Dehydration

Dehydration
Deanna L. Boss
May 13, 2010

      We have all seen or heard the ads that recommend we drink eight to ten glasses of water a day to keep our bodies healthy and well hydrated but, have you ever wondered why? I have often wondered why water is so essential to health maintenance and what is dehydration? So, I set out to find the answers to these and other questions and this paper is the culmination of my research.
    First of all, dehydration is when the body excretes, either by urination or sweating, more fluids than it takes in. The best way to keep your body from getting dehydrated is to drink plenty of fluids or water. Sometimes drinking more water is easier said than done, especially if you live in an area where there is water pollution or the water does not taste very good, but there are ways around that, if you can afford it buy bottled water or get a water filtration system, there are several out on the market and they are reasonably priced.
    We all know we need to drink more water but why is it so essential for health maintenance? For starters, around 70% of our bodies are made up of water (NaturalHealthRestored.com, 2008-2010). With facts like that it is not hard to see why drinking water is so important, not only that but, water provides many benefits that we may not have thought of before, for example:
  1. Healthy Skin: When your body is well hydrated, our skin is moisturized and it maintains its elasticity (Blurtit.com, 2010).
  2. Lose Weight: If you drink water before a meal, you will feel full faster so you do not eat as much. Also, water helps keep the systems of your body functioning properly these systems include metabolism and digestion (Blurtit.com, 2010).
  3. Rids the Body of Toxins: When you drink the correct amount of water each day, it helps flush out toxins that may harm your liver or kidneys (Blurtit.com, 2010).
  4. Lubricates and Cushions Joints and Muscles: As water makes up such a large part of the...