Cheap Beauty Tip of the Week: Drink Water
Drinking water does a lot of awesome things for your body. Water prevents our bodies from getting dehydrated. Water can reduce the pain a hangover can cause. Water helps the cells in our body function. Water can act as an appetite suppressant if you’re into the whole weight management thing. Water is also cheap to drink.
I’ve read countless articles over the years stating that the average person should aim to drink 64 ounces of water a day. That equals out to be eight, eight-ounce glasses of water. That also equals out to a whole lot of trips to the restroom.
Drinking water is good for you because it’s healthy. Water is especially easy on the wallet when you opt for the tap stuff or fill up your water bottle at the cooler at work. Is it really necessary to drink a whole 64 ounces of water everyday in order to maintain a clean bill of health? One thing people don’t take into consideration when it comes to this whole daily water-guzzling phenomenon is the water we naturally get from our diet. Consuming things mostly made of water like fruits, vegetables, soup, tea and coffee all count towards your required daily water intake. Even having a beer or a cocktail can count towards your daily water quota. Just keep in mind that caffeine and alcohol in large doses can dehydrate the body so you’ll want to enjoy the adult beverages in moderation.
The body is 60-70% water. Your body needs water to function properly. Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, a kidney expert at the University of Pennsylvania believes that when it comes to water consumption, more is not necessarily healthier. You can die from consuming too much water. Kidneys filter toxins. Toxins clear through urine. If there is a large quantity of water in the body, it can reduce the kidney’s ability to function as a filter therefore leading to “water intoxication.”
According to the Scientific American, there is no scientific proof that drinking 64 ounces of water a day or more provides a healthy benefit to the body. Heinz Valtin, a retired professor of physiology from Dartmouth Medical School says that the only people who truly benefit from drinking large amounts of water a day are people who suffer from kidney stones, urinary tract infections, people who perform strenuous activity, endure long airplane flights or are in a hot weather climate.
Some believe that drinking large quantities of water will also help clear out the toxins from your skin, therefore clearing your skin from any blemishes or future breakouts. In Dr. Stanley Goldfarb’s full editorial, which was published in the April 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, said that the only thing drinking water does for the skin is increase capillary blood flow. Drinking water will certainly help to hydrate the inside of the body, but there’s no proof that drinking excessive amounts of water will hydrate the skin. Even though the skin is the largest organ of the body, it’s the last place to receive any sort of hydrating benefits from ingesting water. The best way to hydrate the skin is to apply products topically.
There’s also the popular belief that the more water a person drinks, the more weight they will lose. “Water is a great strategy for dieters because it has no calories,” says Madeline Fernstrom of the University of Pittsburgh. “So you can keep your mouth busy without food and get the sense of satisfaction.” A person cannot drink their way to a skinnier self. Drinking water only works, in terms of weight loss, when a person chooses to drink water instead of a caloric beverage.
When it comes down to it, water is very good for you. There are natural ways of maintaining a healthy level of water in your system without drowning yourself. There is no magic amount of water you have to drink per day. Just keep in mind the old saying “everything in moderation.” Too much of a good thing can be dangerous and sometimes even lethal. My advice to you: drink water when you’re thirsty because it’s cheap and healthy.
Image Courtesy of Cate Gillon/Getty
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