How much water? (and why?)

Well for starters, our body is 60% water and uses that fluid for blood, tears, regulation of body temperature through sweat, protecting the brain.  

There are days (especially when traveling) just cannot seem to get enough water in, and on those days you might fall below the daily requirement but to actually get into an acute stage dehydration requires a lot more than simply not getting enough water during the day (think: heavy sweating for extended period without any replenishment of water).    Not getting enough water intake day after day for extended periods of time can lead to chronic dehydration.  Chronic dehydration can raise your risk for kidney stones, urinary tract infections, cognitive declines, and performance decline.  But the good news is that most Amercians do a good job of meeting their water needs.

How much is enough?

Put the magic number 3 into your memory bank as most people need 3 liters (roughly 100 ounces) of fluid per day.   Depending on your diet, usually 1 liter of the fluid that you need will come from food (that is if you are eating watery foods like vegetables, fruit, prepared oatmeal or yogurt).  IF you are doing a good job of incorporating these types of foods, then that leaves about 2 liters (67 ounces) of fluid to get from beverages.   So the old adage “drink 8 cups of water per day (64 ounces)” is a pretty good rule of thumb if you are getting an adequate amount of hydrating foods.  

If we’re generalizing, then 2 liters of day plus hydrating foods will be a good target.  If you want to get into the weeds, then how much water YOU specifically need will vary depending on your age, weight, health status, activity level, and time spent in hot environments.  

Stay tuned, we’ll get into the weeds on that next week.