The Benefits of Drinking Water

By Rume Ameke

Water is extremely important to the body. Your body is made up of 70% of water and every organ, cell, and tissue in your body makes use of water for optimal performance. You should drink at least 2 liters of water every day to re-hydrate your body and replace the large amounts lost daily through urine, stool, skin evaporation etc, particularly if you live in a warmer climate like Africa.
Let’s look at some ways in which water benefits the body:

1) Promotes weight loss – When your body performs optimally, your body metabolism is boosted. Water also acts as an appetite suppressant as it makes you feel full especially when had just before and after a meal. The best part of it all is it is zero calories.

2) Aids in digestion – Water is essential to digest your food and it also prevents constipation. When you don’t drink enough water, the colon pulls water from stools to maintain hydration which results in constipation.

3) Cleanses – Water helps to flush toxins out of your body. Your kidneys have the function of ridding the body of waste. When you are drinking enough water, the kidneys function optimally in undertaking this task.

4) Improves your mental and physical state – Drinking water improves your mental state of mind by helping you think, focus and concentrate better. This is because your brain is mostly water. Your energy levels are also boosted by drinking more water.

5) Boosts your immune system – Drinking water helps to relieve a number of common ailments, such as headaches and hypertension and it also fights against the flu. In addition, it helps prevent some long-term diseases such as bladder and colon cancer.

6) Improves your skin – Drinking water prevents wrinkles and moisturizes your skin, helping it remain firm and toned.

Some tips on how to drink more water

1) Eat foods which contain a lot of water such as watermelon, bell peppers, cucumbers etc.
2) Infuse your water with fruit to give it some flavour which helps to make it more pleasant to drink.
3) Have a glass of water with every snack or meal.
4) Keep a bottle of water with you all the time especially the smaller bottles as you feel more accomplished when you have finished one of them and will be more incentivized to have another.