Benifits of Drinking Water

1.   Drinking Water Helps Maintain the Balance of Body Fluids. 

Your body is composed of about 60% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature.

"Through the posterior pituitary gland, your brain communicates with your kidneys and tells it how much water to excrete as urine or hold onto for reserves," says Guest, who is also an adjunct professor of medicine at Stanford University.

When you're low on fluids, the brain triggers the body's thirst mechanism. And unless you are taking medications that make you thirsty, Guest says, you should listen to those cues and get yourself a drink of water, juice, milk, coffee -- anything but alcohol.

"Alcohol interferes with the brain and kidney communication and causes excess excretion of fluids which can then lead to dehydration," he says.

2.   Water Can Help Control Calories.  

For years, dieters have been drinking lots of water as a weight loss strategy. While water doesn't have any magical effect on weight loss, substituting it for higher calorie beverages can certainly help.

"What works with weight loss is if you choose water or a non-caloric beverage over a caloric beverage and/or eat a diet higher in water-rich foods that are healthier, more filling, and help you trim calorie intake," says Penn State researcher Barbara Rolls, PhD, author of The Volumetrics Weight Control Plan.

Food with high water content tends to look larger, its higher volume requires more chewing, and it is absorbed more slowly by the body, which helps you feel full. Water-rich foods include fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, oatmeal, and beans.

3. Water Helps Energize Muscles.
 Cells that don't maintain their balance of fluids and electrolytes shrivel, which can result in muscle fatigue. "When muscle cells don't have adequate fluids, they don't work as well and performance can suffer," says Guest.

Drinking enough fluids is important when exercising. Follow the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for fluid intake before and during physical activity. These guidelines recommend that people drink about 17 ounces of fluid about two hours before exercise. During exercise, they recommend that people start drinking fluids early, and drink them at regular intervals to replace fluids lost by sweating.

4. Water Helps Keep Skin Looking Good.

Your skin needs water to remain supple and strong. The cells of your skin are layered so that they overlap one another, and a lipid barrier fills in the gaps between your skin’s cells to keep bacteria, fungi and other pathogens from infecting the body. Without adequate hydration, this lipid barrier evaporates, causing your skin to become dry and cracked, and making you more vulnerable to infection.

Water Keeps Your Skin Moist

One of the first symptoms of inadequate water consumption is dry skin. The average person needs to drink between six and eight eight-ounce glasses of water each day, but you might need more if you live in a hot or dry climate or if you’re very active. Drinking plenty of water maintains the integrity of the lipid barrier that exists between the cells of your skin. Adequate water consumption also ensures adequate blood flow to the skin, so that your skin’s cells receive all the nutrients they need to function properly.

Water Keeps Your Skin Vibrant 

Dry skin tends to look dull and flaky, so drinking plenty of water is a good way to keep your skin looking vibrant and healthy. Over time, chronically dry skin can contribute to the suppression of your immune system, since the cracks in dry skin allow bacteria, viruses and fungi to enter the body. This can lead to decreased overall immune function, which, over time, inhibits your skin’s ability to slough off dead cells and replace them with healthy cells. Dead cells can accumulate on the surface of the skin, leading to a dull and lifeless appearance.

Water Prevents Acne

Drinking plenty of water helps reduce the occurrence of acne breakouts. Drinking plenty of water supports kidney function and helps your body remove toxins, but inadequate hydration leads to the build up of toxins, and can also contribute to clogged pores and acne breakouts. Adequate hydration ensures that your body will flush toxins more efficiently, and you’ll suffer from fewer clogged pores.

  5. Water Helps Your Kidneys.

Body fluids transport waste products in and out of cells. The main toxin in the body is blood urea nitrogen, a water-soluble waste that is able to pass through the kidneys to be excreted in the urine, explains Guest. "Your kidneys do an amazing job of cleansing and ridding your body of toxins as long as your intake of fluids is adequate," he says.

When you're getting enough fluids, urine flows freely, is light in color and free of odor. When your body is not getting enough fluids, urine concentration, color, and odor increases because the kidneys trap extra fluid for bodily functions.

If you chronically drink too little, you may be at higher risk for kidney stones, especially in warm climates, Guest warns.

6. Water Helps Maintain Normal Bowel Function.

 Adequate hydration keeps things flowing along your gastrointestinal tract and prevents constipation. When you don't get enough fluid, the colon pulls water from stools to maintain hydration -- and the result is constipation.

"Adequate fluid and fiber is the perfect combination, because the fluid pumps up the fiber and acts like a broom to keep your bowel functioning properly,"    

References:-

http://www.webmd.com/