Water and air are the most essential requirements of the body. A person can survive up to 21 days only on water (without food).
Every single cell in the body requires water to function and stay alive. Nobody can survive for long without water.
It is important to know how much water you should drink every day for the best of your health.
There is no exact answer to this question, as a person’s physical requirement for water is very much related to the living and working conditions of the individual.
An athlete engaging in energetic sporting activities under the scorching sun requires more water intake than an employee working in a comfortable office.
Various health studies on the daily water requirements of the human body make numerous recommendations.
Importance Of Water For The Human Body
A healthy human body usually has about 60% water in total body weight.
The smooth functioning of all body organs requires water. Water is essential for carrying nutrients to the body’s cells and flushing toxins out of the vital organs.
Our eyes, ears, nose, and mouth require sufficient water moisture to function healthily. Even brains and hearts cannot work without essential water fluids.
You count on any bodily function, and you will notice all almost all of them require water to work smoothly.
Water or bodily fluids help in several vital bodily functions, like maintaining body temperature, creating saliva, transporting nutrients, absorbing essential vitamins and nutrients, digestion, blood circulation, and many more.
Bodily fluid helps transport toxicant waste products out of body cells. Blood urea nitrogen and water-soluble waste are easily removed and excreted through urine by the kidney.
Muscle fatigue is caused by the imbalance of bodily fluids
and electrolytes shrivel. Especially people engaged in active sporting activities will fail to perform well if the fluid balance is not maintained.
You might have experienced how weak you felt when you were dehydrated in the past. Extreme dehydration can even make you break down totally… sickly, and bedridden.
Joan Koelemay, RD, a dietitian for the Beverage Institute, says, “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.”
How Much Water Do You Need Per Day
Let us examine how much water a person needs to drink in normal working and living conditions.
Have you ever thought of the amount of water your body loses daily?
You lose water out of your body even while you are breathing.
Maxim amount of water the body is losing through urination, bowel movement, and sweat.
It is important to replenish the body with equal water that your body is losing.
The first step to deciding upon how much fluid or water you need is to analyze the “thirst signaling” by your body. When you are thirsty.. your body needs water.
No proven theory says exactly how much water a person needs to drink.
The study conducted by The Institute of Medicine points out that the adequate intake of water for a woman in normal conditions is about 9 cups or 2.2 liter’s liquid in any form. Men need to drink a little more daily fluid intake than women, about 13 cups or 3 liters per day.
An adult in a temperate climate might require much more water intake than elsewhere.
A person engaged in intensive sporting activities or an army man on duty may require two times more water intake than someone working in a comfortable office.
Breastfeeding mothers will need to take more water, which goes the same with those suffering from diarrhea and vomiting.
Other mostly accepted principles of the water intake requirement are those recommended by the health authorities; an adult must drink not less than eight glasses of water daily. That is to say, a grown-up person requires half a gallon or 2 liters of water every day.
Almost all experts have agreed on the “8×8 Rule” to be followed regarding water intake required by the human body. That is an eight x 8-ounce glass of water daily for an adult person.
Some health gurus do not agree with the ‘8×8 Rule’ but insist that every person needs to sip a few ounces of water at frequent intervals as our body is always dehydrated. One should not wait to feel thirsty to drink water.
Again, it must be noted that all these suggestion is for people in normal and ordinary living and working conditions.
A person in direct exposure to sunlight and outdoor activities for long hours faces extreme dehydration and needs a lot more water intake to beat the dehydration.
Older adults need to be a bit more cautious with water intake. Some people in old age lose their sense of thirst.
You can easily notice your dehydration level by casually examining the urine you pass out.
If you are sufficiently hydrated, the urine will be crystal clear and odorless (when you are not sickly or on medication).
If your urine turns yellowish and foul-smelling, you should know you have insufficient water or fluid.
Study Results On Optimum Water Intake
Here are some of the important points I have gathered from various studies conducted on the water requirements of the human body.
There is a lot of discussion on the effectiveness of water in boosting energy levels and brain functioning.
It was verified in one particular study on a group of women that less than 2% dehydration after exercise did cause a drop in mood and concentration, and some even experienced mild headaches.
It was also substantiated in other studies that dehydration
affects brain functions, and as a result, people showed signs of higher irritability, tiredness, sleepiness, and uneasiness.
Almost every study conducted on the effects of dehydration shows similar results in the person subjected to it. A bit of dehydration and sweating about 1% of body weight leads to sluggishness in physical and mental activities.
You must maintain an optimum level of water intake to avoid dehydration.
One of the best ways to suppress appetite is to have two glasses of water before meals; it is an excellent diet practice for good weight loss results.
Does Drinking More Water Help In Weight Loss
One of the biggest benefits of sufficient water intake is vitalizing and strengthening every bodily function. A healthy amount of water intake helps in boosting metabolism and decrease appetite.
Studies have shown that a balanced water intake improves metabolic activities by 30% or more.
It has been found that 2 liters of water drank daily will help the person increase energy usage by 90 calories or more per day.
Interestingly, taking chilled water alone helps the body to burn more calories to raise the body temperature to a required level.
One of the most commonly accepted and widely practiced weight loss solutions is to have two glasses of water about 30 minutes before a meal. It is an excellent way to kill hunger and helps the person consume less food than otherwise.
If you are obese and want to lose weight naturally, drink two glasses of water 20 minutes before your meal. If you continue with this practice, soon you will find that you are shedding one or two pounds week after week.
If you just want to shed a few pounds, the only weight loss solution you may require is carefully selecting your diet and drinking a few extra glasses of water. Of course, have two glasses of water a few minutes before the meal without failure.
Drinking More Water For Healthy Reasons
You can ward off many diseases and obesity by drinking a sufficient amount of water.
Appendicitis And Kidney Stone issues could be kept away if you never allow your body to get dehydrated.
Dry Skin And Acne are skin issues for which dehydration is a major catalyst. It is quite a proven fact that a lack of water can make your skin dry and lead to acne eruption.
Constipation is another common health problem that some people face often. Most of the indigestion cases occur due to a lack of water and fiber food intake.
Abdominal and Intestinal Cancer occurrence, to a great extent, could be prevented if you regularly maintain a healthy water intake. Water also cleanses and detoxifies the digestive system to a large extent.
Can Water Be Substituted With Other Fluid Drinks
There is always some doubt and discussion about whether the “8 glasses water a day rule” strictly means the same.
Per medical standards, “8 glasses of fluid” daily is sufficient. It simply means to say any healthy fluids…and not water alone.
Out of the “8 glass” rule of about two glasses of water or more, our body directly gets from the fruits and food we eat.
Every fluid and food we take contributes to the hydration of the body.
Even the coffee and tea we drink add to the body as water (excluding caffeine and sugar!)
The vegetables and fruits we eat contain a good percentage of water in them. For example, watermelon, cucumber, and spinach contain 90% water.
Milk, beverages, and beer have become major fluid supply sources in most people’s diets.
But alcoholic drinks increase dehydration because it inhibits a hormone called anti-diuretic hormone (ADH). Alcohol distorts the communication between the kidney and brain, which results in excess excretion of fluids (that’s why persons under alcoholic influence urinate in excess).
Unlike the fluid we get from juices and beverages, water is the best and most healthy liquid source for the body. Water is nature’s gift that is readily available to us.
Finally, we should be more concerned about the fluid balance in the body than the direct source from where we get it.
How Much Water Is Good Or Bad For You
The deciding factors that determine the amount of water to be drunk by you depend on you. An adult person requires at least eight glasses of water a day.
A person living in a cold climate may require less water than one living in warm climate regions.
Be mindful of the fluid losses constantly happening in you. People get quickly dehydrated in more temperate climates, during strenuous exercise, in high altitudes, and in older adults, who have weaker senses to identify thirst. It is important to replenish the fluid you lose from the body.
You need to assess your physical dehydration level and ensure that your body never gets dehydrated more than 2% of your body weight. Ideally, up to 1% dehydration at any time to ensure you will not face physical tiredness and mental sluggishness.
You should know your body requirements better than anyone else.
The most common signs of dehydration are a feeling of dryness in the mouth and throat, thirst, drowsiness, and unusual lethargy.
If your urine color turns yellowish, it is a sign that you are dehydrated.
If you have the human tendency to urinate soon after you drink water, then it may be a sign that you are drinking more than the required amount of water at once. In this case, you could think of drinking half a glass of water after every 30 to 40 minutes than drinking 1 or 2 glasses of water in one shot.
Ultimately, it is again you are the master of yourself.
Always try to remain optimally hydrated rather than not drinking enough or gulping a gallon of water at once.
Points To Remember
Keep the following points in mind to make water intake easier for you:
- Always keep a bottle of water with you in your car, at your desk, or in your bag.
- It is better to take a few ounces of water frequently than drinking 3-4 glasses of water one-shot (we are not buffalos!!)
- Minimize the intake of coffee and soda, which are not the right liquids to hydrate your body.
- The more you sweat, the more you should drink.
- Eat a lot more fruits and vegetables that contain a lot of water.
- Drink more mineral water than colas, juices, and other beverages (if beverages, then go for non-caloric ones)
- Don’t remain thirsty for long hours…quench your thirst at the earliest opportunity for water.
- Drink water before, during, and after workouts.
- Have a non-caloric beverage or water with every snack and meal
Warning
An optimum level of fluid in the body is essential for the body’s healthy functioning. However, it is also possible some people develop the habit of drinking water in excess and very frequently. This may result in pressurizing the kidney to function beyond capacity.
The kidney may fail to excrete the excess water, which could lead to the dilution of electrolytes (minerals) in the blood, giving rise to sodium levels in the blood (hyponatremia disease). The consequences of dehydration, as well as hyponatremia disease due to an excess of drinking water, are equally bad for health.