Do you ever wake up in the morning with your mouth as dry as the Sahara Desert? It’s an uncomfortable feeling and perhaps our first clue as to why water is so important when it comes to keeping our body healthy.
I woke up thirsty today – which motivated me to devote a post (maybe a few posts) about water. After all, science tells us that life cannot exist without water. Think about that – if it is impossible for life to exist at all – then it stands to reason water is absolutely necessary to support our individual lives.
Up to 70% of our body is made up of water. And our bodies are made up of cells. Insert a bit of logic and it’s pretty easy to figure out that the cells that make up our body need water to function. In other words, our cells need water to their jobs.
The second thing that comes to mind is that the body rids itself of water. This is what docs call “input” and “output”. Now, if what we put in comes out this can only mean we need to put more in.
But how much should we put in? As usual, there isn’t any one formula that health professionals all agree with. But here are the methods that are recommended by health professionals:
Drink 8 is Great: We’re all familiar with this one. For a long time it was the going advice, drinking 8 glasses of water every day was the recommended “Daily Dose” of H20.
Put back What You Use: This is sometimes referred to as the “Replacement Method”. The average output of urine is about 6 1/2 cups a day. You get rid of about another 4 cups or so through breathing, sweating, and bowel movements. The docs tell us that what we eat replaces about 20% of the water we put out – so if you drink a little more than 8 cups you should be good. (This sounds suspiciously similar to drinking 8 glasses of water.)
Men versus Women: The Institute of Medicine (a non-government non-profit agency that reviews and makes recommendations about science and medical policy and advice) tell us that men and women are different (Really?) Their recommendation is that men drink 13 cups of water and women drink 9 cups of water.
No matter which recommendation you follow, the message is clear: DRINK UP!!
Living Healthy with Richard 