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Why water matters
Why is water important?
Water is important because all living organisms need it to live. In the human body it is used as a lubricant for joints and muscles, helps transport nutrients throughout the body, acts as a base for saliva and regulating body temperature. In addition, it plays a key role in disease prevention and in regulating metabolism. Around 60% of our body weight is made out of water and it is vital to maintain that balance so that your body and mind can function correctly.
Weight Loss and Water
There are many reasons why it is important to drink water, especially if you are trying to lose weight:
Initial weight loss is largely due to loss of water, and you need to drink an adequate amount of water in order to avoid dehydration.
The process of burning calories requires an adequate supply of water in order to function efficiently; dehydration slows down the fat-burning process.
Burning calories creates toxins and if you drink enough water it will aid in flushing them out of your body.
Dehydration causes a reduction in blood volume; a reduction in blood volume causes a reduction in the supply of oxygen to your muscles; and a reduction in the supply of oxygen to your muscles can make you feel tired.
Water helps maintain muscle tone by assisting muscles in their ability to contract, and it lubricates your joints. Proper hydration can help reduce muscle and joint soreness when exercising.
A healthy (weight loss) diet includes a good amount of fibre. But while fibre is normally helpful to your digestive system, without adequate fluids it can cause constipation instead of helping to eliminate it.
Drinking water with a meal may make you feel full sooner and therefore satisfied eating less. Note, however, that drinking water alone may not have this effect. In order to feel satiated (not hungry), our bodies need bulk, calories and nutrients.
Tips on drinking water
Drinking other liquids also provides your body with a source of water, but note that diuretics cause your body to expel water. Diuretics include caffeinated drinks (coffee, tea and soda) and alcohol. When drinking diuretics, drink more water to compensate. When drinking alcohol, drinking water along with it as well as before and afterward may eliminate a hangover, headache and feeling of tiredness. The water is optional; driving is not.
When you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Try to avoid this situation by drinking in advance. Be especially careful when participating in activities where you won't be able to stop to get caught up.
SCPT recommends that you should drink a pint of water as soon as you wake up. This is simply because your body may have gone 12 hours since you last had a drink of water. So by hydrating upon wakening you give yourself the best chance of rehydrating the body for the day ahead!
Hydration for sports performance
The European Food Safety Authority (ESFA) recommends that women drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day and men require a minimum of 2.5 litres. These figures should be the minimum amount of water you should drink per day without training.
A simple way to check to see if you are hydrated would be to check your urine. It should be pale yellow or straw colour. The lighter the colour the more hydrated you are. Please note that having a multivitamin tablet can also change the colour of your urine so be careful checking after having one of these.
Why water alone may not be enough
Just under 90% of people drink water to hydrate during their training sessions but this may not be the most effective way to stay hydrated. The reason for this is because when you sweat you lose vital electrolytes (sodium, potassium calcium and magnesium), especially sodium. Electrolytes are important to the body because they improve the speed of the absorption to the body, which is important when you need to rehydrate quickly, especially when training in the heat.
If you drink just water alone, it has no electrolytes. This can be quite dangerous as it can dilute any remaining electrolytes from your body. This imbalance can impair performance.