1. Healthy Skin. Proper hydration is essential for healthy, younger-looking skin. Drinking water helps to give your skin the moisture it needs to maintain elasticity and suppleness and to prevent dryness. The body also relies on water to detoxify properly, allowing yourself to look and feel your best. Avoid dehydrating foods and beverages such as caffeine (cola, chocolate, coffee, tea) and alcohol. For more information on healthy skin, see March Beauty Makeover Part 2: Nutrition for Skin.
2. Optimal Body Function. The body depends on water for survival. This vital nutrient is involved in every aspect of the body’s functions, including digestion and excretion, as well as absorption of important nutrients. Water is responsible for maintaining normal body temperature, maintaining a normal acid/alkali environment in our system and for carrying waste material from the body. If we don’t get enough water, our bodies won’t function at an optimal level and we may not look or feel our best.
3. Weight Loss. Drinking adequate amounts of water helps with weight loss in a few ways. Firstly, water helps to keep your body functioning at an optimal level, allowing all your systems, such as digestion and absorption, to work properly. Secondly, including foods in your diet with high-water content, such as fruits, vegetables, soups and shakes helps with weight loss by increasing satiety and fullness. High-water volume foods appear larger, provide greater oral stimulation, take longer to absorb and last longer in the stomach. Click here for a list of foods with high-water content. Thirdly, staying properly hydrated gives you the energy you need to exercise.
