Drinking Water on a Daily Basis: Myths and Facts

Drinking water is incredibly good for us and there seems to bee over a hundred reasons why, but which of these reasons are fact and which are fiction? We have broken down 10 of the most common reasons people give for drinking water, and where you should drink it from, so that you know exactly why you need to be upping your water intake as soon as possible and reaping all of the benefits.

Tap water can prevent tooth decay

Fact. Tap water usually has added fluoride in it, which is an active ingredient in most toothpaste brands, which is intentionally done by the water factories in order to help to lower your risk of tooth decay and other dental related issues. Although it doesn’t do as much as brushing your teeth regularly and taking the odd trip to the dentist, drinking water from the tap can actually help your to lower your risk of tooth decay and many other damaging dental problems by simply adding a little bit of extra fluoride into your body.

Drinking water is an easy way to detox your body

Fact. Although it doesn’t actively extract and remove the toxins from your body, the more water that you drink the more you are flushing the water through your body, and this helps to remove a lot of unwanted toxins and badness that is hanging around in your kidneys and in your liver. This keeps your body a lot healthier and can detoxify your body very easily, saving you a lot form those extravagant, and somewhat unnecessary, detoxifying supplements and shakes.

Water helps you lose weight

Fact. The more water you drink, the less soda and sugary juices you drink as standard, and this cuts out a lot of the calories that you could potentially consume from these drinks. As well as that, water makes you feel fuller, so you tend to eat smaller portions and fewer calories, all of which adds up to you losing weight and staying healthier. Removing liquid calories is the first important step for weight loss, and guzzling down water can go a long way to help you achieve your weight loss goals.

You should drink water even when you’re not thirsty

Fact. Although being thirsty is a big sign that you need to grab a glass of water, there are also a number of different signs that your body needs more hydration, simply being thirsty is not enough. If you work o drinking waut in the sun or your job requires a lot of physical exertion then you should definitely be taking in a lot more water than others in order to make up for the hydration that you will lose in sweat. Drinking when you aren’t necessarily thirsty is only a good thing.

Drinking water can help you feel more alert

Fact. Although water doesn’t actually give you any energy in itself, as it doesn’t have any calories in order to do that, being hydrated can make you feel a lot more alert and perky throughout the day, aiding your concentration levels so that you can get a lot more done. One of the earliest signs of dehydrations is feeling tired and sluggish, so although you may not actually be gaining any calorie or energy from your water, you will be preventing yourself from being reduced to a tired version of yourself.

Too much water can make you feel ‘drunk’

Myth. There is a lasting myth that too much water can be bad for you, and even give you a similar feeling of being drunk by overfilling your cells with water. This is not true. If you are managing to drink a lot of water and your body deems it too much, your body will simply flush it out and you will find yourself running to the bathroom a lot more frequently. So don’t go drinking litre after litre of water in an attempt to feel drunk, because this is simply not going to happen.

Bottled water is better for you

Myth. Bottled water is generally slightly cleaner, as it is filtered to ensure that it is pure and that there are no particulates in the water that you buy, however bottled water comes with it’s own set of issues. Firstly, just because it is cleaner does not mean it is better, in fact you lose a lot of the minerals that come from tap water that are good for your health. Secondly, bottles can slowly begin to deteriorate and harmful chemicals get released into the water, which can be really bad for you in the long run.

We need 2 litres of water every day

Myth. The actual fact is that we need 2 litres of fluid a day, and that means pretty much any liquid, even the liquid you get from soft fruits. Although it is infinitely better for you to try and drink 2 litres of water a day, you can still take this fluid in from sources such as coffee, sodas, and other drinks that aren’t necessarily water, but they will add a lot more calories and chemicals into your diet than water will.

Water helps to keep you looking young

Water can help to improve your skin by keeping your body hydrated, which is turn keeps your skin looking plump and hydrated, however it doesn’t have any particular properties that fight aging and keep you looking younger. Water will however reduce the amount of toxins in your body and this can help keep you healthier and looking brighter, which can make you look younger, but the water itself will not necessarily be the thing that turns back the clock.

Sports drinks are better with exercise

Myth. This is absolutely false. Sports drinks add a whole load of extra sugars and salts and calories into your diet that you are trying to cut out by doing the exercise itself, making them completely counterintuitive. Most sports drinks will add the electrolytes back into your body that you lose with strenuous exercise and sweating, but this is only necessary if you are really, really sweating and pushing yourself. If you are trying to lose weight and you’re exercising to build up some endurance and drop some fat then stick to water, it will keep you hydrated and keep you from adding extra calories into your diet that you just don’t need.