Another glass of water, another trip to the rest room. This plays out all day long as I make sure I drink my 8 glasses of water a day. I know you have heard that you should be drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day – more if you live in our hot dry desert. I’ve heard this for years and have always figured I probably drank that much a day. I’ve always liked water and regularly drink it with my meals. Then I got a plastic bottle that holds this daily requirement and discovered that I had been fooling myself. In fact, it took effort to down that much water each day.
So why should we drink so much water? Water consumption is needed to keep all of your cells, tissues, and organs functioning properly. Your body needs it, your skin needs it, your hair needs it. As our bodies use water throughout the day we need to keep replenishing it. Your lungs expel between two and four cups of water each day through normal breathing - even more on a cold day. If you make half a dozen trips to the bathroom during the day, that's six cups of water. If you sweat, you expel about two cups of water and that doesn't include exercise-induced sweating.
You should not wait to get thirsty, because by then you are already becoming dehydrated. Water is our main source of energy and we should keep our bodies supplied with the maximum amount of water/energy at all times. As we get older we lose our perception of thirst so waiting to drink water until you are thirsty becomes more damaging as we get older.
Pure, clean water also plays an important role in dental health, as it helps to keep teeth and gums clean and healthy. Many people do not consume enough water to properly rinse their teeth. Hydration aside, the importance of water lies in its ability to rinse sticky tooth surfaces and neutralize acidic residue. Most people do not drink enough water, and ironically many turn to flavored (often acidic) beverages to stay hydrated. You can still drink those beverages but you should drink a glass of water afterwards to rinse out the acid.
So before you do anything else, pour yourself a class of pure water and drink up!
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