Due to regular activities, such as breathing, and extraction, your body constantly loses water. You need to intake a lot of water to prevent dehydration.
Health experts recommend that you should drink about two liters or half a gallon a day. However, some believe that even if you are not thirsty, you should sip water continuously. People often get confused and think that how much water do they exactly need. The water intake capacity of an individual depends on the inner body of a person.
Importance of water in human life
Your body is made up of 60% water. To help in regulating the body temperature of your body, water plays an important role. You should regularly rehydrate your body by drinking fluids and eating food that contains water. Every human needs water to survive. Water acts as an elixir to sustain human life.
- Water nurtures your tissues, joints, and spinal cord.
- Water helps you to eradicate the waste from your body.
- Water aids in digestion.
- Water keeps your skin and body hydrated.
- Water keeps your cardiovascular and nervous system healthy
- Cures constipation
Researchers have also proved that drinking 2 liters of water per day can burn up to 23 calories per day due to thermogenic response and speeds the rate of your metabolism.
How much water you should drink in a day?
As mentioned earlier, we all have heard that one should drink 8 glasses of water every day. Institute of Medicine recommends that men should drink 13 cups of fluids each day, while women should drink 9 cups. It is also suggested that 10 cups of water should be consumed by a pregnant woman, every day to keep the unborn baby hydrated. Those who breastfeed need about 12 cups of water daily to maintain the consistency of the liquid in the body.
On a hot sunny day, the rate of dehydration is high due to rising temperatures. Because of this, you might sweat a lot. This can also cause diarrhea or even run a fever. On hot days like this, you must drink more fluids and water to keep yourself hydrated.
The over intake of water for heart and kidney patients could be risky. Such people should limit their water intake and consult their doctor.
Kids however require more water since their activities are more than the adults. In general, children and teens should drink around 6 to 8 cups of water a day. They should also eat a lot of veggies and fresh fruits to increase the limited water intake. During heavy activities such as, playing or exercising, they should drink 2 cups of water every 15 to 20 minutes.
There are several factors that determine the level of your water intake:
- Location: If you live in a hot and humid place, you will require more water than usual to keep yourself hydrated.
- Diet: Drinking lots of coffee and tea might result in extra loss of water. In that case, you will have to drink extra water than usual. Also, if you eat salty, spicy, or sugary food, you will have to drink water to maintain the level of water in the body.
- Seasons: You will have to drink more water than usual in the summer season as compared to the winter season. The hot season causes dehydration and water to help in maintaining body temperature.
- Activities: If you are a sports person, or you are very much active, then you will have to drink more water than normal because you tend to lose water due to your activities through sweat. It also results in dehydration which can be prevented by drinking extra water.
- Health: If you are experiencing fever or any other health issue, you might lose water due to vomiting or diarrhea. In such a case, you must drink extra water to maintain the water level in the body.
Maintaining water levels in the body is very important to survive. Drink lots of water and eat fresh fruits and vegetables to stay hydrated. Even in winter, you should not forget to drink water. You can use applications on your smartphone that can help you remind to drink water at regular intervals. Drink water regularly and see the results for yourself!
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