Water is the most important component for good health. It makes up about 60 percent of our body weight and is involved in almost every bodily function. It is important to realize that you can live without food for several weeks but will die in a few days without water.
We lose water every day through sweat and urine, so it’s important to replenish your supply by drinking water and liquids that contain water. Basic water sources in our diet, including fruits and vegetables — contribute significantly to your daily fluid intake.
The amount of water each person needs depends on various factors, as we will see later in this article. Still, generally speaking, most healthy adults need about 3 liters (about 13 cups) daily. Continue reading more about the benefits of water:
How Much Water Should I Drink?
The amount of water one needs highly depends on age, activity level, diet, and environment. To determine how much is right for you, consider these factors:
Body Weight
An average adult requires about 2.7 liters of water daily. You may need more or less depending on size, weight, and activity level.
Age
Infants and growing children have higher water requirements than adults because they’re still growing and developing. Breastfeeding infants require an estimated 300 to 500 mL of fluids per day; formula-fed infants require approximately 750 mL per day (1/2 to 1 cup). Pregnant and breastfeeding women need an additional two liters of fluid daily over their usual intakes because their bodies work harder to support their baby’s growth and development.
Environment
If you live in a hot climate or exercise regularly in hot weather, you may need more fluids than someone who lives in a cooler climate or exercises less frequently in hot weather.
Activity level
If you exercise vigorously, you will need more water than if you don’t move around very much.
Pregnancy
Your body needs extra fluids during pregnancy to support fetal growth and development as well as your health. Doctors recommend that pregnant women consume about 10 cups (2 L) of total beverages per day (including milk and juice), with about half coming from drinking water.
How Is Water Lost from Our Bodies?
The water we consume is lost from the body in many different ways. It is a common misconception that dehydration occurs only when you lose large amounts of water. However, even a small loss of fluids can lead to dehydration.
Through the Breath
Breath contains water vapor (a gas). If a person does not drink enough water, the body will try to conserve it by reducing the amount of water breathed out as water vapor through the lungs. This means that the air you breathe out will be drier and warmer than normal, called hyperventilation or over-breathing syndrome.
Through Urination
Urine accounts for more than half of the water in urine. Urine is formed by the kidneys, which filter out some waste products and reabsorb others. The amount of reabsorbed water depends on how much water is in the blood. If insufficient water is in the blood, then more will be excreted in the urine.
Through Fecal Excretion
Feces contains mostly undigested food and also contain some salts and minerals. The salts and minerals are lost from the body when we pass stool. Feces also contains a small amount of water in it. If you have diarrhea, this can cause an increased loss of fluid from your body because of the increased amount of liquid expelled from your gut into your bowel movements.
Through the Skin
Sweat is the most obvious way the body loses water, but it’s not the only one. Every time you breathe out during exercise or exertion, you lose some water vapor (water suspended in air). The more strenuous your activity, the more water vapor your body loses through respiration. For example, intense exercise such as running can cause you to sweat up to 1 liter of fluid per hour!
Water’s Significance in Our Bodies
Water is the essential nutrient in our diet that plays a vital role in all bodily functions, as discussed below.
1. Water Aids in Cognitive Function
Water has been shown to help improve brain function. However, our brain does not work well when we are dehydrated. Studies have shown that when people are dehydrated, they can solve problems and think decreases. It may be why many people feel more alert after drinking a glass of water or two.
2. It Helps Improve Mood
Water consumption can also help improve moods. But on the other hand, dehydration can lead to mood swings, fatigue, and headaches, which are often mistaken as symptoms of depression or anxiety. So, if you have trouble concentrating on your daily tasks or find it difficult to complete even basic tasks, you may want to drink some water and see if it makes a difference!
3. Water Helps Create Saliva
Saliva is necessary for chewing, swallowing, digesting food, and preventing tooth decay. You can’t live without saliva because it’s the main substance that protects your teeth from disease-causing bacteria in your mouth. Saliva also makes it easier to swallow food and keeps the lining of your mouth moist, so you don’t get sore when you eat or drink hot liquids
4. Respiratory System
Water helps moisten mucus membranes to keep them lubricated, so they work properly when you breathe in air, swallow food, or drink liquids. Mucous membranes line your nose, mouth, throat, and lungs. They also help trap harmful germs before they travel into your lungs, so they can cause an infection if not prevented by mucus membranes that coat them with a protective layer like oil on water, preventing them from sticking together in clumps).
5. Digestive System
Water helps digest food by softening it so it can easily pass through the intestines. It also helps break down large food particles into smaller ones so they can easily be absorbed into the bloodstream.
6. It Safeguards Your Joints, Spinal Cord, and Tissues
Water helps keep tissues like muscles supple so they can move freely within their joints without being damaged by friction from bone rubbing on bone or muscle pulling on tendons and ligaments too hard (tearing them).
7. It Helps Maximize Physical Performance
When you’re physically active, you lose water through sweating, which can lead to dehydration if you’re not replacing it with fluids frequently enough (see below). Water can also help prevent cramps by keeping your blood volume high enough that your muscles have sufficient oxygenated blood for energy production during exercise.
8. Sweat, Urine, And Feces, Aid in Excreting Waste
Water is needed for everybody’s process to work properly. Your kidneys use water to filter out waste products from your blood. Your intestines use water to aid digestion by helping food move through them more easily. Your liver uses water to detoxify the blood before it leaves the liver to be circulated back into the heart and lungs for oxygenation again. Finally, the lungs use water to humidify air as it passes through them when you breathe in so that oxygen can be absorbed into the bloodstream during exhalation again afterward, too!
9. Water Helps Prevent Constipation
When you don’t get enough water, your stools can become hard and dry, making them difficult to pass. In addition, dehydration can cause bloating and gas, making you feel bloated.
10. Water Cleanses Your Body
Water is the main component of every cell in your body. It helps remove waste products from cells and transports nutrients to where they are needed. Water also lubricates joints and maintains skin elasticity and flexibility.
11. It Helps with Nutrient Absorption
The human body cannot store water. Instead, it absorbs it from food and beverages like coffee, tea, soda, and fruit juice. In addition, vitamins A, C, and E can only be absorbed in conjunction with water. Water may also help prevent constipation by keeping stool soft enough for easy passage through your colon.
12. It Helps You Lose Weight
Water helps control hunger because it fills your stomach without adding calories or fat. It also fills you up so you eat less food during meals, which may help deter snacking between meals or eating too much at a single sitting. For example, drinking 16 ounces of water before a meal can decrease caloric intake by 10 percent compared to drinking no beverage before a meal. This could lead to significant weight loss if you drink water regularly before meals throughout the day instead of high-calorie beverages like soda or sugar.
13. It Improves Blood Oxygen Circulation
Drinking plenty of water can help improve blood oxygen circulation, reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke. It’s especially true if you are exercising or have been active recently. In addition, the extra hydration helps prevent damage to your cells, which may otherwise occur when your body tries to digest excess carbon dioxide or during intense exercise.
14. It Helps Fight Off Illness
Water helps keep your immune system strong by facilitating the movement of white blood cells through your body while fighting bacterial infections. Drinking plenty of water also helps prevent dehydration by maintaining proper electrolyte levels in the body.
15. It Helps Boost Energy
Your body uses energy all day long to keep you alive — even when you’re sleeping! Water helps provide this energy by keeping your muscles fueled with glycogen — a compound that supplies energy for muscle contraction and recovery between workouts. If you don’t drink enough water throughout the day, you’ll experience fatigue because your muscles won’t have enough fuel to perform at their best levels whenever you need them most.
16 . Water Regulates Your Body Temperature
Your blood transports oxygen from your lungs to muscles and other tissues throughout your body. As blood circulates through your body, heat is generated by muscle contraction and metabolism (the chemical reactions that take place in cells). If this heat builds up too much, you can become ill or even die if the condition persists for too long. The kidneys help control body temperature by releasing excess water (and salt) as urine when dehydration occurs due to sweating or illness. However, dehydration can also lead to hyperthermia or overheating of the body (heat exhaustion), especially during exercise when sweat evaporates too quickly while cooling off.
In conclusion, drinking water is essential for life. Without it, we would die within days. However, you might already be a little dehydrated if you wait until you are thirsty before drinking water. Typically, thirst is a sign that the body’s fluid levels are much below what is necessary for optimal performance. So, before you feel thirsty or have a dry mouth, drink some water. Stay hydrated to maintain your health!
