Healthy Selves: Water

I’ve decided to start the Healthy Selves series inspired by the Monday night blogger chat. If you follow me on twitter (@blonde_vision), you’ll know I started a nutrition course back in May so I wanted to use everything I’m learning in that, plus a bit of extra reading to put together this series which will cover a variety of health and nutrition topics.

I know I’m ridiculously guilty of not drinking enough water everyday so I thought it would be helpful to put this list together of benefits of water to keep reminding us all to drink up!

Although the authenticity and scientific reasoning behind drinking 8 glasses of water a day has been debated throughout the press recently, there’s no denying that drinking a good amount of water everyday has numerous health benefits.

1. Drinking water helps maintain the balance of your bodily fluids
   Your body is made up of approximately 60% water, which is needed for digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients and the maintenance of your body temperature
2. Stay slimmer with water!We all know, but I think sometimes we all forget that water has no calories whatsoever. Choosing water over a fizzy drink or coffee is an easy way to reduce your daily calories without really thinking about it! Water also revs up your metabolism and helps you feel full, especially if it’s icy cold as your body will work harder to warm the water up. Drink a glass of water before meals to help you feel fuller
3. Water-rich foods tend to be healthyFoods with a higher water content are absorbed into the body more slowly which help you to feel full. Water-rich foods include fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, oatmeal and beans
4. Water boosts your energyIt’s a known fact that dehydration makes you feel tired so always keep water handy. The right amount of water will help your heat pump blood more effectively, and also helps transport oxygen and other essential nutrients to your cells. Your brain is made up of approximately 70-80% water which means drinking will help you think, focus and concentrate better as well as boosting your energy at the same time
5. Water helps to energize musclesDrinking enough fluids is important when exercising. When muscle cells don’t have adequate fluids, they don’t work as well and performance can suffer. Cells that don’t maintain their balance of fluids can result in muscle fatigue. Drinking water also helps muscle cramping and lubricates joints in the body; when you’re well hydrated you can exercise longer and stronger
6. Water helps keep skin looking goodProbably most important for us beauty bloggers! Dehydration makes skin look more dry and wrinkled which can be improved by proper hydration – not that being over hydrated is going to get rid of wrinkles unfortunately ladies, but it will help skin look more healthy. Water flushes out impurities and improves circulation and blood flow helping your skin to glow

The exact amount of water you need depends on your size, level of activity, general health, the water and so many more factors so the ‘8 glasses a day’ is merely a general guideline. Listen to your body and make sure you drink plenty – it won't do any harm! 

My next Healthy Selves post will be on ‘how to up your water intake’ so for those (like me) who definitely don’t drink enough, check back soon!