Staying Hydrated; Benefits for Health and Longevity

by Donna Wright

Drinking Water For Longer Life? I’ll Drink to That! 

Water and proper hydration – it’s truly vital to your overall health and longevity. 

Drinking the right amount of water daily can slow down the aging process, improve long-term health, and, thereby, help improve longevity.   

The human body is made up of approximately 60 percent water. That means that it’s an integral nutrient that affects just about every cell in the body. In addition to the cells, your organs and tissues also require water to function.  

Properly hydration not only can help people live longer … it also improves quality of life. Let’s take a closer look at how drink the right amount of water daily helps everyone function at their best.  

Proper Hydration Maintains a Normal Body Temperature 

The water in our body regulates our internal temperature by distributing heat throughout the body and cooling it through perspiration. Should the body become too hot, especially when performing a rigorous physical activity or spending time in a heated environment, it would lose water through excessive sweating. 

When you become dehydrated, your body doesn’t have the ability to produce enough sweat to cool off the body. Should the body's temperature peak to dangerously high levels, it can quickly lead to heat stroke. Proper hydration allows us to avoid the risks of dehydration and heat stroke. 

Correlation of Hydration and Heart Health 

The heart depends on proper hydration because blood is largely water. When there is a lack of water and dehydration sets in, the blood becomes thicker causing circulation to slow and this may result in dangerously elevated blood pressure. 

People that are chronically not hydrated increase the risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Drinking your daily quota of water to maintain cardiovascular health puts the importance of proper hydration into perspective. Hydrate for heart health.  

Proper Hydration Protects the Joints, Spinal Cord, and Other Body Tissues 

Ensuring your body receives the daily water it needs can aid in protecting your joints and your spinal cord as it helps to increase tissue flexibility and elasticity. Proper hydration produces synovial fluid, which lubricates, cushions, and protects the joints thereby lessening the risk of injuries. 

Water, as a major component of saliva, also acts as a lubricant in the mouth. Eye health is also reliant on water, since without it people can suffer from dry eyes, blurred or shaky vision, and eye irritation.  

Proper Hydration Aids in Transporting Nutrients and Ridding Waste 

The water in blood is vitally important in transporting nutrients and oxygen to cells throughout the body. 

Your body generates waste products from metabolism. With proper hydration, the water in your body can assist with moving waste through the body for excretion in the form of perspiration, urination, and bowel movements. Also, your kidneys require water to efficiently filter waste from the blood and flush it out through urine. Maintaining proper hydration can help prevent kidney stones and urinary tract infections (UTIs), which can harm the kidneys. 

Proper Hydration and Digestion 

Getting the most from the healthy foods that you eat starts with your saliva. Your digestive process starts with the saliva that softens what you eat so it can more easily move through the esophagus into your stomach. Proper hydration is required for effective digestion through the intestines. Improper hydration enhances the risk of gastrointestinal issues. 

Hydration to Prevent Chronic Illness, Boost Immunity, and Treat Illnesses 

Improper hydration increases the risk of higher sodium concentrations in the blood which can then elevate the risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular and lung diseases. That’s why staying hydrated is often correlated to healthy aging and a longer life expectancy.  

As with chronic illnesses, a body that maintains the adequate daily water intake can improve immunity and more effectively fight illnesses. Imagine it as if the body’s water helps evenly distribute your immunity cells throughout the body, thereby creating a barrier against illness. To further describe the process, the mucus in your body traps pathogens so they cannot enter deeper tissues. The lack of water makes it the ideal environment for viruses and bacteria to infiltrate. 

You’ve heard the old adage, “feed a cold, starve a fever,” but you may not have heard that drinking water is key to treating some infections and other common health issues like headaches, colds, flu, and viruses. As your body is working to fight bacteria and viruses, drinking water and other liquids can help the body recover faster. 

Hydration and Weight Loss 

Maintaining a healthy weight is a key to longevity and proper hydration can be a key to weight loss. You see, staying hydrated is one of the most effective ways to regulate appetite. By drinking water before meals, you can create a sense of fullness in your stomach thereby reducing the amount of food you consume. Proper hydration also affects metabolic rate and metabolism is another factor in weight loss. And it’s no secret that replacing sugary drinks with water can significantly lower your caloric intake, also enhancing a weight loss plan. 

Proper Hydration Improves Mood and Cognitive Function 

Just as your heart relies on proper hydration, water also affects your brain functions. That’s because the brain cells need to maintain a certain balance of water and other essentials to operate effectively. When your body dehydrates, it disrupts that balance and as a result, the brain cells become less efficient. 

You may have experienced this type of reaction from dehydration through symptoms of fatigue, brain fog, confusion, anxiety, or irritability. Rest assured, staying hydrated can improve cognitive function so you can actually heighten your concentration, clarity, memory, and mood, while lessening the risk of stress and anxiety. 

Proper Hydration Before, During, and After Physical Fitness 

Proper hydration makes a big impact on physical fitness activities as it regulates your body temperature by delivering oxygen to the working muscles. Athletes typically drink water before, during, and after exerting their body. That’s because when performing a physical activity, your body can lose a lot of water through perspiration. Replacing the water at the same time is highly beneficial. However, failure to replace the water that you just sweated out can affect your muscles, stamina, and performance results. 

When the body lacks water, it affects the blood, straining your heart to effectively pump oxygen and nutrients. Staying hydrated allows metabolism to properly convert food into energy, ensuring that essential nutrients reach every cell. 

Proper Hydration on the Appearance of Skin 

If you want your skin to look smooth and brighter, drink water. While you’re spending big money on skin products promising to make you look ten years younger, you must understand that proper hydration helps maintain the skin’s elasticity, while enlarging skin cells, and repairing damaged skin cells at the same time.  

Typically, if you see a face that’s dull and dry, it could be the result of dehydration. And yes, skin care products can help with the look of your skin, but the bottom line is that those topical solutions cannot replace the beautiful natural smoothing effects on skin when staying properly hydrated. 

A Few Basic Guidelines For Water Consumption 

Typically, a person can only survive for a few days without water. On average, people need to drink between 8 cups and 12 cups of water daily depending on age, weight, gender, health status, medications, and physical activity. Consuming that much water daily takes a little planning and commitment. 

Early Signs and Life-Threatening Symptoms of Dehydration 

Now that you know the importance of drinking water to stay hydrated for better health and longevity, here are some early signs of dehydration: 

:: Bad breath 
:: Dark-colored urine 
:: Dizziness 
:: Dry mouth/lips/skin 
:: Fatigue/Lack of energy 
:: Feeling thirsty 
:: Headache 
:: Muscle cramps 
:: Nausea 
:: Poor concentration 
:: Urinating less 

More serious – even Life-threatening – symptoms of dehydration may include: 

:: Being disoriented 
:: Fainting 
:: Not urinating at all 
:: Rapid breathing 
:: Rapid heartbeat 
:: Shock  

Staying Hydrated as Part of Your Daily Routine 

Not everyone enjoys drinking water, especially if you’re told to drink between 8 cups and 12 cups of water per day. Remember, sugary or diet sodas, sweetened fruit juices, alcohol, and caffeinated beverages do not count towards your daily water consumption and can, in fact, dehydrate your body further. 

Here are some helpful tips and tricks for staying hydrated: 

:: Fill up individual small bottles or just one large bottle with your daily amount of water and take sips throughout the day. That way, you know when you’ve reached your daily recommended intake 

:: Set reminders on your mobile devices to remind yourself to drink water. 

:: Carry a water bottle wherever you go. 

:: Try sparkling water to enjoy a bubbly version. 

:: Add lemon, lime, fruit, or cucumber slices into your water.   

:: Eat water-rich fruits and vegetables like watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, lettuce, zucchini, and celery. 

:: Drink herbal teas. 

:: Drink electrolyte replacement beverages. 

Water is a Key to Maintain Health And Help Improve Longevity 

Since water is essential for overall health, and overall health is essential for longevity, heed the importance of drinking water to stay hydrated. Water is critical to your body’s temperature regulation, nutrient absorption, digestion, and waste removal. Staying properly hydrated can lessen the risk of health issues. In addition to physical health, proper hydration can improve mental health and brain functions while also improving the look of your skin. 

As with any health-related endeavor, speak directly to your healthcare provider to determine the right amount of water for you.