Dr. Talal Mohan
General Practitioner
Water, the colorless; odorless liquid, which forms the
beautiful seas, lakes and rivers, and blesses the planet when
it falls as a rain. Making around 60% of human body weight,
water considered to be one of the most essential
components that helps the organs in our bodies to carry on
their functions. Lack of water will result in dehydration which can end up with serious complications and speed up the aging process. On the other hand, maintaining good
hydrational status by drinking enough water will prevent dehydration and support
the wellbeing.
The benefit of drinking the right amount of water includes:
1. Ridding the body of the toxins
Healthy kidneys need good amount of water to flush the waste and run
e ectively.
2. Cognitive performance
Dehydration impairs cognitive performance, particularly for tasks involving
attention, executive function, and motor coordination when water deficits
exceed 2% body mass loss.
3. Reduce body weight
Drinking water enhances calories burn, which is known as resting energy
expenditure.
4. Maximize physical performance
Good hydrational status improves anaerobic power and heart rate recovery
time.
Many other benefits of maintaining good hydrational status include constipation
relieve, regulating body temperature, nourishing the skin and sustain healthy blood
pressure.
The amount of water that people needs to drink every day varies according to the
individual’s health, how active they are and where they live. In general, the person
requires around 3 liters of water every day. This amount will increase if you live in a
hot weather or do intense exercise. Some tips may be helpful here to achieve the
target, For example; carrying a bottle of water and refill it throughout the day,
serving water with each meal, adding wedges of lemon to cold water for better taste
and drinking water during and after exercise even if you don’t feel thirsty.
In brief, drinking the right amount of water you need is the key to start and conserve
a healthy lifestyle. Make the commitment!
(1) Dehydration Impairs Cognitive Performance: A meta-analysis published in
the o cial journal of the American academic of sport medicine 2018.
(2) Water consumption increases weight loss during a hypocaloric diet
intervention in middle-aged and older adults- randomized clinical trial,
obesity journal 2010
(3) Individualized hydration plans improve performance outcomes for collegiate
athletes engaging in in-season training. Journal of the International Society
of Sports Nutrition 2018.
