12 Compelling Reasons Why Everyone Needs Clean Drinking Water. Why Clean Water Is So Important.
Water is life. Perhaps a good proof of this is that our bodies are made up of 60% of this colorless and tasteless yet very precious commodity. While an average person can survive up to 3 weeks without food (case in point: Mahatma Gandhi), surviving over 4 days without clean water is barely impossible.
The body is constantly losing water through sweating, exhaling, and with every visit to the bathroom. In extreme conditions, human beings have been found to lose up to 1.5 liters of water per hour. If the lost water isn’t replenished timely, the body fluids could drop to dangerous levels very quickly leading to dehydration and even death.
In the next few minutes, let’s explore the reasons why it’s so important to consume clean water and why you might want to add the best water cooler to your home or office soon.
Top Reasons To Consume Clean Water
1. Vital For Cell Life
The cell is the basic structure of all living things. Life is pretty much precise coordination of processes and functions that are fulfilled by trillions of cells. Importantly, The cell is the basic structure of all living things. Life is pretty much precise coordination of processes and functions that are fulfilled by trillions of cells. Importantly, water is at the center of cell life and that’s to say that the cells can’t survive without enough water. This is because the cells need water to take in nutrients and perform intracellular transportation and signaling. and that’s to say that the cells can’t survive without enough water. This is because the cells need water to take in nutrients and perform intracellular transportation and signaling.
2. It’s A Delivery System
The body is a complex system that constantly involves the movement of ‘things’ between cells and organs. Water is the main constituent of blood and it acts as a delivery system. For instance, water is of paramount importance in the entire digestive process right from the mouth.
It’s water that makes the secretion and movement of salivary amylase (that breaks down starches in the mouth) to the absorption of nutrients through the gastrointestinal wall.
3. Vital For Liver Functions
The importance of water in the process of flushing out body waste and toxins can never be underestimated. One of the key roles of water in the liver is to flush out the toxins that accumulate for removal through the skin and bowel.
4. Kidneys Can’t Function Without It
The kidneys play some of the most important functions in the body: regulating osmolarity, regulating extracellular fluid volume, regulating ion concentrations and most importantly excreting wastes and toxins.
The kidneys cannot perform these actions without adequate water in the body. They are actually among the first organs to be affected in case of severe dehydration. In the kidneys, water dissolves the toxins so that they can be passed out easily in the form of urine. It also prevents toxic wastes from building up and clogging the kidneys.
5. It Helps Regulate Blood Pressure
The importance of water in the body goes way beyond simply quenching your thirst. Several studies have proven that water plays an important role in regulating blood pressure. In one of such studies, the researchers noted that drinking 16 oz of water before donation blood reduced the chances of fainting by 20%.
Drinking enough water regularly affects your blood pressure in 2 ways. First, it assures the body that there is enough supply. Therefore, it does not require to retain sodium which acts as its ‘water-insurance’ mechanism. Retention of high levels of sodium in the blood elevates blood pressure and also affects the kidneys.
Also, not drinking enough water triggers the body to gradually close down some capillary beds. This leads to pressure build-up in the capillaries and arteries that is manifested as high blood pressure.
6. It Regulates Body Temperature
The ability of water to absorb and transfer heat very well makes it a go-to choice for your body in terms of temperature regulation. Water has a considerably higher heat capacity and this allows it to absorb a good amount of heat before its temperature starts rising.
Thanks to this trait, the body uses the water in the cells as a sort of buffer against high temperatures. In addition, the blood which is mainly water moves heat away and toward the vital organs when there’s a need to conserve it.
7. Boosts Your Brain Function
This might surprise you, but your brains heavily depend on proper hydration to do its thing! Your brain cells work on a delicate balance of water and other vital elements. In case this balance is lost by a mere 1-2% due to dehydration, research results have proved that the brain cells lose their efficiency and start going downhill.
Research findings have it that when parched, it becomes a struggle for an individual to maintain attention. Dehydration also impairs short-term and long-term memory as well as performing mental arithmetic.
Mind you, while we don’t lose as much water overnight when we are sleeping, we still lose a good amount of moisture with every somnolent breath. This could explain why health experts recommend drinking water in the morning.
8. Good For Your Breathing
The fact that your lungs need water to function properly is quite counterintuitive. But it makes sense once you understand the importance of this natural elixir in your breathing system.
Your lungs are 85% water and that’s because they need to remain continuously moistened for optimum gaseous exchange. On average, you could lose anywhere between a half to a full liter of water just by breathing out.
In case of dehydration, the hypothalamus signals the body to respond to the need to maintain fluid balance. One way of doing this is by curbing respiratory water loss and it does this by shutting down the capillaries in the lungs. While this is effective at preventing air loss, it has a significant effect on the process of absorbing oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide.
9. Good For Your Skin
Your skin is just like any other organ in your body; liver, lungs, kidneys, heart, and brain. As such, its cells also require a good supply of water at any given time.
Plentiful water consumption has for long been recommended for people who want to maintain healthy and younger-looking skin. Taking lots of water keeps your skin cells radiant thereby giving your texture and complexion a good boost.
In case of an inadequate amount of water, your skin will try to get your attention by turning dry, tight, and flaky.
The skin also plays an important role in the elimination of waste products and toxins from the body. Drinking enough water boosts your metabolism rate and also makes it easy for your skin to let out toxins through sweat.
10. Combats Aging
Most people rarely think about water in terms of its anti-aging effects despite tons of evidence that prove its abilities in maintaining a youthful-looking complexion.
Water is at the center of enhancing optimal skin moisture that is vital for delivering important nutrients around the skin.
Hydrated skin also keeps its cells replenished and this is a superb way of increasing its elasticity. If you are on a beauty regimen, you seriously need to keep your water filter pitcher full.
11. It Can Prevent And Treat Diseases
Recent scientific evidence supports previous findings of the medical benefits of drinking enough water. Experts now agree that by following the 8 x 8 rule, people could prevent and treat certain diseases including:
- Kidney stones - dehydration is the biggest culprit in kidney stone. Fortunately, experts at Mayo Clinic recommend drinking enough water as one way of treating this disease.
- Urinary Tract Infection - drinking lots of water leads to frequent visits to the bathroom. This greatly helps in flushing out most of the harmful bacteria that would otherwise cause infections in your urinary tract.
12. Prevents Constipation
While the exact cause of constipation remains unknown in most cases, it's for sure that the colon absorbs most of the water from the stool thereby making it overly hard.
Constipation can be prevented and dealt with by making changes in diet and lifestyle and by increasing the consumption of water.
What Is "Clean" Water?
At the surface, clean water is water that doesn’t have solid particles, a bad taste, and an unwanted color. But there’s more to that.
While the factors above are among others that are important to consider when determining whether the available water is safe for drinking, you also need to think about other invisible contaminants that could be lurking in your water.
Mind you, it’s not safe to assume that the tap from the municipal is potable. There are lots of ways that contamination could occur while it’s being piped to your home. This gets even more serious especially if you get your water from a well or lake.
It’s always important to have your water tested regularly to detect any viruses and bacteria that may be present. In case there are contaminants, then you might want to invest in an under sink water filter or a countertop water filter if you haven’t yet.
In addition, where possible, always avoid bottled water as these packages are crafted from materials made with lots of chemicals that could easily leech into the water and find their way into your system.
How Much Water Should You Drink?
This is a very simple answer with a lot of conflicting answers. However, one suggestion that most health experts tend to agree to is 8 (8oz) glasses per day. There are a lot of factors that determine the amount of water that the body requires to function properly including how active an individual is and the environment. In addition, if you are sick, expectant, or breastfeeding, you’ll need a higher water intake.
While it’s important to stay hydrated by consuming clean water, the keyword here is ENOUGH - don’t go overboard with it. If you haven’t been taking adequate water and you are just starting, your body will require some time to adjust.
Although rare, drinking a lot of water within a very short period could be dangerous as it results to a sudden drop in the level of sodium in your blood- a condition called hyponatremia. You may also hear it called water intoxication and it can be fatal.
Struggling To Consume The Required Amount Of Water?
It’s normal (and every understandable) to find it hard to drink the doctors’ recommended 8 glasses of water daily. But that does not mean that it is impossible.
There are lots of ways that you could use to ensure that you stay hydrated including:
- Drink water whenever you are thirsty
- Carrying water with you wherever you go
- Having a water cooler in your office or home
- Infuse your drinking water with pieces of fruit or lemon to enhance its flavor
- You could also eat fruits and vegetables that have high water content