But I know, based on the patients I see every day, that few of you are fully aware of how much water can do to improve your health. My friend and colleague, Neal Baum, M.D., a urologist from New Orleans, has made water a crusade in Louisiana, and I'm carrying the banner to Texas. Water is a diet aid. Not only does it fill up your stomach with zero calories, but Dr. Baum tells me that research indicates that water helps the body burn fat. Water helps you digest your food.
Water triggers the release of enzymes in the stomach that are fundamental to digestion.
Water carries nutrients to your body's cells. Blood, which is largely water, depends on adequate water intake. Water lubricates your joints. Drinking lots of water increases the volume of synovial fluid, the liquid that allows bones to glide against each other with little friction. Water cools your body.