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Why Water?
If you have been doing CrossFit for any length of time you have heard us harping on you to DRINK YOUR WATER! We know that water has many health benefits from cancer prevention, and ensuring cellular health, to blood sugar regulation, preventing depression and ensuring a more restful sleep.
Which none of us would argue, but why should active people be consuming well beyond the recommended 64 daily oz? Why 80-120 oz daily minimum? And whats with those gallon Jugs?
The long and the short of it is water plays a huge role in weight loss and athletic performance. The nature of our workouts is very demanding and we need to ensure proper hydration for muscle contraction, recovery and to keep energy levels high.
I put together a list of some of the benefits of water consumption. Hopefully this will shine some light on why we are always harping on you to DRINK YOUR WATER!!!
When you drink plenty of water the more fluids that will leave the blood vessels. When more fluid is leaving the blood vessels your blood vessels will then relax. When your blood vessels are relaxed your blood pressure is going to be lower. If you eat too much salt or if you do not drink enough, water can accumulate in your blood vessels. This can contribute to your blood pressure. If your blood pressure becomes too high it can cause the blood vessel to burst and this may lead to kidney disease or a stroke.
Drinking adequate amounts of water can help reduce your cholesterol levels. Lower cholesterol levels will reduce your risk of developing arteriosclerosis, which is the blockage of your coronary arteries. When your arteries become blocked it can lead to having a heart attack or a stroke.
As mentioned above, water helps to clear the blood vessels and allows them to relax. It is recommended to drink at least eight glasses of water each day. This in combination with exercise will help to lower these risks a great deal.
Retaining water often shows up as swollen hands, feet, legs, and even your belly. Diuretics are often prescribed as a treatment for water retention. However, if you do not drink enough water this problem is not going to go away.
It may seem like drinking water to reduce water retention is contradictory, but if you are retaining water it is a sign of dehydration and drinking more water is what you need to do. Being adequately hydrated will reduce fluid retention.
If you drink enough water your overall health is going to improve. When your body is not getting enough water toxins will saturate the blood and blood flow will slow down. This saturated blood has many toxins that are stored in the cells instead of being excreted from your body.
This blood will have less oxygen, which means that your brain and other organs are not getting enough oxygen, which can make you feel bad. Cells that are not functioning properly can cause other health problems as well including cancer.
Water creates magnetic and electrical energy in each cell of the body. This can provide you with a natural energy boost. Many people who are feeling low on energy will drink caffeinated drinks in order to boost their energy levels. However, while these drinks will provide a quick boost to your energy, it is not sustainable as caffeine provokes dehydration.
Drinking plenty of water will reduce fatigue and boost your energy levels overall. Once again, staying hydrated is important as it provides your body with all that it needs to function at optimal levels.
If you suffer from frequent headaches, try increasing the amount of water that you drink each day. Often times headaches are caused by dehydration. Drinking more water each day will ensure that you are hydrated and will likely decrease the number of headaches that you have. This is a natural remedy for headaches and there are no side effects.
The next time you get a headache, try upping the amount of water that you drink as this will likely get rid of your headache without using medications that may result in some harmful side effects such as liver damage.
If you do not drink enough water your body is likely somewhat dehydrated. When you are dehydrated, your metabolism will slow down. When your metabolism slows down it can be almost impossible to lose any weight.
For this reason, if you are overweight and trying to lose weight through diet and exercise, it is important to make sure that you are drinking enough water each day. Drinking one or two glasses of water when you get up and drinking water before you sit down to a meal can help increase your metabolism, which result in helping you to lose weight
If you are currently diabetic or at risk for diabetes, it is extremely important to make sure that you are drinking enough water. As a diabetic your body is not capable of processing sugar that is being eliminated through the urine. This means that you can easily become dehydrated, which can lead to many other health problems.
For this reason, if you are diabetic it is important to make sure that you drink enough water each day. This will help you eliminate waste in the body, stay hydrated, and keep your sugar in check.
Water can provide you with the minerals that you need for optimal health. The joints in your body are the cushions that support the weight of your entire body.
In order to function properly, the joints need an adequate amount of water. When you do not get enough water your spine and joints can become seriously damaged.
Pain that is caused by thinning cartilage and herniated discs in the spine can be eased by simply drinking enough water each day. Proper hydration will help keep your muscles and joints lubricated so you will be less likely to get sprains or cramps.
Now that you have a better undersatnding of the importance of adequate daily water intake, in our next blog post we will go over how to estimate how much water one really needs on a daily basis and a few tips on how ensure we are hitting our daily water intake goals.
Thomas Sampson CFL-3, USAW-2, Sports Nutritionist