6 Reasons to Drink Water It's no magic bullet, but the benefits of water are many.

Americans seem to carry bottled water everywhere they go these days. In fact, it has become the second most popular drink (behind soft drinks). But water lovers got a jolt recently when we heard that a new report had found that the benefits of drinking water may have been oversold. Apparently, the old suggestion to drink eight glasses a day was nothing more than a guideline, not based on scientific evidence.

But don't put your water bottle or glass down just yet. While we may not need eight glasses, there are plenty of reasons to drink water. In fact, drinking water (either plain or in the form of other fluids or foods) is essential to your health.

"Think of water as a nutrient your body needs that is present in liquids, plain water, and foods. All of these are essential daily to replace the large amounts of water lost each day," says Joan Koelemay, RD, dietitian for the Beverage Institute, an industry group.

Kaiser Permanente nephrologist Steven Guest, MD, agrees: "Fluid losses occur continuously, from skin evaporation, breathing, urine, and stool, and these losses must be replaced daily for good health," he says.

When your water intake does not equal your output, you can become dehydrated. Fluid losses are accentuated in warmer climates, during strenuous exercise, in high altitudes, and in older adults, whose sense of thirst may not be as sharp.

Here are six reasons to make sure you're drinking enough water or other fluids every day:

1. Drinking Water Helps Maintain the Balance of Body Fluids. Your body is composed of about 60% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature.

"Through the posterior pituitary gland, your brain communicates with your kidneys and tells it how much water to excrete as urine or hold onto for reserves," says Guest, who is also an adjunct professor of medicine at Stanford University.

When you're low on fluids, the brain triggers the body's thirst mechanism. And unless you are taking medications that make you thirsty, Guest says, you should listen to those cues and get yourself a drink of water, juice, milk, coffee -- anything but alcohol.

"Alcohol interferes with the brain and kidney communication and causes excess excretion of fluids which can then lead to dehydration," he says.

2. Water Can Help Control Calories. For years, dieters have been drinking lots of water as a weight loss strategy. While water doesn't have any magical effect on weight loss, substituting it for higher calorie beverages can certainly help.

"What works with weight loss is if you choose water or a non-caloric beverage over a caloric beverage and/or eat a diet higher in water-rich foods that are healthier, more filling, and help you trim calorie intake," says Penn State researcher Barbara Rolls, PhD, author of The Volumetrics Weight Control Plan.

Food with high water content tends to look larger, its higher volume requires more chewing, and it is absorbed more slowly by the body, which helps you feel full. Water-rich foods include fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, oatmeal, and beans.

3. Water Helps Energize Muscles. Cells that don't maintain their balance of fluids and electrolytes shrivel, which can result in muscle fatigue. "When muscle cells don't have adequate fluids, they don't work as well and performance can suffer," says Guest.

Drinking enough fluids is important when exercising. Follow the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for fluid intake before and during physical activity. These guidelines recommend that people drink about 17 ounces of fluid about two hours before exercise. During exercise, they recommend that people start drinking fluids early, and drink them at regular intervals to replace fluids lost by sweating.

4. Water Helps Keep Skin Looking Good. Your skin contains plenty of water, and functions as a protective barrier to prevent excess fluid loss. But don't expect over-hydration to erase wrinkles or fine lines, says Atlanta dermatologist Kenneth Ellner, MD.

"Dehydration makes your skin look more dry and wrinkled, which can be improved with proper hydration," he says. "But once you are adequately hydrated, the kidneys take over and excrete excess fluids."

You can also help "lock" moisture into your skin by using moisturizer, which creates a physical barrier to keep moisture in.

5. Water Helps Your Kidneys. Body fluids transport waste products in and out of cells. The main toxin in the body is blood urea nitrogen, a water-soluble waste that is able to pass through the kidneys to be excreted in the urine, explains Guest. "Your kidneys do an amazing job of cleansing and ridding your body of toxins as long as your intake of fluids is adequate," he says.

When you're getting enough fluids, urine flows freely, is light in color and free of odor. When your body is not getting enough fluids, urine concentration, color, and odor increases because the kidneys trap extra fluid for bodily functions.

If you chronically drink too little, you may be at higher risk for kidney stones, especially in warm climates, Guest warns.

6. Water Helps Maintain Normal Bowel Function. Adequate hydration keeps things flowing along your gastrointestinal tract and prevents constipation. When you don't get enough fluid, the colon pulls water from stools to maintain hydration -- and the result is constipation.

"Adequate fluid and fiber is the perfect combination, because the fluid pumps up the fiber and acts like a broom to keep your bowel functioning properly," says Koelemay.

5 Tips to Help You Drink More

If you think you need to be drinking more, here are some tips to increase your fluid intake and reap the benefits of water:

1. Have a beverage with every snack and meal.
2. Choose beverages you enjoy; you're likely to drink more liquids if you like the way they taste.
3. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Their high water content will add to your hydration. About 20% of our fluid intake comes from foods.
4. Keep a bottle of water with you in your car, at your desk, or in your bag.
5. Choose beverages that meet your individual needs. If you're watching calories, go for non-caloric beverages or water.

11 Small but Important Ways to Take Care of Your Mental Health

11 Small but Important Ways to Take Care of Your Mental Health



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Look around (like, literally look around or scan your timeline or Twitter feed). You may have noticed that we're making huge strides in destigmatizing mental illness, and that's fantastic. The importance of treating your mental health as you would your physical health is a pretty well accepted principle. It's becoming less taboo to talk openly about therapy and mental illness—there are almost as many celebrities talking about mental health as there are Keep Calm and Whateverdecorations in literally any store you walk into. All signs point to the fact that we're prioritizing self care, and that's awesome.

But when it comes to actually being mentally well, we're a little murky on the follow-through. There's no shortage of self-care strategies out there, but not everyone has the time and money to spend on a wellness retreat or horse therapy or crystals that may or may not chill you out.

This year, on World Mental Health Day, we've culled some of the most impactful and least intimidating ways to take care of your mental health so that it becomes something we do—not just something we talk about.
1. Give yourself permission to take a mental health day when you need it.
You know when you need one, and you know you'll be more productive (and just generally easier to be around) if you take one. So why do we all feel so selfish when we do it? Try to think of it as preventive medicine—by taking a day to relax and recharge now, you're giving your body (and immune system) some time to catch up, which could help prevent an actual sick day in your future.





2. Do something else besides watching Netflix before bed.
If you've lost track of more nights than you can count while binge-watching a series, only to feel tired and groggy and kind of behind on life the next day, try a little experiment where you don't watch TV before bed for a week. Use that time to read, color, call your mom, journal, take a bath, whatever. For a lot of people, zoning out with a good series can be a therapeutic coping mechanism, which is great, but it's helpful to find other tools for calming down at the end of the day. And maybe you'll find one that won't occasionally keep you up until 2 a.m.


3. Think about things you only enjoy on vacation. Then inject a little of that into your daily life.
We tend to have a more chill outlook on everything when we're on vacation. You replace the gym with swimming and walking, dinner consists of potlucks with new friends, and your email (hopefully) has an out-of-office reply. What if we took just a little bit of that mentality and made it the rule—rather than the exception? Maybe that means skipping the gym to go for a simple run in the park, or turning your phone on Do Not Disturb between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Obviously it won't make you feel like you're on vacation, but it might help you reclaim your time.

4. Take literally five minutes to meditate and don't you roll your eyes at me.
Yes, meditation seems like a thing that only yoga teachers do, but it doesn't need to be a whole thing to be effective. Don't worry about accomplishing anything or reaching some sort of enlightenment when you do it; just the fact that you're taking a few minutes to calm down and focus on your breathing is huge. If you don't know where to start, just sit quietly and focus on breathing in and out, slowly, for two minutes. Then work up to five minutes the next time you do it.

5. Try to limit refined sugar and add more magnesium in your diet.
Cutting back on added sugar (think: sodas, candies, pastries) won't cure depression, but it can help keep blood sugar levels stable, which can help balance your energy levels throughout the day. And while there's no such thing as stress-fighting foods, magnesium has been shown to help alleviate headaches and fatigue, as Despina Hyde-Gandhi, M.S., registered dietitian at New York University Langone’s Weight Management Program, previously told SELF. So adding dark leafy greens, pumpkin seeds, avocados, and figs to your diet isn't a bad idea.

6. Get help, even if you think what you're dealing with isn't "bad enough."
There is no threshold of struggling you have to reach before therapy or medication is warranted. If you're experiencing mood changes that aren't going away—especially if it's interfering with your daily life—talk to someone and get help. That someone can be a primary care doctor, a friend, a therapist, or even your human resources department. The Psychology Today therapist finder is a great tool.

7. Along those lines, find a therapist who is uniquely qualified to treat you, especially if you're a person of color.
Recognize the role that racism and racial micro-aggressions could be playing in your mental health. Race and racism play a significant role in a person's vulnerability to mental health struggles as well as their reluctance to seek treatment, as Kevin Washington, Ph.D., president of the Association of Black Psychologists, previously told SELF. But finding a therapist can be hard, and finding a black mental health professional can be even harder, as African-American psychologists made up just 5.3 percent of the active psychology workforce in 2013. Don't let that stop you from getting the help you need. To find a therapist near you, try africanamericantherapists.com.

8. If your mental health is affecting your work, set up a time to discuss this with your boss or HR department.
It's not always necessary to disclose a mental health condition at work, but it might be worth it if it's affecting your job—like if you need to take a longer lunch one day a week to make a therapy appointment or if you need to work from home occasionally while you get used to a new medication. Just make sure you have a goal in mind before you talk to your boss, and consult HR first if you're unsure.

9. Consider cutting back on alcohol if you end up feeling worse every time you go out drinking.
For many people, there's nothing wrong with drinking in moderation. But if you find that you're consistently drinking to escape feelings of depression or anxiety, or if you frequently experience morning-after panic, it might be worth thinking about the role that alcohol plays in your moods.

10. Stop glorifying being busy and get some sleep.
You make time for happy hour, Pilates, and sex. It's time to make time for sleep. Without it, not only will you feel like a groggy mess at work and in life, but your mental health will almost certainly suffer. Sleep isn't a magic reset button for your moods, but it can make a huge difference when you're not getting enough.

11. Write down a bunch of positive affirmations and healthy coping mechanisms and put them in a jar for when you need to snap out of a negative thought spiral.
The point is to remind yourself you have options when you're blinded by negative thoughts that tell you there's nothing that will help you. These can be simple reminders ("You are loved"), coping strategies ("Take a walk and have some water"), or Beyoncé lyrics—whatever will help you regain focus when you're struggling with your mental health.