keep you from drinking other, less healthy beverage options.  Drinking two 8-ounce glasses of water before breakfast, lunch, and dinner while also cutting back on portions may help you lose weight and keep it off for at least a year, according to research presented today at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, in Boston.  Drinking water before your meals allows you to fill your stomach partially with water making you fuller faster!

Need more reasons to drink more water? Here are some more health benefits:

1. Drinking water helps maintain your balance of bodily fluids.

Your body is composed of about 60% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, the creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature. When you are running low on hydration, your brain sends a message saying you are thirsty.  To quench that thirst it is recommended to drink anything but alcohol, water will just quench your thirst faster.

2. Water helps energize muscles

Muscle fatigue occurs when cells don’t maintain a proper level of fluids and that means that your muscles don’t work as well as they should.  Keep your electrolytes intact and keep your muscles hydrated!

3. Water keeps your skin looking great!

When you are under-hydrated your skin can look dried and wrinkly.  Properly hydration it can fix that!  But don’t go too crazy, once your skin cells are properly hydrated your kidneys will take over and excrete extra fluids.  This means water is not the fountain of youth, however, it can reduce the number of dehydration wrinkles!

4. Speaking of kidneys, water can help your kidneys stay healthy!

Your kidneys are constantly cleaning toxins out of your system. Most of which are water soluble, if you keep the hydration level up it helps your kidneys break down these toxins.  If you don’t it can lead to kidney stone (especially in warm climates) and can have an unpleasant odor.

Water is your best form of hydration so drink more water!