8 Important Things To Know About Drinking More Water

Water is the tasteless, odourless, transparent liquid that is essential for life. It is called the universal solvent. Water is critical for the proliferation of life. Without this miracle liquid a living being could only survive for a few days. This is because water forms about 60%-70% of our body weight.

Water is an essential component of all cells in the body; it is a part of many metabolic processes, essential for transportation of nutrients, removal of waste, enzyme function, to maintain body temperature, respiration, etc. Our body loses water by sweating, respiration, and removal of wastes, and it is vital to rehydrate yourself to keep the bodily mechanisms in sync.

Reading all these benefits about keeping yourself hydrated makes you want to jump into drinking a lot of water. It is obviously a wise choice, but before you jump into that, read about how to go about it.

Here are 10 things to keep in mind before you start on your mindful-water-drinking journey-

1. Switch To Water Gradually From Sugary Beverages
2. Eat Foods That Have Water In A Good Quantity
3. Establish The Right Time To Drink Water Throughout The Day
4. Begin With Drinking 2-3 Litres Of Water Every Day
5. Avoid Plastic Bottles
6. Packaged Mix-ins For Water Are Not Good After All
7. Fresh Fruits And Vegetables Are Best For Added Flavour
8. Know That It's Possible To Be Flushing Out Essential Nutrients By Excess Hydration

1. Switch To Water Gradually From Sugary Beverages:

If you want to switch to a healthy lifestyle, you might think that completely cutting down on sugars is the best idea. Yes, it is good to cut down on the sugars, but doing it all of a sudden is plain harmful and confusing for the body. You need to take it slow when switching from sodas to water. Start swapping slowly, and you'll get better results. You can infuse your water with fruits to start off with.

2. Eat Foods That Have Water In A Good Quantity:

Water consumption is not necessarily a task to be done from a glass. You can opt for fruits like watermelon and muskmelon that have a high water content. This also counts in your everyday count of water intake. Your herbal teas count too.

3. Establish The Right Time To Drink Water Throughout The Day:

It is obvious that you should drink water when you're thirsty, but there are also certain times that you can keep sipping on it for some added benefits. As soon as you wake up, before a bath, before a meal, and just before you sleep are some fixed times to schedule yourself to drink water. This can help you keep your blood pressure in check and consume lesser calories when trying to lose weight.

4. Begin With Drinking 2-3 Litres Of Water Every Day:

If you're just beginning to consume large amounts of water, then it's best to start slow. If you begin with loading yourself with water, you might have unwanted cravings and will just go back to drinking no water. You can increase the amount gradually.

5. Avoid Plastic Bottles:

Avoiding plastic bottles is not just good for the environment, but it's also not good for your body. The manufacturing process of plastic bottles involves adding some chemicals to attain the durability and colour and other factors. These chemicals cause some long-term problems to your kidneys. Even the BPA-free bottles are pretty much the same. It is best to invest in a steel bottle which will help you store cold and hot water.

6. Packaged Mix-ins For Water Are Not Good After All:

If you're new to drinking large quantities of water, then it might now sound so appealing. So we try adding the supermarket-available lemonade or fruit punch mix-ins thinking that it will help. And yes, to a beginner it is something that sounds good. But this is as good adding raw sugar to the water you are drinking. It might take a little getting used to, but drinking plain water is the best.

7. Fresh Fruits And Vegetables Are Best For Added Flavour:

If you really feel like you need some flavour added to your water, why not use fruits and vegetables? All you need to do is slice your choice of fruit or vegetable and add it to a large bottle and then fill it with water. Keep it for a few hours and it's ready to drink!

8. Know That It's Possible To Be Flushing Out Essential Nutrients By Excess Hydration:

Yes, there is something like drinking too much water. Sometimes our body requires only 2 litres of water for its smooth functioning, and we land up feeding ourselves 4-5 litres. This could lead to flushing out the essential minerals and vitamins from the body. Water-soluble vitamins like vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6 & B12 and vitamin C might get flushed away as we drink a lot of water and throw it out.

These are simple but effective things to keep in mind when getting hydrated. The amount of water you need also depends on other factors too - the climate you live in and how physically active you are. Just don't let yourself get dehydrated.

A lot of people make the mistake of drinking water only when they are thirsty. But it would be better if you keep sipping on it throughout the day, little by little.