Want a good reason to drink more water? It prolongs life - voila! health

Five facts about water (Walla system!)

You probably already know that drinking enough water is necessary for daily body functions such as temperature regulation and maintaining skin health.

But according to a National Institutes of Health study published Monday in the journal eBioMedicine, drinking enough water is also associated with a significantly lower risk of developing chronic diseases, a lower risk of dying early or a lower risk of being biologically older than your actual chronological age.

"The results indicate that proper hydration may slow aging and prolong disease-free life," said study author Natalia Dmitrieva, a researcher in the Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine Laboratory at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at NIH, the UK's National Institute of Health.

Learning which preventive measures can slow the aging process is "a central challenge of preventive medicine," the authors of the study said.

This is because an epidemic of "chronic age-related diseases" is emerging as the world's population ages rapidly.

Drink some more water.

A woman drinking water (Photo: ShutterStock)

The authors thought that optimal hydration might slow the aging process, based on a similar study in mice that showed water restriction shortened the lifespan of mice by six months, which is equivalent to about 15 human years.

Using health data collected over 30 years from 11,255 adults, the research team found that adults with blood sodium levels at the high end of the normal range -- 135-146 mEq/L -- had worse health outcomes than those at the low end of the range. Data collection began in 1987 when participants were in their 40s or 50s, and the average age of participants at the final assessment during the study period was 76.

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People with levels above 142 mIq/L were 10 to 15 percent more likely to be biologically older than their chronological age compared to participants in the 137 to 142 mIq/L range.

Participants with a higher risk of aging faster also had a 64 percent higher risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart failure, stroke, atrial fibrillation, peripheral artery disease, chronic lung disease, diabetes and dementia.

People with levels above 144 mU/L were 50 percent more likely to be biologically older than their age and 21 percent more likely to die early. Adults with blood sodium levels between 138 and 140 mU/L, on the other hand, were At the lowest risk of developing a chronic disease.

The study had no information on how much water the participants drank.

What is biological age?

Biological age is determined by biomarkers that measure the performance of various organ systems and processes, including cardiovascular, renal function, respiratory, metabolic, immune, and inflammatory biomarkers.

High sodium levels in the blood were not the only factor associated with disease, early death and risk of faster aging - the risk was also higher in people with low blood sodium levels.

A question of sodium levels.

Illustration of blood (Photo: Giphy)

The study analyzed participants over a long period of time, but the findings do not prove a causal relationship between serum sodium levels and these health outcomes, the authors said.

More studies are needed, they added, but the findings could help doctors identify and guide patients at risk.

About half of people don't drink enough

About half of people worldwide do not meet the recommendations for total daily water intake, according to several studies cited by the authors of the new study.

"At the global level this may have a significant impact," the researchers said.

"A decrease in water content in the body is the most common factor that increases sodium in the blood, which is why the results indicate that maintaining good hydration in the body may slow down the aging process and prevent or delay chronic diseases."

So how much water should you drink every day?

The recommendation to drink eight glasses of water a day is one of the most well-known dietary recommendations and it even appears in the recommendations of government websites.

But a newly published study, the most stringent yet on water, reveals that people consume a wide range of amounts of water.

Some of them only need 1.5 to 1.8 liters a day, less than the two liters usually recommended.

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