Elixir of Life - Water

If I asked you how much water you drink/intake on a daily basis, would you know?  Do you know that your body can access water from your cells if you don't get enough from your intake (which does include water from some foods like fruits and vegetables which have a high water content)?  Ever go give blood and find it very painful or even difficult to fill a vial?  That's because the water content of your body may be too low causing your blood to become "thicker" (more concentrated).  Water is needed for EVERY cell of our bodies - inside, outside, and in-between!  It's used in so many metabolic functions as a carrier or even as a garbage collector (removing metabolic by-products); it's used in lubricating/cushioning our joints, and helps maintain our body temperature.  If you don't have enough, you can suffer from heartburn, stomach pains, muscle pains, headaches, mental fogginess, water retention, etc.!  Plus, you NEED water to remove water retention!! Yet, we make it so difficult for our body to use this nutrient because we may not be getting enough of it.

The overall rule has been to drink AT LEAST 8 cups of water daily, right?  Did you know that's the average of intake for a normal, healthy person?  If you're overweight or active or leave in a dry climate or have caffeine, that amount might change.  If any of you have ever watched "The Biggest Loser", you always hear them pushing the "drink more water" thing - well, that's because water is needed to metabolize your fat stores!  If you don't get enough water, your body is going to use what it has based on priority functions and fat metabolism isn't one of them.

Guess what?  By the time your mouth is dry, you're already on your way to dehydration. Why?  Here's why...let's use this scenario: First thing this morning, you had your cup of coffee (caffeine induces excretion of water), maybe some cereal with milk (milk has water that the body has to process out).  Off to work you go - maybe you have a long commute and you bring along a travel mug of coffee or tea (more caffeine).  Now you're at work and your mouth is dry so you grab a 16oz bottle of water (good but not enough).  Let's stop here.  If we were to see what's going on inside the person in this example, they were fasting all night so the body was using what water it had stored up but then they didn't really give it substantial replacement first thing...slowly, the body slows certain functions and by the time the person gets to work and is thirsty, the blood has "thickened" which sends the information via the nervous system to the hypothalamus (brain) that water balance (input=output) is off and it needs water NOW!!  The hypothalamus then sends the message along to cause their mouth to get dry.

"Oh but if I drink TOO much water, I can die!"  I've heard this one so many times - people, that is a rare occurrence and preventable!  You would have to drink around 10-12 liters of water within a few hours to have this occur (condition known as hyponatremia).  Those that should worry about getting "water intoxification" are those with kidney disorders that reduce urine production or people that can't keep track of amounts (such as children).

So what's the formula to figure out how much water you should drink?  The Adequate Intake amount is if you burn 2000 Kcalories a day, you should intake about 2-3liters daily (that's 8-12 cups), and that includes water from food sources as well.  But, here's a general rule formula: Drink 50-75% of your body weight in ounces - If you're sedentary, make it 50% of your body weight in ounces and if you're active, make it 75%...and if you're in-between, well make your number be in-between!  Now add about 16oz more if you live in a dry climate area.  Plus, on the days you do strenuous exercise, add about another 16oz.

It's pretty straightforward and so rewarding!  Your body will thank you in so many pleasant ways :D



All information on this blog is my own pursuit of information on the road to getting my BS in Nutrition Science and as a mode of studying. 

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