Physicians Health

No matter where you are, how old you are and what weather it is, your body needs water for functioning: it carries nutrients and vitamins to cells. And if you don’t drink enough water it will lead your body to dehydration.

But have you ever wondered how much water should you drink a day?

There are several approaches to it.

• As we lose much water during the day (perspiration, urination) our body always needs to fill the needed amount of water. And here replacement approach comes into play. We lose about 6.3 cups of water through urine and about four cups through breathing. But we get additional water from food which means if you drink eight cups of water and keep to a normal diet, you’ll definitely replace your lost fluids.

• “8 x 8 rule.” This is an easy-to-remember formula which suggests to drink eight eight-ounce glasses of water per day. Many people keep to this formula as it’s easy to remember yet it’s not totally supported from the scientific point of view.

None of these approaches is perfect, as the amount of water needed is individual for each organism and depends on several factors:

• Exercise. When exercising we lose sweat which means that we need to drink fluid to fill our organism with water. If you’re exercising for a short period you will need 2.5 – 3 cups of water but if you’re going to exercise long, your body will need more. So you can also try some sports drinks which include sodium in order not to develop hyponatremia (caused by low levels of sodium intake).

• Climate conditions. Cold climate conditions lead to increased urination and in hot climate conditions you also lose water so in both cases you need to drink not less than 6-8 cups of water to keep the balance.

• Diseases. Some illnesses causing diarrhea and vomiting require higher water intake as body loses water again. There are also heart diseases which limit water intake.

• Pregnancy and breast feeding. Both require more water in order to stay hydrated and avoid pregnancy disorders. It’s recommended for pregnant women to drink ten cups of water a day and those who breast-feed need to drink 13 cups of water a day.

But remember, you don’t need to drink too much water when you eat fruits or vegetables: as a rule they contain much water and the main nutritional vitamins.

Photo © AHMED…

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