What Would Happen If You Replace All Drinks with Water

What do you think would happen to your body if you replace all your drinks with water? If you knew that by doing so, it would help you lose weight, give you more energy, help prevent diseases and make your skin glow, would you do it? Water may not be the most exciting beverage in town, but when it comes to health benefits, it reigns supreme.

The Benefits of Hydration

Sixty percent of the adult human body is water [1]. For this reason, drinking enough water is crucial to our health. In conversation surrounding diet and health, however, water is sometimes tacked on as an afterthought.

Drinking adequate amounts of water can have a dramatic impact on your health. Even moreso, if you replace all your drinks with water, you will begin to notice significant changes in your body. For this reason, it’s time to set down the soda, juice, and wine and pick up a glass of H2O.

Water Can Help You Lose Weight

Water can help you lose weight for two reasons: it boosts satiety and increases your metabolism.

In fact, one study showed that dieters who drank 16.9 ounces of water half an hour before meals lost 44 percent more weight over a period of twelve weeks than those who didn’t [2].

Additionally, replacing sugar-sweetened beverages or alcoholic drinks with water could also aid in weight loss for the simple fact that you are consuming fewer calories.

Water Can Increase Your Energy

If you’re relying on coffee or energy drinks to get you through your day, you may want to consider how much water you’re drinking. Even mild hydration can drain your energy and make you feel tired.

There have been several studies to show that dehydration can have a significant impact on your mood, alertness, and feelings of sleepiness and fatigue. Inadequate water intake can even have a negative impact on your sleep/wake cycles [3].

Water Can Improve Your Brain Function

Your hydration status has a significant impact on your brain function. In fact, even the loss of one to three percent of your body weight from water loss can impair many aspects of the brain.

Several studies have shown that dehydration can affect mood, concentration, and working memory, and increase feelings anxiety and fatigue. These results affect children, adults, and the elderly [4,5,6].

Water Can Slow Down Signs of Aging

Water helps your body excrete toxins faster by transporting waste products in your body. It then removes them through urination, breathing, or sweating. This can help reduce the signs of aging and keep you looking and feeling younger [7].

Water lowers Your Risk for Disease

Drinking water can help lower your blood pressure, thus reducing your risk for hypertension [8]. Additionally, people who drink plenty of water on a daily basis tend to have lower rates of bladder conditions, including bladder cancer. This is potentially because since they empty their bladders more often, they are preventing chemicals from lingering in their bladder [9].

Water Can Help Your Heart

A study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that participants who drank five or more glasses of water per day had a much lower risk of fatal coronary artery disease than those who drank less than two glasses per day.

In particular, drinking a glass of water before bed improves circulation while you sleep, which is when you are most at-risk for a heart attack [10].

Drinking Water Improves Your Skin

If you want glowing, dewy-looking skin, skip the makeup aisle and pick up a glass of water. It is not entirely clear whether drinking water improves the look of skin in healthy people. Despite the lack of research, however, we do know this: if the outermost layer of the epidermis (the outer layer of the skin) doesn’t contain enough water, it will lose elasticity and feel rough [11].

Much of the evidence to prove that drinking water equals glowing skin is anecdotal. Many people report that once they started drinking more water, their skin had a more radiant glow [12]. As a cheap and very easy form of skin care, it certainly can’t hurt.

Water Can Help Relieve Constipation

Low water intake is a risk factor for constipation in people of all ages, but in particular for older adults [13]. If constipation is a common problem for you, consider drinking mineral water that’s high in magnesium and sodium. Studies have shown that this improves both the frequency and consistency of bowel movements in people who struggle with constipation [14].

Does This Mean You Should Replace all Drinks with Water?

Technically, water is the only beverage you need. All the nutrients you require, you can get from food. That being said, this doesn’t mean you should never drink anything but water. After all, other beverages can be both enjoyable and refreshing. 

The key is to make sure that most of what you’re drinking is water. The following guidelines are good rules to live by:

1. Stay hydrated
2. Limit your intake of sugar-sweetened beverages like sodas, fruit drinks, energy drinks, and coffee with added sugar.
3. Limit your intake of fruit juice (opt for eating whole fruits instead).
4. If you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
5. Focus on all-natural beverages like water, herbal tea, or flavored water [15].

There’s Room for a Little of Everything

The important takeaway here is that water is essential for your body. Thus, staying hydrated can do wonders for your health, your energy levels, your mood, and even your appearance. This doesn’t mean that you have to replace all drinks with water, however.

There is room in your diet for all of the beverages you love. As long as you consume the less-healthy options in moderation, and stay hydrated throughout your day, you will reap the health benefits of water.