Why is Water Important?

Drinking plenty of water is an important part of maintaining a healthy weight and a nutritious diet.

Water plays an essential role in helping your body process nutrients, maintain normal circulation and

keep the proper balance of fluids.

REPLACE WHAT YOU LOSE

After each 30-minute workout, drink two 8 oz. glasses of water to replenish your fluids. If you find you become thirsty while working out, consider using a sports bottle to help you stay hydrated while you exercise. Because of their calorie content, soft drinks and fruit juices are not good choices for replacing lost fluids if you are trying to lose weight or manage your weight. You might try adding just a splash of fruit juice or a slice of lemon or lime to a glass of water if you don’t like the taste of plain water.

HOW MUCH WATER IS ENOUGH?

As a general guideline, try to drink six to eight 8 oz. glasses of water a day. If you exercise, you will probably need to drink more to replenish the water lost through sweating. You can usually trust your sense of thirst to let you know when you need to drink. Your sense of thirst, combined with simply paying attention to how many glasses of water you’ve had in a day, can help you to keep your body hydrated.

WHEN WATER ISN’T ENOUGH

The next time you’re thirsty, it could be smart to think before you drink. While “you are what you eat,” the phrase is more accurately “you are what you drink.” Our bodies are about 60 percent water, and while watery foods can help meet our needs, most of our daily water needs are met from the fluids we drink. Aside from plain water, consumers are faced with a dizzying array of juices, juice drinks, vitamin-fortified waters, sports drinks, energy drinks and teas–making it difficult to choose the best beverage to help meet fluid needs. For the average person who exercises moderately, plain water is a perfectly good choice. But many people prefer drinks with a little flavor, and tastier fluids may encourage consumption. And as exercise duration and intensity increase, it’s important to not only replace fluid losses, but to replace body salts–such as sodium and potassium–that are lost with sweating.

When evaluating beverages, a good place to start is by reading the nutrition facts label. For instance,

sodas or fruit drinks are often high in calories and sugar, and low on nutrients. Not only can these empty calories pile on the pounds, the high-sugar concentration in sodas and fruit drinks can actually slow down the rate at which the body absorbs fluid. If you see high-fructose corn syrup at the top of the ingredient list, you may want to pass. Sugars other than fructose, in lower concentrations, are much better absorbed. Some energy drinks have a combination of caffeine and sugar, designed to give you a quick spike in energy. But if you aren’t used to consuming caffeinated drinks, these could make you jittery or upset your stomach.

So what should you look for? It’s a good idea to check labels for electrolytes, such as sodium and

potassium, which are salts that your body loses when you perspire. In addition to replacing losses,

electrolytes can also add some flavor, which will encourage you to drink more. Also, look for drinks with less than 100 calories per 8 oz. serving. Higher calories means a higher sugar concentration; you also don’t want to drink back the calories you just burned on the treadmill.

While too much sugar can be a problem, a little bit of carbohydrate in beverages can help to maintain blood sugar while you are exercising. Also, a mixture of several forms of carbohydrate in the drink helps to get carbohydrate into working muscle better than just one carbohydrate source. A drink such as one made with Herbalife’s H3O® Fitness Drink mix could be a good choice because it contains the right amount of readily absorbed carbohydrates, no caffeine, and the essential electrolytes people lose when they perspire. It comes in a powder that mixes easily with water, and is available either in a canister or in convenient single-serve “stick packs” that can be thrown in a bag or pocket and mixed in any water bottle.