Don't wait until you are thirsty to drink water, it will be too late! These misunderstandings about drinking water are very harmful...

Water is the source of life. It is not only an essential component of our body, but also plays an important role in our health.

Drinking water is something everyone has to do every day. It is also the cheapest and simplest way to keep healthy! So, what are the benefits of drinking more water? How to drink water in the healthiest way? What are some common bad habits of drinking water that you don’t know about? Let’s learn about them today.

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Why do we need water?

Water accounts for 60% of body weight in adults, and the water content in infants and young children can be as high as 70%. The water content in men is generally slightly higher than that in women, because men usually have higher muscle content than women.

Why is the water content in the human body so high? Of course, it is because water is of great significance to maintaining the normal functioning of various human functions and maintaining health.

1

Water participates in most metabolic activities of the human body

As the most important medium substance, water is involved in most of the metabolic reactions of the human body, such as the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats; and the synthesis and transportation of other nutrients needed by the human body.

It is no exaggeration to say that all physiological functions will be affected when there is a lack of water, and the degree of impact will increase with the severity of the lack of water.

2

Sufficient water can maintain the stability of all aspects of the human body

Adequate water intake can not only help the body maintain the stability of the body's temperature regulation system, but also maintain the balance of osmotic pressure inside and outside the cells. Severe water shortage will affect the body's electrolyte balance, and electrolyte metabolism disorders may affect the functions of the cardiovascular and nervous systems, and in severe cases may even cause coma.

3

Helps keep skin and mucous membranes moisturized

Adequate water can help keep the skin and mucous membranes throughout the body moisturized, which not only helps the skin and mucous membrane system to play its role as an "immune barrier". For friends who love beauty, moist and elastic skin depends not only on "external adjustment" of skin care products, but also on sufficient water supply in the body.

The importance of water to the human body is self-evident, but water loss occurs all the time. You know, even if you don’t sweat a lot, we can lose 1.5 to 2 liters of water every day through breathing, excretion, and skin evaporation.

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Therefore, we need to drink about 2.5 liters of water every day . Excluding the water we take in through diet, we need to drink about 1.5 liters to 1.7 liters of water to ensure the normal functioning of various physiological functions . It seems to be only the amount of 3 bottles of mineral water, but many friends in life cannot do it.

According to the "China Public Health Drinking Water Blue Book" released in 2016, only 6.7% of adults in 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in my country drink water that fully meets the recommended amount every day, about 25% of adults drink water close to the recommended amount, and the remaining nearly 70% of the surveyed subjects do not drink water up to the standard. The amount of water consumed by college students is also worrying. A survey in 2021 found that about 80% of college students in Wuhan drink less than 1.5 liters of water per day.

Drinking more water has these 8 benefits

If you think drinking more water is just an optional lifestyle habit, you are wrong.

Drinking enough water in daily life can not only help prevent various chronic diseases and improve immunity, but also improve mood and enhance cognitive ability !

1

Preventing obesity

Drinking water before meals can increase satiety and suppress appetite, thereby controlling calorie intake and preventing obesity. In addition, adequate water can increase the metabolic rate and help us consume more calories.

2

Prevent and improve high uric acid and gout

Drinking more water can lower the concentration of uric acid in the blood, prevent uric acid crystals from depositing in the joints, kidneys and other areas to form stones, and promote uric acid excretion through frequent urination, improving gout and hyperuricemia symptoms.

It is recommended that gout patients drink more than 2 liters of water per day.

3

Prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases

Drinking enough water, especially before going to bed, can make up for the water lost during sleep due to breathing and skin evaporation. This can help reduce blood viscosity and prevent thrombosis, thereby preventing the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases such as nocturnal myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, and stroke.

4

Preventing diabetes complications

Although "excessive drinking" is one of the symptoms of diabetes, it does not mean that you should limit your water intake. On the contrary, "excessive drinking" is a manifestation of water shortage in diabetic patients. Drinking enough water can help diabetic patients control complications such as ketoacidosis or hyperosmolar coma.

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5

Preventing the formation of urinary stones

If you have experienced the pain of urinary stones, you should remember to drink more water. Drinking more water can not only prevent urine concentration from leading to urinary stones, but also promote the excretion of small stones (less than 0.6 cm in diameter) through urination flushing.

For those friends who sit for a long time and don’t like to drink water, in order to avoid being tortured by “kidney stone pain”, start drinking more water from today!

6

Helps prevent hyperlipidemia

As mentioned above, drinking more water can help you lose weight. At the same time, drinking more water can also help to improve the bad habit of drinking sweet drinks and alcoholic beverages to a certain extent. Losing weight and not drinking sweet drinks/alcoholic beverages happen to help lower blood lipids. It can be seen that drinking more water has an auxiliary effect in preventing high blood lipids.

7

Improve immunity

After catching a cold, we are always advised to "drink more water", which actually makes sense. Drinking more water can not only help us expel germs and toxins, but also ensure the normal metabolism of the body, including the synthesis of immune substances. In addition, drinking more water increases the moisture of the nasal and oral mucosa, which can resist the invasion of bacteria and viruses.

8

Improve mood and cognition

Some studies have found that dehydration can make subjects more tired, less energetic, less focused, and feel that tasks are more difficult. Other studies have found that when water intake is restricted, people's sense of happiness decreases and depression increases.

Another large prospective study of 2,000 people found that long-term dehydration was associated with cognitive decline in the subjects. It seems that not drinking "happy water" but just drinking more water can make us feel better.

Drink water, are you really drinking it right?

Some people say that since you need to drink more water, just follow the “eight glasses of water a day” approach and drink it!

Don't worry, some people may not know how to drink water. The following tips can help us drink water scientifically and efficiently.

1

"Eight glasses of water" is correct, but it depends on what kind of cup it is

If you only remember eight glasses of water and ignore the capacity of the cup, and drink from a 400 or 500 ml cup, you may feel that you can't drink that much. In fact, the "eight glasses of water" theory is calculated based on disposable paper cups. One cup is about 220 to 230 ml, and the total amount is less than 1.8 liters, which is close to the recommended amount of 1.7 liters.

2

Drink water before you feel thirsty

When you feel thirsty, your body is already 1% to 2% dehydrated. It is recommended that you develop the habit of drinking water at any time, in small amounts and multiple times , and drink water before you feel thirsty to avoid affecting your health.

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3

Don't be superstitious about water dispensers, bottled water, and mineral water

If the water in a water dispenser or bottled water is left for too long without being disinfected and fully heated, the bacteria that grow in it may endanger your health. It is better to drink boiled water immediately.

As for mineral water, it does contain a little more minerals than purified water, but as long as you eat well and eat scientifically, you can ensure adequate intake of most minerals, and you don’t have to worry about the tiny amounts of minerals in mineral water at all.

4

Drink more water, it can be fun

Many friends think that drinking more water is a painful thing, not only easy to forget, but also boring. But some friends around me have fallen in love with drinking water by exploring sugar-free flower and fruit tea and making their own sugar-free fruit ice drinks; some people cherish getting up to get water and drinking water as a rare exercise opportunity when sitting for a long time; some young people have even set up water drinking groups, and there are rewards for drinking water punching in...

You see, drinking water can be fun as long as you put the mind to it. How can you not drink enough water?

5 Myths About Drinking Water

If you still have questions about drinking water, the following explanations of "drinking water misconceptions" may give you the answers.

1

Will drinking too much water cause "water poisoning"?

A: It is true, but it is difficult.

Water intoxication refers to drinking more water in a short period of time than the kidneys can metabolize, which leads to decreased body fluid concentration, decreased plasma sodium ion concentration, blood dilution, decreased total plasma protein, hemoglobin, and hematocrit. It is usually only seen in people with kidney disease, liver disease, congestive heart failure, etc.

2

Can drinking alkaline water regulate the body's pH?

Answer: Rumor.

A normal and healthy human body has its own acid-base balance regulation system. If it is "regulated" by drinking "alkaline water", it means that there is a problem with health. What's more, alkaline water has been explicitly banned by the country as early as 2013.

3

Is it better to drink a glass of honey water or light salt water when you wake up?

Answer: False, warm water is best.

Honey water does not help with bowel movements and can lead to extra sugar intake; salt water does not kill bacteria and can raise blood pressure. Warm water is the best choice as it is moisturizing and has no burden.

4

Are sports drinks better than water?

A: Not necessarily, usually not.

Sports drinks often contain some sugar and mineral salts, which is necessary for people who exercise a lot, sweat a lot in a short period of time, and lose a lot of water and electrolytes. But for ordinary people, if the amount of exercise is not that great, there is no need to drink sports drinks, which are not only expensive, but also increase calorie intake.

5

Drinking water before meals dilutes gastric juice and affects digestion?

Answer: It depends on the person.

For people without stomach problems, drinking water before meals not only does not affect digestion, but moisturizes the gastrointestinal tract and helps lose weight, which has more benefits than disadvantages. However, if you already have diseases such as gastric ulcers and gastroesophageal reflux, you should not drink water before meals to avoid increasing the burden on the gastrointestinal tract or aggravating symptoms.

References

[1] China National Health Association Healthy Drinking Water Professional Committee. "China Public Healthy Drinking Water Blue Book" [R]. 2016, Guangzhou.

[2] Wang Can, Shen Chuyu, Ma Guansheng. Survey on knowledge, attitude, and behavior of drinking water and urination behavior among college students in Wuhan during winter[J]. Chinese Food and Nutrition, 2021, 10:85-89.

[3]Armstrong, LE, Ganio, MS, Lieberman, HR (2012). Mild dehydration affects mood in healthy young women. The Journal of nutrition, 142(2), 382-388.

[4]Masento, NA, Golightly, M., Field, DT (2014). Effects of hydration status on cognitive performance and mood. British Journal of Nutrition, 111(10), 1841-1852.

[5]Nathalie Pross, Agnès Demazières, Nicolas Girard.et al. Effects of Changes in Water Intake on Mood of High and Low Drinkers. PLoS One.2014;9(4): e94754.

[6]Nishi, SK, Babio, N., Paz-Graniel, I. et al. Water intake, hydration status and 2-year changes in cognitive performance: a prospective cohort study. BMC Med 21,82 (2023).

[7] General Office of the National Health and Family Planning Commission. Notice of the General Office of the National Health and Family Planning Commission on the issuance of management standards for labels and instructions of drinking water hygiene and safety products [EB]. 2013-08-20.

Planning and production

Author: Wang Lu, registered dietitian

Review丨Zhang Yu, researcher/PhD, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, national health science expert

Planning丨He Tong

Editor: Wang Mengru

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin

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