Drinking Water Can Help You Lose Weight, Control Diabetes, And Relieve Migraines
Plenty of us still don’t drink enough water each day. That’s in spite of public health guidelines stating that drinking about eight cups of water daily is adequate for hydration.
The liquid comprises a large part of your body and is critical for nearly every function, from regulating body temperature to protecting organs and joints.
However, researchers from UC San Francisco decided to dig deeper into the effects of water intake.
“For such a ubiquitous and simple intervention, the evidence hasn’t been clear, and the benefits were not well-established, so we wanted to take a closer look,” said Benjamin Breyer, a senior and corresponding author of their latest study.
The team ultimately discovered that consuming enough water helps with a multitude of conditions, from migraines and weight loss to low blood pressure and kidney stone prevention.
In their study, they examined 18 different randomized controlled trials. The most overwhelming evidence of the positive impact of drinking water was found in relation to helping people lose weight and preventing kidney stones.
“The amount of rigorous research turned out to be limited, but in some specific areas, there was a statistically significant benefit. To our knowledge, this is the first study assessing the benefits of water consumption on clinical outcomes broadly,” Breyer explained.
In terms of kidney stone prevention, for instance, it was found that drinking eight cups of water each day decreased the risk of developing another kidney stone significantly.
As for weight loss, multiple studies showed that drinking approximately six cups of water per day helped adults drop some pounds.
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Staying hydrated was linked to other wide-ranging positive outcomes, too, such as controlling diabetes and low blood pressure, as well as preventing urinary tract infections and migraines.
Women who suffered from recurrent urinary tract infections experienced decreased infections and more time in between infections after drinking an extra six cups of water each day.
As for adults suffering from recurrent migraines, those who drank more water for a three-month period reported feeling better.
Additionally, consuming four more cups of water on a daily basis aided diabetic patients with elevated blood glucose levels. Finally, adding more water intake to their routine also helped young adults dealing with low blood pressure.
According to Breyer, the detrimental effects of dehydration are well known, especially for people with a history of urinary infections or kidney stones.
On the flip side, certain individuals may actually benefit from drinking less water if they deal with frequent urination.
This suggests that approaches to water intake aren’t “one-size-fits-all.” Nonetheless, the study’s results displayed how drinking more water can aid a variety of conditions, something the researchers believe deserves further analysis.
With obesity being a worldwide problem, the researchers also suggested that drinking water prior to eating meals is both a cheap and simple intervention method.
“While the quality and quantity of evidence was limited, a small number of studies suggest benefits of water intake on weight loss and nephrolithiasis, while single studies raise the possibility of benefits related to migraine prevention, UTIs, diabetes control, and hypotension,” the study concluded.
“Given the obvious low cost and low adverse-effect profile of water, further well-designed studies should assess benefits in these specific conditions.”
To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in JAMA Network Open, visit the link here.
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