Are you constantly thirsty? It could be a sign that you're not drinking enough water throughout the day. Hydration plays a crucial role in our overall well-being, affecting aspects such as skin health and digestion. There are numerous benefits to increasing your daily water intake.
The Benefits of Drinking Water
As you may already know, your skin is the largest organ in your body. It requires water to help maintain its suppleness and elasticity. If your skin is dry, flaky, or aging prematurely it may mean that you're not hydrated. Drinking more water helps to clear acne by flushing out toxins, reduce your pore size by balancing the amount of oil and water production, and maintain a healthy pH balance to give you healthy skin.
Not only does it help to improve your overall skin health, but it also helps with your digestive health. It's no secret, water is essential for absorbing and moving nutrients along the digestive tract. Our body is composed of 60% water. The brain and heart are made out of approximately 75% water, lungs are about 83%, and muscles and kidneys are about 70%. If you suffer from muscle cramps, fatigue, headaches, muscle cramps and dizziness, dry mouth, lips, and skin, it's probably due to dehydration. If you're not sure if you're hydrated or not, just check the color of your urine. If it's almost clear, you're doing well, but if it is a saturated yellow, then you need to increase your water intake.
5 Strategies for Boosting Water Consumption
We are all aware of the importance of drinking water for our general health and well-being, but putting this into practice can be challenging. Here are some foolproof tactics to help increase your daily water consumption.
1. Track Your Water
When I learned some apps can track my water intake, I thought to myself, I don't need an app to ensure I was drinking enough water, but in reality: I was dehydrated like crazy. I decided to give the Waterllama* app a try and it turned out to be more fun and engaging than I thought. I chose this app because it tracks more than water, you can set a hydration goal, it connects seamlessly to my Health and Habit app, and it's cute.
It tracks everything I drink from coffee to wine. Depending on what I drink, determines how much hydration I am getting. So, if I drink wine, it decreases my hydration by 95% whereas tea can boost my hydration by 90%. Since I am breastfeeding, not super active, and living in a hot climate, it helped me to determine how much I should be drinking daily with the help of certain prompts. Not only does it send out hourly reminder notifications, but it also has challenges such as motivation and daily characters to fill up as I complete my daily goal. Ultimately, you can use whatever app you think works best for you, but I do think since most of us carry our phones with us everywhere and are plugged in, a water tracking app is more useful than you might think.
2. Carry Your Water
There are so many different types of water bottles out there, but before you buy the first one you see at Walmart*, think about what you need. Do you prefer to have a stainless steel flask to keep your water cooler longer, or a glass bottle so you can see how much you're drinking throughout the day? Do you need an 64 ounce or will the 32 ounce work out just fine? There is so much to consider if you want to buy a reusable water bottle that works for you. I have two: my Hydroflask* carries only 32 ounces but allows me the ability to carry hot and cold drinks. Since it's made from stainless steel, I can keep cold water throughout a hot summer day and it's pretty durable considering it's still functional despite hitting the concrete a couple of times. My Mighty Vessel* on the other hand carries 64 ounces and is made of glass so I can see how much water I have left. It has time stamps as well as ounces listed which motivate me to continue drinking throughout the day. It also gives me the option to use a straw or drink it straight from the mouth, has a lock to keep water from spilling, and even has a place for me to prop my phone up. Carrying a reusable water bottle with you everywhere you go is likely to increase your water intake.
3. Eat Your Water
Yes, it's possible to meet your daily water goal by eating fruit and vegetables. Many different types of fruits and veggies are water-rich and can help you stay hydrated throughout the day. Some fruits and veggies with high water content that you can eat are (but not limited to) Cucumbers, iceberg lettuce, celery, tomatoes, and zucchini which have about 94% - 96% water. Watermelon, strawberries, cabbage, bell peppers, and cauliflower contain about 92% water while oranges, grapefruit, and peaches have about 88% - 89% water. So whether you’re a fruit lover or a veggies fan, you can eat your water instead of drinking it all of the time. Also, it’s a great way to curb your desire for sweet drinks that contain artificial sugar by consuming more fruits that contain natural sugars. The next tip will allow you to combine your favorite fruits and veggies with your water.
4. Flavor Your Water
So, it’s not a secret that drinking water is boring. I have heard people say they don’t like the taste of water. I can admit I used to think water did not have a taste until I attended a water-tasting event and discovered water tastes differently depending on where it comes from in the world. The taste of the water depends on the rocks and minerals it passes through when it falls as rainwater. For example, rainwater in Greenland tends not to freeze at the surface and contains less minerals. If you're not excited to drink water, you can spice it up a bit in many different ways. Infusing fruits like any type of berry, citrus fruit, or even tea for about 4 hours can give you a bit of flavor. If you're not into infusing fruits, steep herbs, add flavored ice cubes, splash of fruit juice, or you can add the bubbly by adding sparkling water liven up the taste for you.
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