Following oxygen, water is the next most crucial element of human survival, in fact going without it for more than just a few days will cause death.  Roughly two thirds of our body weight is in water, this means that a 200 pound man would have approximately 130 pounds of water in his body! It’s dispersed throughout all the tissue and fluids of the body and is essential for the proper function of vital organs and glands, even a slight amount of dehydration can lead to malfunction while more severe cases of dehydration can cause disease. Here are just a few of the important benefits of water:

• Supports brain function by helping you to think and focus more efficiently and by improving energy levels

• Crucial for proper digestion and also prevents constipation

• Improves total body immunity and helps fight against the flu and other ailments

• Detoxifies through the removal of waste via sweating and urination, drinking sufficient amounts of water also reduces the risk of UTIs and kidney stones

• Reduces the chance of exercise related injury by keeping joints lubricated and muscles more elastic

• Improves your complexion and adds moisture to the skin (reducing the visibility of wrinkles which are more prominent when the skin isn’t sufficiently hydrated) thus lessening the need for commercial creams and products

To support optimal function, you should aim to drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water every day (if you’re active, it should be even more.) For example, if you weigh 160 pounds aim to drink approximately 80 ounces of water every day.

Tips for Fitting More H20 into Your Day

• If you find plain water boring try adding a squeeze of lemon or lime juice

• Add fresh berries, mint or cucumber, there are tons of great infuser water bottles on the market today

• Figure out how much water you should be drinking then keep a large pre-filled water bottle with you throughout the day

• Create water rituals, i.e. a large glass as soon as you wake up and with each meal

Despite the easy access to water that many of us are fortunate to have, dehydration is a significant factor in the poor health and disease that is so prominent in modern society. Unlike breathing, our body doesn’t automatically draw in water so we have to consciously make an effort to drink it!