According to recent scientific studies, healthy people drink more water. Doctors and scientists have set recommendations for how much water you should drink based on your weight and activity level, which you can read more about here. But setting water-drinking goals is one thing, meeting those goals is another.
Anyone who struggles to get their daily intake of water in has likely tried a few common tips and tricks to meet their water consuming goals. Chugging a glass before a meal, before bed, and when waking up are popular antics individuals who have water goals swear by. But, according to gastrointestinal, vascular, and general surgeons, this may not be the best way to go about hydrating yourself.
According to Dr. Smith, chugging water, especially when dehydrated, can cause your body to dilute your blood, resulting in the kidney’s excreting the water quickly. This means all that water you just took in takes the fast track right back out, and you are none the closer to hydration.
Further, chugging water constantly can cause water intoxication, also known as hyponatremia. Too much water in the body throws your sodium levels out of whack, causing body cells to swell and you to feel some seriously uncomfortable symptoms such as headache, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and exhaustion.
Instead of risking water intoxication and wasting your water, try sipping instead. Doctors say 2-3 ounce sips at a time, is the key to re-hydration. If you do this throughout the day, you’ll still meet your water goals and retain more water than your water-chugging counter parts. Give this new water-drinking method a try and let us know how it works!
Tag Archives: water intake
How important is water intake in overall health?
You’ve heard it before – healthy individuals should drink 8 glasses of water a day. But we have questions. Why 8 glasses? How important is water in a healthy diet? And what are the actual benefits of consuming water?
We’ve done the research and found the answers to these questions.
Why 8 glasses of water?
So, is 8 glasses a magic number? Its turns out no. In fact, a new report found that the old adage was just a suggestion and not founded on any actual research.
So what does the research say? Researchers suggest a more technical approach to water intake. According to the Mayo Clinic, there’s a simple formula to calculating your individualized water intake.
Step 1. Divide your weight (in lbs) by 2.2
Step 2. Multiply that number by your age.
Step 3. Divide that number by 28.3
Step 4. Your total is how many ounces of water you should drink per day.
If you don’t feel like doing any math, the numbers come out to 13 cups on average for men and 9 cups on average for women.
How important is water in a healthy diet?
Water is essential to maintaining a healthy diet. It is considered a necessary nutrient for proper body functioning.
We lose water daily through sweat, evaporation, breathing and urination. Consuming water replaces lost water and maintains healthy levels.
This delicate balance is what keeps us hydrated. When dehydration occurs, we can feel ill, faint, have stomach upset, painful urination, and even require hospitalization.
What are the benefits of consuming water?
Maintains balance of bodily fluids. Water helps us stay hydrated and feeling good. Additionally, it helps pass food, aiding in digestion.
Controls calorie intake. Water is the healthier option over calorie-filled drinks. It can also help in feeling full, which could lead to consuming less calories through food.
Keeps skin looking and feeling healthy. Your skin contains lots of water in its cells. When you’re dehydrated, skin can appear more dry and wrinkly. Increasing water intake allows your skin cells to absorb more water improving the appearance and feel.
Helps energize muscles. Water helps ward off muscle fatigue which means more stamina during physical activity.
