Hydration In The Morning Is REALLY Important!
When we think about nutrition it’s easy to get caught up in the latest diet or “superfood” and forget about how important water is for health and life. Dehydration causes dry skin, tiredness, reduced concentration levels, and losses in strength and stamina. Typically, when we first wake is when we’re most dehydrated, it could easily be 10 hours since your last drink. Rehydrating yourself first thing is key.
Health
Water plays a vital role in digestion helping with transit and absorption. Drinking water early can help flush out your system from the day before, it is also believed to dilute toxins in the bowel. Studies show staying hydrated reduces your chances of developing bowel cancer over 50%. Considering 1 in 4 people die from cancer and bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer after lung cancer. It’s great to know water can significantly reduce our chance of getting it.
Recent studies have also shown staying hydrated greatly reduces chances of breast cancer to although more research is need.
Other Key Benefits
- Preventing and reducing headaches
- Improving concentration
- Improved skin
- Reduced illnesses
Training and Hydration
The average gym goer training 40-60 minutes durations aiming to lose weight doesn’t need a sports drink they just need water. (An energy sports drink is likely to contain a similar number of calories as you would burn off in an exercise class, leading to zero weight loss.)
Dehydration of 2% can reduce work capacity by 25% so keeping hydrated can help you get through lots more training in your session.
Drinking water burns calories, as the body heats water up to internal temperature and absorbs it calories are burned.
If you’re training to build muscle and spending a fortune on protein shakes but maybe not hydrating it’s worth noting that muscle is composed of only 15-20% protein and almost 80% water.
Hunger and Hydration
Dehydration causes mild burning in the stomach and a feeling of emptiness. This is easily confused with hunger. And cravings for fat have been linked with dehydration. This may be due to the fact fat generates the most metabolic water as it’s broken down. So, cravings for high fat food could be a compensation for a diet low in water.
Conclusions
If you don’t drink enough water during the day try having a litre in the morning when you need it most. And enjoy the health benefits.
References
3 Shannon J, White E, Shattuck AL, Potter JD. Relationship of food groups and water intake to colon cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 1996;5:495-502
Stookey JD, Belderson PE, Russell JM, Barker ME. Correspondence re: J. Shannon et al. Relationship of food groups and water intake to colon cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 1997;6:657-658
