How Much Water Should You Drink?
We all know the importance of adequate hydration. However, water consumption requires a balance of sorts and it's entirely possible to drink too much water. Over-hydration and hyponatremia - although rare - can be a problem (particularly among endurance athletes).
What do the experts really say about water intake? How can you ensure you drink the right amount?
Keeping Count: The Traditional View
Guidelines are constantly changing. In 2004, the Institute of Medicine effectively overruled the 8 glass a day rule - with a new report. They stated a general daily recommendation of 2.7 liters (91 ounces) of total water for women and 3.7 liters (125 ounces) for men. This includes water from all sources (foods and drinks).
Water intake from food will vary depending on your diet (higher fruit and vegetable intake means higher water intake). Some experts suggest that 20% of water intake comes from food.
Here are some tips to keeping count.
- Wake up to water--literally. Before you eat or drink anything else in the morning, have a glass of water.
- Drink out of a measured bottle or sports drink container. If you know 1 bottle = 12 ounces, you can figure out how many ounces to drink to meet your body’s daily needs. Know your numbers so you can meet your goal.
- Track your intake with a loose schedule. Don’t be too rigid, but find a general schedule that works for you (say, 2 glasses in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and 2 in the evening). This will help spread out consumption and regulate your water intake.
Winging It: Using Urine Color
If urine is dark in color - you are not drinking enough. Urine should be a light color and should occur every 2-3 hours (webmd). The trouble here is; what is "dark" to one person may be "light" to another.
Other Factors That Affect Intake Levels
The more you sweat, the more water you lose. So heat and exercise play a major role, and, of course, any medical conditions that may affect fluid balance.
Controversy and a Thorough Debunking
In the American Journal of Physiology (2002), Heinz Valtin does a complete and utter debunking of the "8x8 myth". He also goes on to question the need for a high water intake at all, and states that caffeinated and alcoholic beverages do indeed count toward daily water intake.
The Answer?
It seems no-one really agrees. May I suggest that for the average sedentary person - there is no need to overdo the water intake. For those aiming to manage body weight - it may assist in the feeling of fullness and thus lead to less food intake.
For those doing exercise - increased water intake is important. Where considerable sweating occurs, then it is very important to maintain electrolyte balance (see a discussion on Gatorade).
The Irony
While we obsess about the correct water intake, there are still 1,067,789,000 people that do not have easy access to clean drinking water (WHO/UNICEF).
It makes you think.
And while you're thinking about that - contemplate the words of Todd Jarvis, associate professor at OSU.
- "in America we’re spending $20,000 every minute of every day on bottled water."
- "tap water that originally cost maybe five cents a gallon can be sold now for $4 a gallon."
Ever thought about the environmental consequences of creating up to 2.5 million tons of plastic bottles each year?
Someone's making a lot of money from our obsession with "adequate hydration".
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i usuallu drink 3.1/2liter in a day from morning to midnight......if i didnt drink water that wil make me fell sick and lazy ..to over-come this problem i usually drinks lots.........
ReplyI feel that if you can at least drink a liter a day it would do you some good. I like to put lemon in my water. it helps your stomach anyways. On days when I am exercising, I drink about 2 1/2 liters. Since I started my skin tone has become more even and brighter and everyone has noticed! Also it has really aided me in my weight loss as well! Water=health!Just do it...
ReplyI think that drinking water is obciously very important, but i think that people definately worry about it too much, while some people, like me, barely drink anything at all.
ReplyI, at most, probably drink about a glass or two every day and I see to be doing fine at the moment.
Im not so sure about the 8 glasses a day thing. I mean have you really tried it? I definately cant do it without feeling like a fish. But maybe I am just an exception =]
water is delicious.
ReplyI know i should drink alot more then maybe 10 oz per day but if i read right on the artical and my pee color is perfectly light then do we really now how much water we need and when?
ReplyI highly doubt that the soda companies released false information about human water consumption just so they could bottle up some tap water and "TRICK" everybody.
Maybe (at some point) we discovered that our tap water wasn't just water and that it contained other stuff that isn't good for you. This discovery may have happened around the same time that people realized water IS good for you and it SHOULD replace ALL those soda pops in MOST peoples diets.
It boils down to supply and demand. Not a conspiracy.
For everyone trying to rationalize a way out of drinking 2 liters of water a day: Your body is 60%
Replywater. Trust me, you need it.
I never used to drink that much water, but now I do. I work out more and sweat a lot, so I drink between 2 and 4 litres per day. I believe in NOT drinking tap water. Even though it's bad to contribute to the amount of plastic, it's generally people's irresponsibility as to why the plastic is harming the environment, that's why we have certain places to RECYCLE. I don't drink tap water because it is loaded with contaminants that we shouldn't be consuming, such as chlorine. I would say all tap water has chlorine, because it's job is to kill harmful chemicals/bacteria, well imagine what that does inside your stomach. And as for fluoride - look on the back of your toothpaste tube. It says DO NOT SWALLOW, IF SO CONTACT POISON CONTROL. It's because of the Fluoride. The amount of recommended toothpaste to use each time has the same concentration of fluoride as your average glass of tap water. Yet we drink that? New studies show we get enough fluoride and excess amounts causes negative dental effects, fluorination I think they call it. As for pure water, my choices from first to last are as follows - Fiji, Voss, Evian, and Volvic. Other than bottled water (so expensive) drink bulk water from the grocery stores which is purified by Reverse Osmosis (filters out 98% of contaminants, the best current way to filter water) and my last choice is distilled water. So remember, there is nothing in tap water that we need, and everything we don't need. Fiji is artesian, taken from underground, doesn't come in contact with the above-ground environment. Just read the labels, it is truly (in my opinion) the most pure water available. Voss is also artesian. It is the only water that I find has no "taste" you know how different water has slightly different tastes/aftertastes, especially tap water. As you can see I totally support the studies of drinking 2-4 litres of water per day, as you don't just need it for proper body functioning, but there is also nothing better for flushing your body of toxins. Here's an idea - Go find out what your body's water percentage is. Remember learning in school your body is made of 70% or 75% water? I have a scale that measures water% and body fat%, and my water% used to be in the low 50's. That's not healthy according to what I learned in school! Go check it out. Last but not least, go check out both sides of controversial studies. Don't just be biased, read equal amounts of both sides and weigh them out for yourself.
ReplyHere's some information about water from The Cure, Heal Your Body, Save Your Life, by Dr. Timothy Brantley. I know- water is boring…or is it? I read through these and thought they were worth a mention.
1. Every organ in the body can function only according to the level at which it is hydrated, meaning we have only as much energy as the level of bodily hydration.
2. Dehydration can greatly compromise your digestive process. You need water to help your body make enzymes, and to act as the mailmen to carry them wherever they need to go.
3. We need water to eliminate toxins from the body through the skin, the bowels, the kidneys, and the bladder. A dehydrated body has a difficult time eliminating these toxins. The solution to pollution is dilution.
4. All messages in the body are sent from the brain in electrical currents. Water is the carrier of the conduits for that electricity.
5. All nutrients for the body can be delivered to the cells only in water. If you are chronically dehydrated, you are literally starving yourself of your nutrients.
6. In the process of metabolism inside the cells, water breaks down and extracts the nutrients we need for energy. Chronic dehydration equals chronic fatigue.
7. Water is essential to rebuild every cell, tissue and organ in our bodies. If we are chronically dehydrated, we are not regenerating properly.
ReplyThe "rule" is that you should drink 1/2 oz. per lb of body weight, so being 150 lbs. I should be drinking 75oz. of water daily. My daughter, who is 90 lbs. should drink 45 oz. This rule covers people of all ages and weight.
Replyum rosalie,
Replyare you trying to sell me skinny water?
i drink heaps of water but i dont go the the loo as much as this says. is there anything wrong with me?
Thanks friend for this articles. Keep it continue. Thanks!
--Aqeel
Replynicole, try drinking some cranberry juice along with your water. That should help.
Replywell, ive herd that you should drink atleast 7 cups of water a day and 3 cups of milk.
ReplyThank you, I was looking for the actual ratio figured by weight; nobody i have seen has mentioned that yet in their "testimonials"...just active or non-active. Nicely done!
Reply