Why Do You Really Need to Drink 8 Glasses of Water a Day?

By: Franceska

As I’m sure many of you know- since it is drilled into our minds from a young age- water is extremely important. I mean, come on- we all learned when we were seven or eight that our bodies are mostly water! Literally, all of the cells within our body are composed of a little droplet of what science savvy individuals refer to as “intracellular fluid” or cytoplasm. Multiply that by an insane amount of cells within our body, and all of a sudden that crazy factoid from when you were a kid makes sense. 

Our bodies are the result of several years of evolutionary changes that makes us who and what we are today. With that said- if we have 75% of our total body weight in water, it must be important to keep that value maintained! Our bodies are extremely sensitive to fluid losses, and almost immediately following even the slightest drop there is a reaction from our blood pressure receptors that attempts to minimize the effect by increasing the pumping action of our hearts and constrict our vessels to make sure enough nutrients are being supplied to our tissues- all that just to maintain them. How wonderful our bodies are!

If it’s so obvious that our body is in this constant balancing mode to keep us at our optimum performance, we should show it some love- and yes, water is the answer! Not only is water necessary to keep our blood pressure leveled and our minds sharp, but water is one of the key factors to maintaining a naturally glowing complexion. When our skin is deprived of water, all of the layers of our epidermis and dermis become dry, thin and loosely attached to one another. 

Our skin cells cannot function properly under poorly nutrient-supplied circumstances, and as a result, the regular cell turnover of our cells becomes interrupted. Dead, sub-par skin cells are routinely broken down by scavenger-like cells, but the problem surfaces when there isn’t an adequate supply to replenish and help build new, healthy skin cells. The end result? Exactly what nobody wants; dry, loose, ashy skin! 

If you swear you have the best skin care routine around but somehow still struggle with unappealing skin, look first to the status of your water-drinking habits. 

They say eight glasses a day is the rule, but try to drink around ten. Too boring for you? Try cutting up a whole lemon and/or lime and an orange, (or your other favorite fruit) and let it sit overnight. Something so fresh never felt or tasted so good! Not only will the internal environment (what you can’t see) of your body be thankful, but your skin will be too- and it will certainly show!