Water is the essential building block of a healthy diet. After all, it’s the basis of all life on earth; we literally cannot live without water. Despite the importance of water, many Americans don’t drink enough, reports a Harvard study. This can cause real damage, Mercola notes: muscle aches, bad breath and poor concentration, just to start!

We need a lot of water; WebMD suggests one-half to one ounce daily for every pound of body weight. A 200-pound man might need one and a half gallons of water each day. And those who engage in strenuous physical activity, eat salty snacks or drink coffee should get extra water. Dietitian Sheila Tucker of Boston College recommends drinking regularly; don’t wait until you feel thirsty to satisfy your body’s needs.

While a cold icy glass of water may seem a natural choice, drinking warm water on an empty stomach could add some great benefits to your health.

Top 5 Benefits of Drinking Warm Water:

1. Build Your Body’s Defenses

Boiled water carries fewer bacteria than cold water, but more importantly it helps to build up your natural resistance to infection and illness. Warm water helps cut down on mucus in your throat or your sinuses, and steps up blood flow. This helps to prevent infections from taking hold of your body, Live Strong noted, citing Dr. Michael Wald, director of Nutritional Services at Integrated Medicine and Nutrition.

2. Increase Your Metabolism

Want to help burn fat? Drinking warm water when you wake up in the morning can help to give your metabolism a “kick start,” Lifehack reports. You could always add a squeeze of lemon to your morning warm water for a kick of flavor!

3. Help Your Digestion

Medical Daily reports that drinking warm water will help to break down oils from food your body. Warm water in the morning gives another health boost– it helps you to maintain regularity and comfortable digestion.

4. Calm Your Cramps

Heated water helps to increase blood flow during your menstrual period and relax your muscles, soothing your cramps away. In fact, Medical Daily notes that warm water can even help assuage muscle spasms of various kinds and help alleviate headaches.

5. Detox With Water

Warm water is one of nature’s greatest detoxifiers: consuming it helps to boost your circulation, increase blood flow, and raise your temperature. Fitbody HQ reports that warm water helps your body to clear itself of impurities through sweat, excretion and other byproducts.

All of these benefits just stack on top of the numerous health benefits of hydration: longevity, organ health, skin care, and many more. Share this article with your friends to spread the news about the unique potential of warm water!

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Which main benefit do you want to get from drinking warm water?

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