Nigerians prefer drinking alcohol to water- Expert

Emeka Ibemere

Despite the health benefits of water, many Nigerians loathed taking water as a way of life, health experts have revealed.

A nutritionist has explained that Nigerians prefer to take alcoholic beverages to drinking water and said average Nigerian doesn’t take up to eight glasses cup of water per a day.

According to Mrs Livina Obinna, most of diseases bedevilling Nigerians today are lack of intake of water.

The nutritionist said apart from alcoholic beverages and soft drinks, the most preferred liquid intakes loved so much by Nigerians, they hate to drink water.

She said the only way Nigerians take water, is when they are eating or when it’s used in the cooking.

“Try and investigate what I’m telling you. Go to conferences and events where only water is served and another one where soft-drinks are served, you will notice what I’m telling you”, she said.

“You will see bottles of water untouched but soft drink served there won’t go round even its in excess quantity, they will finish it”.

According to the nutritionist, the beer and soft drinks’ intake is so alarming that most Nigerians are suffering one ailment to another. Report, shows that Americans seem to carry bottled water everywhere they go. The report stated that it has become the second most popular drink (behind soft drinks).

“While we may not need eight glasses, there are plenty of reasons to drink water. In fact, drinking water (either plain or in the form of other fluids or foods) is essential to your health”, the Report stated.

"Think of water as a nutrient your body needs that is present in liquids, plain water, and foods. All of these are essential daily to replace the large amounts of water lost each day," says Joan Koelemay, RD, dietitian for the Beverage Institute, an industry group.

According to experts, Fluid losses occur continuously, from skin evaporation, breathing, urine, and stool and these losses must be replaced daily for good health.

It was reported that when a person’s water intake does not equal the output, it causes dehydrated. “Fluid losses are accentuated in warmer climates, during strenuous exercise, in high altitudes, and in older adults, whose sense of thirst may not be as sharp”, the Finding says.

According to nutritionist, drinking of water helps maintain the balance of body fluids. Human body is composed of about 60% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature.

Reports say that through the posterior pituitary gland, the brain communicates with kidneys and tells it how much water to excrete as urine or hold onto for reserves.

When one is on low fluids, the brain triggers the body's thirst mechanism. And unless one is taking medications that make the person thirsty, experts said you should listen to those cues and get yourself a drink of water, juice, milk, and coffee -- anything but alcohol. Water makes up about 2/3 of which we are, and influences 100 percent of the processes in our body

A research said water could aid weight loss. According to the experts, anyone looking to lose weight could be helped by upping their water intake. Studies have found that when participants drink water before a meal, they lose weight faster than those who did not drink water. Studies also indicate that Extra H2O helps man eat less by making the person feel full, and it may also boost metabolism.

CamelBak hydration advisor Kate Geagan, RD says it’s not uncommon to put on weight by mistaking thirst for hunger, and she offers this pro tip: Next time you feel fatigued or sluggish, “drinking water may be just what you need to perk up.”

It was reported that water powers one’s warm-weather exercise. The findings show that with the proper precautions, working out in the heat is usually fine and staying hydrated is one of the most important things you can do.

The hotter the workout, the sweatier we tend to get, so it’s extra important to replace those lost fluids. Determining sweat rate informs good rehydration strategy:

According to studies, if an athlete knows his or her sweat rate, they can begin to practice replacing the fluid losses in training and be optimally prepared for athletic exertion.

Water helps to dissolve fats and soluble fiber. Drinking enough water prevents constipation and also reduces the burden on the kidneys and liver by helping to flush waste products. Report said in the large intestine, water binds with fiber to increase the bulk of the stools, reduce transit time and make elimination easier. According to experts, when one doesn’t   drink enough water and fluids, the colon pulls water from stools, and increase risk of constipation.

Another advantage of drinking water is that it helps sports men and women to fight fatigue.

It’s well known that water is an integral part of most any workout, and it becomes especially important in order to prevent dehydration during long workouts. During exercising of about an hour or more, drinking water treated with carbohydrates and salts by mixing in tablets such as Nuun, or making a DIY version can help maintain fluid balance, which aids athletic performance and helps prevent post-exercise fatigue and exhaustion.

Experts say drinking water may protect against some types of cancer.

Research has found that the greater the fluid intake, the lower the incidence of bladder cancer, with more significant results when the fluid is water. According to the research, one possible reason could be that urinating more frequently prevents the build-up of bladder carcinogens. Staying hydrated may also reduce the risk of colon cancer and breast cancer.

Experts also hinted that water intake can improve somebody’s mood. According to Studies, drinking water makes one feel so refreshed that it actually improves the person’s state of mind.

When it’s too snowy or icy to go for a run, or you want a workout that’s as fun as it is good for you, experts recommend some frozen water. They recommend that when try ice skating for a low-impact workout that challenges one’s balance, and get in some hill-work while sledding, and get a full-body workout while cross-country skiing, or improve one’s cardiovascular endurance with snow-shoeing.

Drinking water has been proved to help in preventing headaches, naturally. It’s said that going without water for too long cause’s headaches for some people, and has been identified as a migraine trigger. The good news is that in a study on the effects of water on headaches, participants experienced “total relief” from their headaches within 30 minutes of drinking water, two cups, on average. Experts say a good way to prevent headaches is to stay hydrated throughout the day. According to the report, a dehydration-triggered headache could be cured with significant more water intake, to help it go away. Two to four cups of water is recommended for headache relief within one to two hours.

Also, drinking water keeps kidneys working. Kidneys remove waste from human bodies, and help control the blood pressure, and balance fluids. Taking water is proved to be crucial to keeping systems running smoothly. Adequate water consumption keeps kidneys in tip-top shape.

According to experts, feeling tired is one of the first signs of dehydration and filling back up on H2O could zap the sleepiness. At this time, experts recommend drinking a couple glasses of water.

Water drinking can help keep one alert. Research says needed concentration for long periods of time, water is very necessary and should be handy to help one stay refreshed, hydrated, and focused: Dehydration could impair one’s attention span, memory, and motor skills.

It has been revealed that drinking water protects joints and cartilage water around our joints hydrated and supple, ensuring that our joints stay lubricated. It also protects spinal cord and tissues while keeping one healthy from the inside out.

According to research, drinking of water takes the edge off of hangovers. Drinking alcohol causes dehydration, which can lead to hangovers. But having a glass of water with each alcoholic drink is one way to offset the dehydration.

Experts further said that water drinking could help one to think more clearly. According to them, dehydration causes shrinkage of brain tissue and if one has not been drinking enough water, the brains have to work a lot harder to perform at the same level. One study even found that students who brought water to tests did better on their exams.

A study that followed 400 participants during cold and flu season found that those who gargled water regularly were significantly less likely to contact upper respiratory infections and that when they did, their symptoms weren’t as severe.

Water-rich fruits and vegetables like cucumber, watermelon, and strawberries contain minerals, salts, and natural sugars the body needs for optimum hydration levels, so eating them could sometimes rehydrate more effectively and a lot more tastily than water alone.

About 60 percent of the human body is made of water, and keeping our fluids balanced means that all that water is doing its job—transporting nutrients, aiding digestion, regulating temperature, and so on.

There seems to be a link between risk of death from coronary heart disease and water intake: Research has shown both that consuming more water means a lower risk of death from coronary heart disease and that risk of death rises when intake of “high-energy fluids” like soda and juice increases.