If you want to live a good and long life, then you have to start taking care of yourself now. You have to start living a healthier lifestyle today because you can’t afford to put it off. Part of living a healthy lifestyle includes drinking plenty of water every day. Lots of people don’t think about drinking water when they think about living healthier. Diet and exercise are usually the first things to come to mind. However, drinking more water should really be the first thing on your list and here’s why:

First, water is a necessity for good bodily function. Did you know that you’re a body is made up of 75% percent water? It’s true and on top of that, your body needs water in order to lubricate your internal organs and keep them functioning properly. When you drink the appropriate amount of water every day, you will notice that you have better bowel movements, that your body is better able to digest food, and that you aren’t as weighed down and tired all the time.

Drinking plenty of water not only keeps your internal organs functioning properly, it also helps your external organ: your skin. Have you ever noticed that people who drink a lot of water have beautiful skin that just seems to glow? Well that’s because water helps to flush out the oils and toxins in your body which keeps you from getting acne and other bumps and keeps your face clear. In addition, because it hydrates, it makes your skin glow.

Drinking water instead of soda and other brown beverages is important to your oral hygiene as well. Beverages containing acids and sugars cause more bacteria to grow in your mouth, causing cavities and bad breath. Acids in particular can cause the enamel on your teeth to break down which means that you won’t have teeth when you get older if you keep drinking these. Things like lemonade are highly acidic. Water, however, has neither of these qualities and if you drink tap water, your teeth receive a great benefit because there is lots of fluoride in tap water that helps to restore the enamel in your teeth.

In terms of weight loss, drinking water is one of the first things that should be on your list. Water has no calories and is extremely filling. Drinking an entire glass of water before you sit down to eat can have a huge impact on the amount of food you eat; it will ultimately reduce the amount you are able to eat in one sitting. Water is also easily burned off by your body and much better than alternative beverages like soda, tea, and coffee.

So how much water should you be drinking every day if you want to be healthy? Well, a healthy lifestyle requires that you drink at least 2 liters or eight, 8 ounce glasses of water a day if you are a woman and 3 liters or 13, 8 ounce glasses of water a day if you are a man. So with that, make sure that you are including water in your healthy lifestyle.