Drink More Water: Lose Weight and Look Younger

People tend to assume that complex problems must have complex—and expensive—solutions.  However, it often happens that simple solutions are more effective, or are necessary in order for more complicated measures to work properly.  Such is the case with the linked problems of aging and excess body weight.  People who wish to look younger and slimmer sometimes resort to means like surgery or costly creams with exotic ingredients.  These measures can be effective, but they are also very risky.  Surgeries can be botched, or even prove fatal through grave medical malpractice.  Even if your body suffers no ill effects, plain ineffectiveness can be counted as a major risk because of the considerable expense involved.  In these economically troubled times, it makes sense to play safe with your hard-earned money.  The good news is that there are some simple yet very effective ways to address weight and aging, and one of them is to make sure your body stays well hydrated.

It is very common knowledge that water is essential to flushing out toxins and detoxing your body.  This is why a hydrated body looks more youthful: bad skin can be a sign of toxic build-up.  Drinking too little water can make your skin dry and dull.  Also, since water is important for carrying chemical messages around your body, chronic dehydration can make you feel sluggish and unresponsive—older than your age, in other words.

Now for the link between hydration and weight:  Thirst and dehydration sometimes manifest themselves as feelings of hunger.  Therefore, we often eat more when what our bodies really need is more water.  Next time you get a sudden desire to eat, despite having eaten a good meal not long before, trying drinking water instead of reaching for a snack.

Unfortunately, many people find water ‘boring,” and quench their thirst with alternatives like soda or iced coffee.  These other drinks may make you feel refreshed for a while, but their other effects should make you think twice about drinking them too often.  Consuming a lot of sugary soda regularly is linked to long term weight gain.  Coffee acts as a diuretic, causing you to urinate more, and thus dehydrating you—the opposite of what a thirst-quencher is supposed to do.  In other words, there really is no substitute for good, old H2O.  Of course, this does not mean that you have no choice but to force yourself to gulp down lots of plain water.  You can make water more flavorful by adding healthy ingredients such as a slice of lemon, a little pandan juice, or a few mint leaves.  These flavoring agents can keep you coming back to your pitcher again and again.

To add more specificity to this article, readers are also advised to be careful about the sort of water they drink.  Distilled water may be attractive for its purity, but it is precisely this quality that can make it a health liability.  Very pure water can, through the process of diffusion, attract important nutrients and minerals in your body.  These substances can then be leached out of your system as you sweat and urinate.  Therefore, drinking only distilled water, especially when you are very tired and thirsty, may make you feel even more drained.  Mineral water or electrolyte-rich products like Pocari Sweat have the advantage of not bringing about this effect.



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12 thoughts on “Drink More Water: Lose Weight and Look Younger

  1. . Is there a limit to how much water you can only take in a day? How do I know that I’ve had enough or way too much?

  2. Water is magical indeed. Keeping yourself hydrated can make your skin look plump and smooth. It can also make your mind sharp. It can do a lot of things other than merely quenching your thirst. That’s why I have leveled up my intake! I drink as much as I can in a day. Thanks to this article, I’ve found more reasons to choose water.

  3. We have heard about all those advice that we should drink more water everyday. But how much is too much? When athletes sweat a lot and then load up on bottles and bottles of plain water to try to compensate for their sweat but did not mind drinking electrolytes with it, they suffer from water intoxication. That condition is simply about the dilution of sodium in the body. You may suffer symptoms that are similar to what you will feel when drowned in fresh water – fluttering eyelids and irregular heartbeats.

    Water intoxication is also common for infants who drink formula milk that is diluted too much in water. When too much water is taken by a small baby, the tissues will swell due to the excess fluid. The infant will suffer from electrolyte imbalance, a condition also known as hyponatremia.

    Drinking too much water is not about how much you actually drink in a day but at what rate you are drinking. Drinking lots of water over the period of a day is not bad unless you will load up on, say, 3 liters at one time. The general rule is that you take at least eight to twelve of an 8-ounce glass of water in a day. You may need more or less, depending on the weather, your physical activities, and your medications.

    Don’t worry, water intoxication is not at all common. Unless you are running a marathon or a fragile baby, you do not need to think about it and just focus on the good things that drinking lots of water can bring.

    • I can’t believe there’s such a thing as overdrinking water. I was eve more surprised that it can bring about certain medical emergencies. I think in everything, the guiding light should be to do all things in moderation. No matter how good or bad it could be, the risks of harm can be lessened if you do not overdo ‘it’

  4. Too much water intake can make your kidneys all worked up in a bad way. You see our kidneys’ filtration system is nothing like others that as you wash it down with clear water, it becomes cleaner. The kidneys will have to work harder to filter all the water that you druink. So drink lots of water but drink sensibly.

  5. Whoa! I didn’t know that there’s something like ‘drinking too much water”. All I’ve heard about are suggestions that you must drink as much as you can.

  6. drinking too much water can actually make you sick? that’s bad news for me. like angelgirl, i always keep a big jug with me. now i need to slow down with my drinking????] really!?!?!

  7. This is a great article. Thank you for all the insights. I knew water can provide essential nourishment for the body but the points you raised made me even more convinced that I should drink up and drink more!

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