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Did you know that your body is composed of about 60% water? Answering the question of how much water should you drink is the key to fulfilling our daily recommended water intake, which is vital to help flush waste from our bodies while regulating our body temperature.
Staying hydrated helps the human body in several different ways. Those who stay hydrated may even receive a welcome boost on their weight loss and fat burning journey. However, those who ignore this proverbial “holy trinity” of health tend to regret that decision.
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So, how much water should I drink a day?
An average human loses water daily through saliva, sweat, urine, and even bowel movements. For your body to function properly, it is only natural to replenish it by consuming more water.
We’ve all heard the advice that drinking eight glasses of water a day is optimal for staying hydrated. While this may sound like a reasonable goal, there isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” rule regarding staying hydrated.
Our required daily water intake is dependent on several factors. Some of these include:
- Age
- Gender
- Environment
- Intensity of exercise
- Overall health
Not only this but the Mayo Clinic also points out that your daily food intake also affects your hydration and the amount of water you’ll need to drink daily. According to the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the average daily requirement for a man is about 3.7 liters (15.5 cups approximately) and 2.7 liters (11.5 cups approximately) for women.
Suppose you are still keen on finding out the exact amount of water you should drink daily. In that case, you can also use a hydration calculator available online to determine your individual needs. After all, meeting your hydration needs will benefit your health tremendously and keep your body functioning correctly.
Common signs of dehydration
- Thirst or dry mouth
- Fatigue and irritability
- Headaches and dizziness
- Rapid or irregular heartbeat
- Increased body temperature
- Constipation
- Reduced urine or sweat
- Joint pain and cramps
- Sunken eyes and dry skin
What about fruits and vegetables that have high water content?
For many of us, consuming the optimal amount of water required seems quite an overwhelming task. Did you know that you don’t necessarily have to rely on liquids alone to fulfill your daily water intake?
Several fruits and vegetables are high in water content, which you can also consume. Some of these include:
- Cucumber
- Lettuce
- Zucchini
- Celery
- Cabbage
- Bell Peppers
- Asparagus
- Tomatoes
- Watercress
- Watermelon
- Apples
4 crucial reasons for staying hydrated
It should be evident that staying hydrated and meeting your daily water intake is highly beneficial for your overall health and well-being. A 2% decrease in body weight due to fluid losses can impact physical and mental performance. But if you are still not convinced, below are five crucial reasons why you should be making “staying hydrated” a priority.
1. Staying hydrated to energize your muscles
Almost every cell, tissue, and organ in our body requires water to function correctly. Drinking a sufficient amount of water every day helps in energizing your muscles. When muscle cells fail to maintain their balance of fluids and electrolytes shrivel, they stop working and often result in muscle fatigue.
Perhaps that is why maintaining one’s water intake before and during physical activity or sport is crucial for replenishing the fluids lost by sweating and helps your overall well-being.
2. Cleansing out your kidneys
The fluids in our body play a key role in transporting waste products out of our bodies. Our kidneys require water to cleanse and remove harmful toxins like blood urea nitrogen, a water-soluble waste. Staying hydrated means having enough water in your body to pass out these harmful toxins in the form of urine.
Alternatively, lack of fluids leads to your kidneys trapping extra fluids and interrupting the free flow of urine. Over time, lack of water can even become a chronic health issue like being at a higher risk for kidney stones.
3. Curbing calories and aiding weight loss
Increasing one’s water intake has helped control calories and aid weight loss for years. Although water has no unique properties that can impact your weight, increasing one’s water intake and substituting it for high-calorie beverages help cut down the calories.
Moreover, eating food with high water content like broth-based soups, cabbage soups, and oatmeal are also known to be more filling, thus trimming down your calorie intake.
4. Keeps your skin glowing
We have all heard how increasing one’s water intake can help your skin glow. But did you know that your skin functions as a protective barrier preventing fluid loss?
Maintaining an adequate amount of water intake helps produce collagen and reduces the signs of aging. Alternatively, inadequate water intake can automatically lead to dehydration, making your skin look dry, dull, and wrinkled.
The Bottom Line
When it comes to your health, water is indeed one of the essential ingredients. It not only aids in the proper functioning of your body but also helps keep you healthy, active, and perform well in your daily tasks. So please take a good look at your daily water intake and ensure that you keep up with it.
After all, you can derive so many benefits from proper water intake with almost nothing to lose. Good Luck!
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