How much water you should drink every day is no easy answer. Just as you are unique, so are your water needs. How much water you need depends on many factors including how busy you are and where you live, and your health status. Although no one solution suits all people, there are several guidelines for you to support.
Health benefits of water
Water is important to your health. It makes up 60 percent of your body weight on average. Each mechanism inside your body is water-dependent. Water shortages can lead to dehydration, a disorder that happens when your body doesn't have enough water to perform normal functions. Even moderate dehydration can sap your energy and tire you. Dehydration poses a particular health threat for young and old.
Signs and symptoms of dehydration include:
- Excessive thirst
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Dry mouth
- Little or no urination
- Muscle weakness
- Dizziness
- Lightheadedness
Every day, sweating, exhaling, urinating and bowel movements cause you to lose water. To make your body function properly, you need to replace this water by consuming water-containing beverages and foods.
Approaches estimate the total need for balanced water content, Sedentary adults who live in temperate conditions:
- Dietary recommendations. The Institute of Medicine recommends that men consume about 13 cups of total beverages a day and women consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day. These guidelines are based on national food surveys that assessed people's average fluid intake.
You can select any of these approaches to fluid intake to gauge how much water you should drink. Your average total intake of fluids is likely certain if you drink enough water to quench your thirst, produce a normal amount of urine is colorless or slightly yellow, and feel good.
- Eight glasses of water or eight ounces a day. Another approach to water intake is the "8 x 8 rule", drink 8-ounce glasses of water per day (about 1.9 liters). The rule might also be laid down, "drink 8-ounce glasses of water per day," As every fluid counts towards the daily total. Even though scientific evidence does not support this approach, this basic rule is used by many as a guideline for how much water to drink.
Factors that influence water needs
Depending on several factors, you may need to adjust the overall fluid intake from these recommended amounts, Including how active you are, if you are pregnant or breast-feeding, the climate, and your health status.
- Illnesses or health conditions: Some illness signs and symptoms, such as fever, vomiting, and diarrhea, cause your body to lose extra fluid. Substituting lost fluids, drink more water or oral rehydration solutions (such as Gatorade, Powerade, CeraLyte, others). When water loss can not be replaced orally, it may take intravenous water and electrolytes.
Increased water intake is nearly always advised in people with urinary tract stones. On the other hand, you may need to limit the amount of water you drink if you have certain conditions that impair the excretion of water, such as heart failure and some types of kidney, liver, adrenal and thyroid diseases.
- Environment: In hot or humid weather, you must drink extra water to help lower your body temperature and replace what you lose by sweating.
- Exercise: If you are participating in any operation that causes you to sweat, to compensate for the loss of fluid, you'll need to drink extra water. Drink two cups of water before a long endurance event, for example, a marathon. One to two cups of water are also ideal for shorter workouts. During the activity, replenish fluids periodically, and after you're done, continue drinking water or other fluids.