Health Posts

What You Should Know About H20

Water is one of the most vital things for human life. Without water we would all be dead within 4 days to a week. I know morbid, but it just shows how essential it is for human life. The body is between 60-66% water. That’s a pretty big percentage. This percentage is even larger when the human fetus is developing in the womb (up to 80%).  Its a main component of all fluids in our body. It is involved in:

• circulation
• body temperature regulation
• elimination of waste
• elimination of toxins
• digestion and absorption
• carrying of electrolytes

That’s just to name a few. In a 24 hour day we lose 1.5 liters of water through urine only. Also an additional 400ml through the breath, 150ml through feces and 750ml through our skin. That equals to 2.8 liters of water loss every single day. The simple answer would be to say that 2.8 liters is the amount of water we should be drinking each day. However the body can make water by metabolizing foods and from the food directly. This still leaves us with 1.5 liters of water minimum that we need to intake from elsewhere.

Why 8 glasses?

1.5 liters actually would only equal out to be around 6 glasses. So why does the magic number ‘8’ appear everywhere? Its because 6 glasses is a minimum. Water intake will increase depending on your size, activity level, your climate and your diet. In some cases an additional amount is needed if there has been sever dehydration. Drinking around 8 glasses or slightly more can actually help the kidneys to detoxify.  It’s where the majority of toxins are eliminated.

The consequences of not drinking enough

With all the functions there is bound to be a host of negative things that can happen to our bodies with a lack of water. Dehydration can affect both our physical and mental health. Water protects our organs and digestive system. Dehydration can cause gastric ulcers, asthma, allergies, high blood pressure, migraine, lupus, chronic fatigue and multiple sclerosis. It can even cause things like joint pain since the cartilage cushioning requires water to remain fluid and function properly. A lot of these symptoms can be missed or be mistaken to be caused by other ailments.

Is there a maximum amount of water you should intake?

Drinking above around 2 liters can actually be harmful to your body. Though water is good for you kidneys, too much can be hard on them causing over hydration. In sever cases of this you can die. A few cases have been seen in marathon runners after they finish a race or people who take certain drugs, disturbing their thirst reflex. Keep in mind there has been far more people who have died from dehydration than over hydration. It is rare, but it can happen.

Where should we get our water?

We should get water from water. That is the simplest form of hydration. There is a ton of debate about what water is best. Essentially a high elevation spring water is cleanest and purest source of water but realistically it is not attainable for all. Tap or city water can contain a horrible amount of toxins. Over 1,100 potentially toxic compounds have been identified across America’s drinking water alone. It is therefore hard to know exactly what is in our tap water, so its best to try to drink water that has had some type of filtration. Even if it means buying a Britta filter for fifty dollars or installing a reverse osmosis tap in your home, some filtration is better than nothing.

We would never try to reach our water intake by drinking coffee or sugary pop drinks. People who are new to consuming coffee lose up to 2/3 of the hydration in a cup of coffee. Eventually the body becomes accustom to the caffeine, but this certainly shouldn’t be the goal. Sugary drinks or pop don’t necessarily dehydrate but there is a considerable amount of other reasons not to drink those beverages. For example, they can inhibit phosphorous absorption in the body. The 1.5-2 liters should ideally come directly from drinking water throughout the day.

In summary, water is life sustaining.  So much of the worlds Western population goes dehydrated unknowingly. Proper hydration of the body helps with almost all bodily functions. If you have not already, add proper hydration to the top of your health goals and see the difference it will make in your daily life.