Two, three, four… more? You’ve heard it so often because it’s a very important question, prompting you to think about the amount of water you consume, urging you to drink more…
Get the basics right, like eating a balanced diet, regular moderate exercise, rest and relaxation, fun and laughter, and life can be free of illness and poor health. Water consumption is one of these essential basics. If you want long-term good health, read on, we’re going to give you all the evidence you need to encourage you to drink water, as recommended by the experts: 6-8 large glasses a day!
Why you need a fresh daily supply: At any one time, between 55 and 75% of your body weight is water. Your body’s need for water is second only to it’s need for oxygen! Take a look at why you need so much of this life-giving liquid:
- It assists the digestion, absorption and elimination of the food you eat.
- It assists the excretion of waste from your bowel and kidneys.
- It regulates your body temperature 24/7.
- It lubricates your joints and membranes.
- Blood is your body’s transport system, constantly distributing nutrients around the body. Your blood is made up of approximately 92% water.
- Body secretions and digestive juices are almost entirely water (your digestive system produces approximately 1.7 liters of saliva each day).
Because of these many important tasks, in normal conditions your body needs between 1 and a half to 2 liters of water daily, in order to function optimally. This daily amount is also affected by your size, diet, how active your lifestyle is and even the weather conditions! The list below shows how your body loses water:
- Through exhaling, perspiring and elimination your body lose 1.7 liters daily.
- In hot weather, perspiration increases so more water is needed to help regulate body temperature and keep you feeling cool.
- During cold weather, additional moisture is lost through breathing.
- For each hour of physical activity, you need and extra 1-3 glasses of water.
- Central heating has a drying effect, so you need to drink more, or turn down the heat.
Are you Dehydrated?
You can probably appreciate by now that many, many people are walking around in a constant state of dehydration! So is your body gasping for water? How would you know? You can check for yourself below – we’ve started with the most common symptoms, right through to the more severe symptoms:
- Headaches: A major function of water is to flush toxins from the body. Your brain is 75% water, so even being slightly dehydrated can cause headaches.
- Poor Concentration/Fatigue: If your body is overloaded with toxins and not enough water to flush them out, you will feel less energetic while your body struggles with the toxins.
- Constipation: Water speeds the process of elimination adding bulk to the stool, so drinking adequate fluid assist the flow and regularity.
- Dry Mouth: Saliva lubricates the mouth, dehydration reduces the amount available.
In More Severe Dehydration
- Muscle Cramps: This happens when not enough oxygen is getting to the muscles via the blood stream because of insufficient water in the body.
- Skin: If there is not enough water to feed the skin, it loses elasticity. Test by pulling the skin on the back of your hand, it should snap back instantly.
- Eyes: Sunken eyes and dark skin around/under the eyes are a sign of severe dehydration.
Get Into a Life-Long Water Habit
Your aim is to drink water consistently throughout the day. Avoid drinking too much water at once, or too fast, because it will pass through you with little benefit to your body. For the first few days you may experience more frequent trips to the toilet, this is because your body isn’t used to being so well hydrated and needs time to adjust. You should also begin to notice a reduction in weight and centimeters, as your body’s water stores become redundant and gradually release their cargo!