Second only to oxygen, the body needs water more than any other substance. The cells of the body are made of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and salts. In order to combine, transport, absorb, and breakdown the necessary amounts of these substances, the body must have water.
Up to 60% of the human body is water. The brain is composed of 70% and the lungs are 90% water. Lean muscle tissue is about 75% muscle tissue. About 83% of our blood is water. Even our bones are 20% water. Not drinking enough water may be causing all kinds of ailments from low back pain, to joint discomfort, headaches, and constipation. Drinking water can improve skin, decrease fatigue, and may reduce the incidents of heart disease, high blood pressure, and strokes. Drinking water can also help you to lose weight.
Instead of drinking flavored, sugary beverages, drink water. Many labels on drinks have servings listed in grams instead of ounces. An 8-oz drink is approximately 236 grams. Often, when ordering out, the drinks are 16 oz or larger. The benefit in knowing that is so that you can properly assess how many calories you are ingesting.
For example, McDonald’s sweet tea label reads 90 calories for a serving size of 100 grams. 100 grams is less than half a cup. So if you look at a 16 oz large drink (not super-sized), there are over 400 calories and 46 grams of sugar.
Calories can convert to weight-loss and weight -gain. 3500 calories equal 1 pound. If you have four 16 oz sweet teas a week, in a little over two weeks, you will have gained a pound! Since there are 4.2 grams of sugar in a teaspoon, that is 11 teaspoons of sugar in every 16 oz of the popular beverage.
Karrie Hawkins, a Westchase Resident, recently lost 10 pounds and contributes a large part of her weight-loss to the fact that she no longer drinks her sugary beverage of choice and drinks plenty of water instead.
Diet drinks with artificial sweeteners can be used to wean off of sugary beverages. However, there is a lot of research that suggest that over time, the artificial sweeteners can cause weight gain. That is a topic for another day. The beverage of choice for health and beauty is H20.
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