Why Water?
I was seventeen when I began to drink coke like I was a thirsty person in the desert. At the same time, my friend used to go everywhere with this bottle of water and drinking it like there was no tomorrow. She used to tell me that she had a feeling of refreshment every time that she drank her water. For me it didn’t make sense.
With time, I developed hypoglycemia and it was mandatory for me to follow a very strict diet. The doctor told me that to get better I had to stop all kind of sugar, including of course coke.
I had to force myself to drink water which for me was like a penance. I couldn’t drink more than one sip per day. So, I started to put natural orange juice in it to make it easier, then lemon juice, until I was able to drink a whole bottle of water a day.
Over the years, I have come to understand that I was poisoning myself with coke. Not only did it worsen the hypoglycemia, but also prevented my digestive system from working properly and made me constipated all the time.
Water was my medicine. It cleaned me inside and not only made me feel better, it refreshes me inside too.
Drinking water is essential to your health. Think of water as a nutrient your body needs to keep the balance of the body fluids.
Fluid losses occur continuously, from skin evaporation, breathing, urine, and stool, and these losses must be replaced daily for good health.
When your water intake does not equal your output, you can become dehydrated. Fluid losses are accentuated in altitudes, and in older adults, whose sense of thirst may not be as sharp.
According to the Journal of Clinical endocrinology and metabolism, drinking 500ml of water increased metabolic rate by 30%. The increase occurred within 10 min and reached a maximum after 30-40 min.
Here are some reasons to make sure you’re drinking enough water every day:
- Water Can Help Control Calories
- Water Helps Energize Muscles.
- Water Helps Keep Skin Looking Good
- Water Helps Your Kidneys.
- Water Helps Maintain Normal Bowel Function
- Protects joints and cartilage
As ironic as it sounds, I have always considered myself a water person. Back home in my country, all the sports I used to practice where related to water; swimming, windsurfing and scuba diving, and I always loved the sensation of peace and relaxation that I experienced after.
I’m mentioning this because to prepare this writing I read different documents and found that the effects of water in the human body are not only physical, but also psychological. For example, I found that
cognitive scientists are just now amassing evidence that proximity to water has measurable benefits for our minds, promoting calm, focus, creativity, sleep quality, and overall happiness.
“Water can be powerful even in represented forms. In one study, when cancer patients suffering chronic pain were shown a nature video that included 15 minutes of the sounds of ocean waves, waterfalls, and splashing creeks, they experienced a 20 to 30 percent reduction in the stress hormones epinephrine and cortisol. In another study, teenagers exposed to water fountain sounds at the dentist’s office experienced reductions in anxiety levels.
Our preference for aquatic environments may be explained by their critical role in our evolutionary history: Fresh water has always been essential to human survival, and salt water was and is a primary food source and portal for migration. Being drawn to aquatic environments, researchers say, was optimally adaptive for our ancestors—and the adaptation may still echo in our brains.” (taken from Psychological Today)
Water is this amazing liquid; odorless, colorless, with which we have a profound attachment; we grow up in our mother’s belly in this “ocean like” pool of amniotic fluid, our civilization started around water, our body is 60% water. Water not only nourishes us, but also calms us. We seem to be happier when we are surrounded by water.
