Health benefits of drinking water: Can drinking more water be healthy? Perhaps

Benefits of drinking water: Boosting hydration could help prevent migraines, aid blood sugar control, and reduce the risk of urinary tract infections and hypotension – dangerously low blood pressure (Image: Canva)

Ready to unlock your body's full potential? Start by drinking more water! This simple act can revolutionize your health. Water is considered essential for optimal health. Much can be said for adequate water intake as it keeps your skin healthy, lubricates joints, and regulates body temperature. But new research says that the answer may not be that simple, even though there are lots of advantages to drinking water.

“There's probably not a one-size-fits-all recommendation for how much water someone should drink, especially given the fact that we're all shaped differently, have different kind of exercise routines, and live in different climates,” stated Dr Benjamin Breyer, chair and professor of urology at the University of California, San Francisco.

In a new study review titled Outcomes in Randomized Clinical Trials Testing Changes in Daily Water Intake, Breyer’s team looked at 24 years of recent scientific evidence on increasing water intake based on 18 eligible studies.

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“The studies assessed various populations. Recurring primary end points included weight loss, fasting blood glucose level, headache, urinary tract infection, and nephrolithiasis (kidney stones). Consuming additional water was associated with greater weight loss (range, 44%-100% more than control conditions) and fewer nephrolithiasis events (15 fewer events per 100 participants over 5 years),” the study said.

Boosting hydration could also help prevent migraines, aid blood sugar control, and reduce the risk of urinary tract infections and hypotension – dangerously low blood pressure. However, the quality and quantity of research was limited.

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Benefits of drinking water

The research team found that increasing your water intake could improve health:

Weight loss: People who drank 500 milliliters of water before each of their three daily meals lost 44 percent to 100 percent more weight than people in control groups. A drink of water “can fill up your stomach and maybe be a natural appetite suppressant. But when people drank more water throughout the day, and not just before meals, there was no weight loss benefit.
Kidney stones. People who drank more water had a lower risk of kidney stones. By drinking more water, you might be able to reduce the concentration of stone-forming salts in your pee, the research says.

Blood sugar: When people with type 2 diabetes drank extra water, their fasting blood sugar levels decreased. By drinking more water, you can perhaps increase your blood volume and dilute the glucose concentration. But in a study of people with normal blood sugar levels, drinking more water was linked with a slight increase in blood sugar, though not to harmful levels.
Headaches. One study found that increasing water intake by 1,500 milliliters per day helped people with migraine headaches feel slightly better. Another study showed no effect on headaches.

Also read | Water for good health: Benefits, hydration tips and signs of dehydration

Urinary tract infections: When women with recurrent UTIs who drank less than 1,500 milliliters per day were asked to double that amount, they had an average of 1.5 fewer UTIs over the next 12 months. By staying hydrated, you might dilute bacteria in your urine and pee them out before they can multiply and attach to the cells lining your urinary tract.

Overactive bladder: Decreasing fluid intake by 25 percent helped people with overactive bladder reduce how often and urgently they needed to pee during the day and at night.

Hypotension: People who drank an extra 30 milliliters of fluid per kilogram of body weight increased their arterial pressure. That can be good for people prone to hypotension – very low blood pressure that can make you feel faint.

To conclude, “there are many benefits of water intake on weight loss and kidney stones, while other studies suggest that it can also of benefit for patients with migraine, urinary tract infection, diabetes, and hypotension,” the researchers say.

DISCLAIMER: This article, including health and fitness advice, only provides generic information. Don’t treat it as a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist for specific health diagnosis.