Drinking Water
How much water to drink?
Is drinking too much water a problem?

Nevertheless, Drinking Water is the most important thing we can do to ourselves, after breathing.

Unfortunately, it's easy to fail to drink enough water, because:

• first, the older we get, the less evident is the sensation of thirst and
• we often confuse thirst with hunger, or worse,
• we may confuse thirst with the urge for bad habits like:
  drinking other beverages (i.e. beer, alcohol, pop-sodas, coffee, etc),
  or smoking.

However, managing the thirst sensation, doesn't mean that we resolve the need for drinking water.

How Much Water to Drink?

8 Glasses a day: Myth or Reality?

The necessary quantity of drinking water depends on age, weight, environmental conditions, or activities we do.

There seems to be a consensus between what I read from Dr. Batmanghelidj's books and information from NIH and other medical gurus on how much water to drink:

A mature person doing average activities and living in a temperate climate, uses the equivalent of about 10-15 cups of water a day for their essential body functions (like breathing, brain activity, blood circulation, digestion, locomotion, perspiration and elimination).

For the daily drinking water needs, the National Institute of Health recommends about 13 cups for men and about 9 cups for women, this including the water we get from food, and other beverages.

There are cases when some people need an increase quantity of drinking water. For instance:

Drinking water is a must for people who are constipated and don't eat sufficient fruits and vegetables. 2 or 3 glasses of water first thing in the morning acts as a most effective laxative.

The Elderly Need to Drink More Water

• Hypertension, circulation disorders, kidney stones, arthritis, indigestion and constipation are all common disorders found in elderly people that can be directly, or indirectly, caused in inadequate water intake.
• Over the age of 65 thirst diminishes and a person is not likely to drink without consciously thinking about it.

Pregnant and Breast-Feeding Women Need Extra Fluids

• Pregnant women need more water to supply the growing demand of the child, (every new cell that forms has to be filled with water - a developing brain needs much water)
• Breast-feeding women require additional water to produce sufficient breast milk (a mother's breast is both a water fountain for her child and a source of food)
  - Read more about the benefits of water for women
  

Children Need To Drink More Water than Adults

• Children need more water, because of their large consumption of energy, so they should always have unlimited access to water - a loss of 2% of body fluids causes a 20% reduction in child performance in both physical and mental activities.

- Read more about the water needs for child development and health

The American Academy of Pediatrics actually states that "until your baby starts eating solid foods, he'll get all the water he needs from breast milk or formula." - Source: pediatrics.about.com

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Are you Drinking Enough Water? - How to know?

As I'm coming from a family of medical doctors, I remember being told by my mother that the color of urine should be pale yellow, and if it turns more orange, this is a sign of dehydration. I hope that this will be a helpful tip for you too.

Medical pH Test Strips determine your urinary pH, which is generally a good indicator of how acid or base your total body pH is. When urinary pH is continuously between 6.5 in the a.m. and 7.5 by evening, you're functioning in a healthy range.

So, the explanation for strong smelling or dark urine could simply be that you are not drinking enough water and your urine is very concentrated. This is actually one of the first symptoms of dehydration.

* The same applies to skin odor. If you feel that a bad odor persists on your skin even after bathing, this is the result of too much accumulation of toxins. Drinking water will aid in eliminating them from the system. - Detoxification is even more important to longevity than good nutrition...

Is Drinking Too Much Water a Problem?

Some people, especially the elderly, tend to avoid drinking too much water because they are afraid this will result in mineral loss. They are right.

Drinking water in excess (over-hydration) can unbalance the electrolytes in the body over the safe limit.

In order to prevent eventual over hydration you have to make sure you supply your body with the needed minerals from the diet including salt.

In cases of acute dehydration, which can occur with endurance athletes like long distance runners, cyclists, cross country skiers, etc., water intake is not advised, because it can shock the body. They are given instead electrolyte beverages under medical supervision.

• Honey water is the ultimate sports drink, and it's a great idea to keep a bottle of it with you when you workout or perform extensive exercises. - says Jan from health-benefits-of-honey.com

Drinking water Contained in Food

Water constitute a good part of the food we eat, so that counts to the the total quantity of the daily water intake.

However, not all foods and beverages are made equal:

1. Fruit and vegetables for instance, contain more water than meats, and on the other hand,

2. Proteins, fats and sugars will use more water to be metabolized... and eating too much of them can actually cause mild dehydration and you need to drink additional water to help the process. (French nutritionists actually recommend a glass of red wine with heavy foods)

2. Baked foods or stews contain a fair amount of water, not to mention soups, while fried foods contain very little water, or none at all.

3. An even more dangerous category and a big health concern would be fast foods and processed foods, which are loaded with chemicals, artificial flavors or colors. By eating these toxic foods your body will consume more water to process and eliminate the toxins. See the nutrition facts page

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Drinking Water vs. Other Beverages

As far as the chemistry of the body is concerned, water and other fluids are two different things. As it happens, popular manufactured beverages contain some chemicals that alter the body's chemistry at its central nervous system's control centers.

The body needs water, not substitutes.

Coffee, tea and sodas containing caffeine are diuretic. They take more water out of the body than there is in the in the cup of beverage or the can of soda.

Drinking water by itself generates hydroelectric energy. Caffeine stimulates the kidneys and causes more water to exit the body than there is in the drink.

Caffeine-containing sodas with artificial sweeteners are more dangerous than those containing regular sugar.

 " The consumption of soft drinks, like land-mined terrain, is riddled with hazards. We as practitioners and advocates of a healthy life-style recognize that consuming even as little as one or two sodas per day  is undeniably connected to a myriad of pathologies." says Judith Valentine, PhD. - Read more on the Child  Development page.

Alcohol is the most diuretic beverage - and causes dehydration. Alcoholics are actually searching for water - they are thirsty. If they begin to increase their water intake, or reach for a glass of water in place of a beer or a shot of their favorite hard beverage, their cravings for alcohol will tend to decrease and they will be more likely to kick the habit with surprising ease.

Next question:

What is the Best Drinking Water for health?

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