By ALISON BRADSHAW and ELLA FITZPATRICK

Most people would rather reach for a soda or fruit juice than a glass of water; nevertheless, water is something that we need in our lives.

According to healthyfutures.nea.org and elementalbottles.com, drinking water and fluids have many beneficial values, such as preventing headaches, improving weight loss, promoting better skin health, improving digestion and also boosting exercise performance.

The human body is made up of 60% water. On average, a woman should consume 11 cups of fluids a day, while men should consume about 16 cups of fluid per day. Many people suffer from dehydration and do not even realize it. Dehydration can cause dizziness, fatigue, headaches and even lead to heatstroke, so be careful. It is very easy to lose track of how much water you consume daily, but by just drinking out of a 24 ounce water bottle 4-5 times a day a person can obtain a regular intake.

Many studies have shown that water can help a person lose weight. If the stomach senses that it is full, it will send signals to the brain to let it know to stop eating. Drinking water before a meal reduces the amount of room in the stomach, causing someone to become full more quickly. Another reason the body needs water is to perform lipolysis, which is the burning of fat. In 2016, Frontiers in Nutrition found that an increase in water intake can lead to greater lipolysis in the body, resulting in the reduction of body fat.

It has also been known that drinking an adequate amount of water each day can boost skin health. Your skin is an organ, and, like all organs in the body, it needs water to function properly.  Water reaches the more vital organs before it reaches the skin, so it is always important to apply water to the face to prevent dry, tight, flaky skin. According to Madison Plastic Surgery and UW Health,  increasing water intake will optimize circulation and remove toxins from the skin, maintaining a radiant glow.

Water is a vital nutrient and has many necessary roles, including flushing out waste products and toxins, regulating body temperature, keeping the body hydrated, and maintaining numerous other bodily functions. According to E Jequier and F Constant, water is the only essential liquid nutrient needed to keep the body alive and healthy.