DRINKING WATER FOR HEALTH by What's the Dish?

Drinking water for health

Water, is the most essential, next to air, to our survival.
Water makes up more than two thirds of the weight of the human body, and without it, humans would die in a few days. The human brain is made up of 95% water; blood is 82% and lungs 90%. A mere 2% drop in our body's water supply can trigger signs of dehydration
In addition to the daily maintenance of our bodies, water also plays a key role in the prevention of disease. Drinking eight glasses of water daily can decrease the risk of colon cancer, bladder cancer and it can potentially even reduce the risk of breast cancer.
If you're not drinking enough, your body may retain water to compensate. Paradoxically, fluid retention can sometimes be eliminated by drinking more water, not less.

How Much Water Do You Need to Drink?
A good estimate is to take your body weight in pounds and divide that number in half. That gives you the number of ounces of water per day that you need to drink. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds, you should drink at least 80 ounces of water per day. If you exercise you should drink another eight ounce glass of water for every 20 minutes you are active.
Try to avoid drinks like soda pop, lemonade, fruit drinks, coffee and tea
Some benefits of increasing water in your daily diet
· Hydrated skin cells
· More efficient digestion
· Reduced hunger between meals
· More energy and an improved mood
· Increased ability of muscles to burn fat
· Increased removal of toxins
· Reduced chance of constipation
· Water forms the fluids that surround the joints.
· Water regulates the body temperature, as the cooling and heating is distributed through perspiration.

Your water intake should be spread throughout the day and evening. You may wonder: If I drink this much, won't I constantly be running to the bathroom? Yes. But after a few weeks, your bladder tends to adjust and you need to empty your bladder less frequently but in larger amounts. Now remember, don’t let your bladder stay full for a long period of time. I use to think as a young child “hey I can hold it; the bladder is like a muscle. No pain no gain, right? The more I hold it in the stronger the bladder gets.” Wrong! Oh how youth comes with stupidity. If you don’t take time to regularly empty your bladder, your bladder walls actually stretch, become thin and weaken. Your bladder may even begin to fold over to make you feel like you need to empty your bladder more often.