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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – We all heard about how important water is to our survival. Despite this, only a few of us actually think about how much water we drink on a daily basis. Even a smaller number of people consider what kind of water they’re drinking.
The modern lifestyle is fast-paced, complicated, and overwhelming at times. In all of this commotion, people lose track of what’s essential. We forget about our basic needs and how much they actually affect the quality of our lives and overall health.
In fact, most adults today don’t drink enough water. With this post, we want to remind you just how important water is and hopefully convince you to change a couple of habits that will affect your health positively.
Water helps us remove waste and move nutrients
Our bodies are 60% water, including blood vessels, tissues, and organs. We get all kinds of nutrients from foods into our system, but water is in charge of transporting them throughout the body. Over 80% of our blood is water. Through it, we move nutrients and oxygen through the system.
When we drink enough clean water, our body gets the right “distribution” of important nutrients. At the same time, we use water to remove waste and toxins through our urine and sweat.
Water = energy
Lack of water can make us feel exhausted, sluggish, and completely lethargic, especially when we’re hungover. Our sense of thirst is there for a reason, and it’s there to remind us that we need to drink it. That’s because water gives us the energy we need to use our muscles.
When dehydrated, we can lose muscle mass and feel fatigued. This is especially important if you’re working out or doing a physically demanding job. Your muscles won’t be able to work normally without water.
Kidneys need water
To put it bluntly, our kidneys are basically filters in our bodies. They remove all the harmful toxins and let them out through urine. But for this filtration process to work properly, we need to drink a lot of water.
Without proper hydration, more urine gets stored in our kidneys, and they have to work extra hard to get rid of all the toxins. On top of that, uric acid, oxalate, and calcium need to be diluted with water, or they will start forming crystals that can lead to kidney stones.
But kidney stones can form even if you hydrate regularly if you are drinking hard water. The only way to deal with this issue is to use a water filter in your home to soften your water. This is how reverse osmosis works along with several other filtration systems.
Lack of water leads to constipation
The whole digestion process depends on water. The digestive juice in your stomach is made out of water. Their purpose is to break down the food and get all the nutrients you need. But without enough digestive juice, your body is forced to draw water from the colon.
A dry colon is one of the most common reasons for constipation. Many people wonder why they get constipated, but the answer is actually quite simple – water.
Water regulates body temperature
One of the main reasons we should drink a lot of water during warm days is to cool down. Our bodies have temperature control mechanisms that trigger the release of salt and water through the skin to cool off. This happens when we are feeling hot.
But did you know that water also helps keep us warm? When our body notices that we are cold, it actually contracts our blood vessels to keep us warm.
Is our water supply actually clean?
Even if you drink water regularly, it doesn’t mean that you are getting quality water. Lots of cities have problems with water. Some of the most common issues include:
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Hard water
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Bacteria and parasites
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Chemical contaminants
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Drug pollutants
The regulation of water supply systems is often not as extensive as you might think. Agencies that test water supplies mark them as safe, but this doesn’t mean they aren’t contaminated. Drinking mildly polluted water over a long period of time can still lead to health problems. Some of the common symptoms of this kind of exposure are:
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Stomach cramps
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Stomach pain
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Constipation
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Nausea
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Diarrhea
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Kidney stones
Conclusion
If you truly value your health, make sure to drink at least 2 liters of water daily. Additionally, get your water supply tested by a private company to see if it’s healthy. If not, consider drinking bottled water or installing a water filtration system.