Water. Do you drink it?
Do you know if your drinking enough water? Too much?
If your like the millions of Americans, you probably don’t.
Even though your body is made up of around 70 percent water, about 75 percent of people in developed countries suffer from some degree of dehydration and are totally unaware of it.
The effects of dehydration vary depending on the amount of water lost. In mild cases it is simple enough as thirst, dry skin, flushing, and loss of appetite. And in much more severe cases (5–10 percent or more of fluid loss) the effects can range anywhere from increased heart rate and respiration to headaches, seizures, confusion, and even death.
Humans and nearly every other living creature lose water through many different activities—perspiration, breathing, urinating and bowel movements. However, even after physical activity some people do not consume enough water to replace what they lost during playing.
Research shows that 70 percent of preschoolers drink no water during the day—and about 10 percent of middle schools drink none whatsoever during a school day.
While this may seem fine for you (you drink soda instead of water, which has water in it—it should be good enough right?), contrary to belief, medical research says yes. That soda roughly has about the same diuretic effects as water and even though it’s not all water, it’s still hydrating to some degree (something I find hard to believe). However I would stick with pure water— sans the sugar and artificial flavors in soda.
If your worried about not getting enough water the eight-by-eight rule is still up for interpretation No one knows the origin of that rule of thumb, but it seems to be a good guideline worth utilizing if you don’t consume healthy foods, chips, and cookies for example. However, if your consuming the right amount of fruits and vegetables—which have a good percentage of water in their composition—chances are that it would be less. Then water consumption could be safely around four to six cups.
One rule I was told to see if your consuming enough water if, if your number one is neon yellow add two to three more cups of water a day. If it is light yellow but not pale add one cup. Although I haven’t read about this anywhere it seems to be helpful in determining how much water one should consume.
And considering that water is not made in your body, with all the tasks water has in your body, it’s important to get enough.
