Hydration is Key for a Healthy Heart
February is a month of celebrating love and spreading kindness, so it comes as no surprise that February is also American Heart Month. You know consistent exercise, low cholesterol diets, and reduced stress are the common cornerstones to keeping your heart healthy, but hydration also plays a key role in heart health. We’re here to help you understand exactly how hydration helps your heart stay fit and why the type of water you drink is more important than you think.
How Hydration Affects Heart Health
Your heart pumps over 2,000 gallons of blood throughout your body every single day.** This becomes much more difficult for your heart to accomplish when you are dehydrated. Proper water intake ensures there is less strain on the heart when it comes to pumping blood from head to toe. But how much water do you need to drink during the day?
The amount of water an individual should drink each day is truly dependent on the individual. That’s right, it’s not as simple as the eight 8 oz glasses of water per day rule. There are a number of factors that influence your required water intake, including:
Environment: What type of climate do you live in? Those living in much warmer climates will need to drink more water.*
Activity Level: How frequently do you exercise and what kind of exercise do you perform. Higher intensity and endurance exercises require more hydration than a low-impact walk or stretching session.*
Medical Conditions: Do you have cardiovascular disease or diabetes? Those with these conditions will require higher water intake than those without.
As mentioned above, exercise type and intensity will affect your required water intake. Not only is proper hydration important for muscular recovery and sustained performance, but hydration from water is key. Medical experts advise avoiding sugary drinks and sports drinks most often, and encourage hydration even before starting your workout to keep your body functioning at its best from starting point to the finish line.
What Type of Water You Drink Impacts Heart Health
It’s easy enough to fill a bottle of water from the tap, but the same can be said for purified water dispensers. And with purified water, there are no heart-harming chemicals in your drink. Surveys show that there is naturally occurring arsenic present in well water found in many Northeastern states, and extended studies link arsenic to a number of heart conditions, including cardiovascular disease.*** Arsenic found in well water in addition to the chemicals found in tap water such as fluoride, chlorine, and lead make these water sources less-than-ideal for heart health.
To combat the chemicals, purified water that has been through the reverse osmosis process to remove chemicals becomes a better water choice to ensure proper hydration and heart health.
A Gift from Our Hearts to Yours
Proper hydration from purified water can have extensive positive effects on heart health. From aiding blood flow and keeping muscles hydrated through recovery to helping you manage conditions like diabetes, purified water’s impact is second to none.
To celebrate American Heart Month, Primo Water would like to help you keep your heart healthy by drinking 25% more water for 25% less of the cost. Use the code PRIMOLOVE25 to receive 25% off your Primo Water purchase when you visit primowater.com.
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Sources:
* American Heart Association. (2014, August 6). Staying Hydrated – Staying Healthy. Retrieved January 28, 2019, from https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/staying-hydrated-staying-healthy
** Vascular Institute. (2018, August 29). The Importance of Hydration for Your Heart. Retrieved January 28, 2019, from https://share.upmc.com/2014/09/importance-hydration-heart/
*** Chen Yu, Graziano Joseph H, Parvez Faruque, Liu Mengling, Slavkovich Vesna, Kalra Tara et al. Arsenic exposure from drinking water and mortality from cardiovascular disease in Bangladesh: prospective cohort study BMJ 2011; 342 :d2431 Retrieved January 28, 2019, from https://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d2431.long
