Water
Without water, human life wouldn’t exist. Water is an essential component of body tissue and the physiological processes of digestion, absorption, and excretion. It plays a key role in the structure and function of the cardiovascular system and helps to transport nutrients and other substances all over the body. Water has so many more functions that I haven’t mentioned, yet we often overlook it.
We don’t store water, which means that the amount of water lost every 24 hours needs to be replaced. General recommendations for fluid intake for an adult under ordinary circumstances are 35ml of fluid per kilogram of body weight. That’s where the generic recommendations of 8 glasses of water a day comes from. However, requirements vary considerably according to weight, environment, and physical activity levels. This makes exact requirements challenging to calculate.
Our primary mechanism to control fluid intake is thirst. However, in the same way, that we have lost touch with our ability to recognize hunger and fullness, we may miss our subtle cues of thirst until we start to feel severe thirst. Busy lives can distract you from recognizing thirst. Subsequent, you don’t drink anything for the entire day, then when you get home, you experience severe thirst and drinking large volumes of fluid. Sometimes we often use fluid to suppress hunger. This will also mask thirst cues and make it difficult for you to be able to recognize when you are actually thirsty.
If you don’t drink enough water, our bodies become dehydrated, and won’t be able to function optimally, irrespective of how well we have eaten in the day. Noticing subtle signs of thirst is important to help you meet your fluid requirements. Dry mouth, feeling light-headed, headaches, tiredness, constipation, and even hunger are symptoms of mild dehydration. More severe dehydration will result in symptoms such as weakness, dizziness, confusion, and palpitations. Monitoring the color of your urine is also a way to check your hydration. If your urine color is dark, you know that you need to drink more water.
We can get fluid from other sources besides just water. Tea, coffee, cold drinks, juices, and even some alcoholic beverages, also provide fluid for the body. However, there are other nutritional elements of these types of fluids. Coffee and certain teas, for example, are high in caffeine. More than two cups of coffee per day can have a diuretic effect, which means that you will need to drink more water to replace the increased loss through urine. More than 300mg of caffeine (3 cups of coffee) a day can also have adverse effects on adrenal health and bone mineral density, as well as worsen feelings of anxiety and affect sleep. These types of fluids also tend to contain chemical additives (colorants, flavorings, and preservatives), which can be harmful to health.
Ideally, you should be focusing on getting your fluid in from clean, plain water. What I would like you to aim to do is to be more mindful of your fluid requirements. Keep water readily available (such as a bottle on your desk) and make a note of picking up subtle cues of thirst and drinking when you feel your body needs it.
