Why is drinking water so important?
Our body is made of around 60% water and our blood contains 90% water. Water is essential for our body to function properly – the benefits include e.g. detoxifying our kidneys, better skin elasticity, weight loss, and many more.[1]
Even mild dehydration can affect you mentally and physically - here is a list of the major benefits of staying hydrated:
- While exercising, optimal hydration will boost your physical performance and endurance
- Drinking the right amount of water can increase your energy levels and brain function. Studies have shown that even mild dehydration can impact your energy, mood, and reduce memory and brain performance.
- Dehydration can sometimes trigger headaches - drinking enough water may help reduce these symptoms. E.g. hangover headaches are partly caused by dehydration.
- Drinking plenty of water may help with a healthy digestion, because our bowel needs water to function properly.
- Increased water intake may decrease the risk of kidney stone formation.[2]
- Water lubricates the joints. Our cartilage contains around 80 percent water.
- Blood is 90% water and blood carries oxygen to different parts of the body – therefore, water is essential to keep the blood thin and flowing easily.
- Water also boosts our beauty – dehydration can cause our skin to become more vulnerable and to prematurely wrinkling.
- Dehydration can impact our airways – they can get restricted by our body to counter loss of water, and this can lead to worsened asthma and allergies.
- Water helps the body to access minerals and nutrients and transport them to the different areas of the body – since nutrients and minerals dissolve in water.[3]
See how water is perceived around the world in respect to these benefits (Source Culligan Study about water usage):
As you can see, drinking water is important – but how much is recommended?
The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is:
- About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day for men
- About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women[4]
Here are 3 tips to help you stay hydrated:
- Have water with every meal
- Eat more fruits and vegetables because they contain a lot of water. Remember about 20% of our water intake is through food.
- Keep a refillable water bottle with you wherever you go[5]
What kind of water should I drink – tap water vs filtered water
Though tap water is considered safe to drink, it can still contain trace amounts of contaminants. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets a minimum standard of water quality that all states must meet. However, some states are responsible for regulating their own drinking water standards as long as they meet the EPA’s minimum requirements. Depending on where you live your water quality could differ drastically. Additional at-home water filtration provides many benefits for you.
Here are the contaminants that can get in water:
- Specks of dirt or dust, or any floating bits that you can see in your water – especially when you are using a natural source of water like a well.
- Pesticides and metals such as lead, aluminum, traces of pharmaceutical drugs that have escaped into your water supply. Especially contamination through corrosion of lead pipes is a cause for concern - replacing old lead pipes is a costly and time-consuming process making additional at-home water filtration a necessary step in some areas.
- A wide variety of bacteria, viruses, and parasites: Cholera, dysentery, and typhoid are a few examples of diseases that can be found in unclean drinking water. Reducing bacteria from drinking water is very important to ensure health and safety.[6]
- Some tap water smells and tastes unpleasant, which can be the result of the chemical purification method used to make the water safe to drink. Chlorine is a common disinfectant used to kill contaminants that can affect the taste, smell, and appearance of water.
Filtering your water, as you can see above, is important. Ensuring that you and your family have easy access to quality drinking water will go a long way to preserve the health of you and those you love. Zerowater has plenty of products that can help you enjoy the benefits of drinking filtered water. We offer a wide selection of options to suit the needs of any household or office space, including our flagship 5-stage filtration system that removes virtually all dissolved solids, our ExtremeLife faucet mount that is certified to remove PFOA/PFOS and tested to reduce lead, as well as our chlorine removing eco-filter.