Without water, a person can only survive for up to four days, so we can often hear that water is life. From the first beings on earth until today, the most important factor in survival is the prevention of dehydration. Water makes up 75 percent of body weight in infants and up to 55 percent in adults and is crucial for maintaining vital functions. So make sure you drink enough fluids, even if you are not thirsty. What about replacing lost water from the body? How much fluid do we need to consume per day to make up for the loss? What is recommended to drink for thirst? We will introduce you to 10 reasons to drink more water in the following paragraphs.
10 Reasons to Drink More Water
Constant Water Loss Is the First of 10 Reasons to Drink More Water
About 55 percent of the adult human body is made up of water. The average 78-kilogram person, therefore, has about 40 kilograms or 40 liters of water, which makes up our organs, blood, muscles, and other tissues. We lose an average of 2.6 liters of water per day during sweating and urination. In part, the body only supplies itself with water during respiration and metabolism, about 330 milliliters a day, and the other we have to consume with food and drink.
Lack of Fluid Causes Fatigue and Headaches
If we don’t drink enough, we can get tired faster and lose concentration. Many people suffer from headaches and constipation, often due to insufficient fluid intake. We can last without water for a maximum of two to four days, but even with short-term dehydration, changes begin to occur in our bodies. Muscles and the brain get too little oxygen and nutrients, which can have lasting consequences.
A Healthy Person Feels Thirsty When He Needs Fluids, but He Should Not Drink Less Than a Liter of Water
We feel thirsty when we lack one to two percent of body fluids; when we lack 6 percent, we can fall into a coma. Some claim that a person should drink two to three liters of fluid daily. This number is too high for many, as almost one liter is also ingested by eating food (fruits, vegetables, soup (). National recommendations say that an adult should consume at least 1.5 liters of fluid a day in addition to food – less than that would be unfavorable for our health. Even if we do not feel thirsty, we must still drink enough fluids daily.
During Physical Activity, a Person Needs up to One Liter of Fluid per Hour of Activity
The body needs more water with body shocks such as heat, severe cold, injury, vomiting, or diarrhea. Even with physical exertion, such as intense exercise, the body needs more fluid than in a normal state. In principle, we need to replace one milliliter of fluid for every kilocalorie consumed.
Excessive (Too Much at Once) Drinking Fluids Can Be Harmful to Our Body
Athletes who can consume large amounts of water at one time during sports should be cautious. It is recommended to drink water gradually throughout the day, a deciliter per hour, before lunch, for example, soup, and watermelon (fruit with 99 percent water) at lunch. Excessive sodium levels in the blood can cause a sudden drop in fluid intake, which can cause the sodium-potassium pump to malfunction. We can suffer long-term consequences or even die. Renal and cardiac patients should be cautious when consuming water.
Tap Water Quenches Thirst Just Like Bottled Water
Of course, if you are lucky and live in an area where tap water is good. Drinking tap water is much cheaper than drinking bottled water. And believe me, many times, tap water is even healthier than bottled water.
in Flavored Drinks, We Need to Pay Attention to the Hidden Calories
Flavored drinks can successfully replace “boring” water, but we need to be careful about the additives they contain. If it’s unsweetened tea or homemade unsweetened lemonade, they’re a great substitute, but it’s different from sugary drinks. Sweet drinks do not quench thirst well, so we primarily consume more of them and thus a lot of sugar. Obesity, caries, and type 2 diabetes can be the consequences of excessive consumption of sugary drinks. Avoid them and prefer to pour a glass of tap water and add a little lemon and a few mint leaves.
Unsweetened Coffee, Green, and Black Tea Also Count as the Recommended Amount of Fluids to Drink
Whether the drink contains caffeine or not, our body is supplied with fluid. As caffeine invigorates our body, it speeds up metabolism and energy consumption, and fluid loss in the body, so it is recommended to drink a glass of water in addition to coffee.
Water as the Only Drink Source for Children Can Reduce the Risk of Being Overweight
Studies show that adolescents who drank more water as children are less likely to become obese adults. If the child quenches his thirst with water, he will have less desire for a sweet drink. Water power supplies should be installed in all schools and thus offer children a free drink – water. Maybe that would deter them from buying a more expensive sweet drink.
Drinking More Water Can Overcome the Feeling of Hunger
When ingested, water fills our stomach and thus helps us overcome the feeling of hunger and wait for the next meal. In people on a diet, the tactic of consuming a more significant amount of fluid is positive in weight loss.
Appendix to 10 Reasons to Drink More Water
Until recently, scientists believed that its chemical formula could explain all the secrets of water. Water was basically nothing more than a molecule of hydrogen and oxygen. In recent times, however, there is a growing awareness of many other properties of water, which can explain many of the things that water’s chemical and physiological structure does not explain. They assume that various information and stimuli are imprinted in the water as a memory, and that water, therefore, has a kind of memory. What’s more: even our thoughts and moods affect the quality of the water we drink, and water can be understood as a ‘special entity.’ Official science is still hesitant about these findings, and the pioneering work is the findings of French immunologist Jacques Benveniste and Japanese scientist Masaru Emoto. Some scientists claim that we can use water memory in treatment (infopathy, homeopathy). It is also, e.g., the success of watering flowers depends on what mood we do it with and what emotions we project into the water. Although its structure seems simple, water has many properties that are still poorly known today.