Water is the fuel of the body. In fact, most of the body is made up of water. So obviously the intake of water is essential to keep things flowing properly within the body. Why else is water important?

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Reportedly, a healthy person can live for up to 8 weeks without food, but only about 7 days without water. It is vital for life itself. So if you’re not a big fan of drinking water, maybe these facts will change your mind.

1. Drinking Water Keeps You Cool

Normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, and even the slightest rise in body temperature can signal fever or a serious medical condition. Babies and seniors especially are susceptible to suffering significant damage as a result of overheating and dehydration.

Temperatures over 100 degrees can be life threatening and potentially damaging to the brain and nervous system. Water helps to maintain normal body temperature, rehydrate the body after exercise and sweating, and quickly fend off illness that could arise from overheating.

2. Drinking Water Washes Away Toxins and Carcinogens

The recommended amount of water for the average person is eight, 8-ounce glasses per day. People can play a valuable part in ridding themselves of the many poisons and toxins that build up in the body and, in doing so, stop a lot of the diseases that invade the body. The uric acid that builds up in the joints of gout sufferers is even neutralized and washed away by water.

If you’ve ever eaten too much of the wrong kinds of food and find yourself feeling ill, water can swiftly help that yucky feeling to subside as it forces the junk matter out. Water flushes out toxins, including the cancer-causing kind. Increasing your water intake will dilute their effects and ultimately eliminate them.

3. Drinking Water Dissolves Kidney Stones

One of the main functions of the kidneys is to flush out toxins through the urine. When there is an insufficient supply of water passing through the kidneys, kidney stones may develop. Restoring that supply, among other things, is one way of breaking down kidney stones and allowing them to pass through the urinary tract. The pain of kidney stones is one you won’t soon forget, so drink more water to both prevent and dispel them.

4. Drinking Water Helps You Maintain a Healthy Weight

Water has zero calories, so you can drink as much as you want without adding one iota to your weight. It is also filling when you drink water before meals, so you are less likely to overindulge. So-called fruit juices and other sweet drinks taste good, but add a lot of empty calories to your diet.

5. Drinking Water Hydrates and Heals Your Skin

Drinking water makes the skin softer, less itchy and chapped during cold season. Also, because water is constantly washing away toxins from within; skin blemishes, acne, discolorations, etc. will begin to fade away and you’ll have a much healthier glow to your skin.

6. Drinking Water Cushions Your Joints

As an added benefit to gout and arthritis sufferers, water will make joints more flexible and fluid in motion, less painful, and shielded from further damage. Athletes and very active people, who are prone to injury, can also appreciate this fact.