The Importance of Drinking Water
By: Kassandra Sousa, LMT
People are always telling you to stay hydrated, whether it be a doctor or your friends. We all think that we're fine, we drink things, that’s the point, right? The thing is, if most people laid out everything they drank throughout the day, they would find that they don’t actually keep their body well hydrated enough.
Why does that matter?
According to the United States Geological Survey, a scientific agency of the United States, water makes up about 55% of adult women and 60% of adult men. Also stating that fat tissue doesn’t have as much water as lean tissue in general. An adult human on average needs to consume 2-3 liters of water a day to survive, but that’s not just drinking, a lot of water you consume daily comes from the foods you eat as well.
Some foods really high in water include fruits like watermelon, strawberries, cantaloupe, and peaches. Also great to keep you hydrated is lettuce, zucchini, skim milk, and eating more soups/broths.
Most people can check off either any, or a combination of a caffeinated beverage and alcohol at some point in the week. In moderation, none of it will hurt you, but in excess you can really start to affect different aspects of your body and eventually life.
If you are a person that always seems to have a coffee in your hand, or someone that likes to have more than a few drinks with friends on the weekends, drink more water!! Drinking a glass of water between every alcoholic beverage actually wards off the dreaded hangover.
Some people find that if they don’t have a drink with them at all times they just forget. Luckily not only are they environmentally-conscious, but reusable water bottles have evolved to help us reach our liquid intake goals. You can find huge jugs to carry your whole daily intake in one bottle, with notches for daily hour goals printed right on them, and bottles with mini filters inside or bottles that stay cold for 24 hours!
(TIP: Drinking 1 oz of water per every 1 oz of either caffeine or alcohol is a great rule of thumb to keep yourself from dehydrating, 2 oz of water per every 1 oz is enough to replenish and rehydrate.)
WebMD tells us that symptoms of mild to moderate dehydration can include headaches, dry mouth, skin problems, and muscle cramps, while symptoms of more severe dehydration include irritability, fainting, rapid breathing, fatigue, and confusion.
Let's be real here, drinking water can be a chore. It may not always taste the best. What is "good for us" usually isn't "what we want". But...!
If feeling better is truly the goal, water is your least expensive option next to cardiovascular health-driven activities such as going for a walk. In-fact, consider walking and water to be the bread and butter of fitness.
References
United States Geological Survey
https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/water-you-water-and-human-body
WebMD
https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/dehydration-adults#1-3