Water, water, but how much do I need?

It takes a loss of only 1% - 2% of your body's ideal water content to cause dehydration

You think you’re committed to a healthy lifestyle. You make sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, and you’ve cut out most of the saturated fat in your diet. You watch your weight, exercise consistently. Still, you may be neglecting an important component of your body’s health—your hydration.

Think about it. You may be able to recall what you ate yesterday, but can you remember what you drank? While water is a vital nutrient, the majority of Americans don’t consume the amount their bodies need.

Good clean water is imperative to the health of our whole body. There is no more important nutrient for our bodies than water.  Water plays an integral role in nearly every biological process in the body. Everything from controlling the body’s thermostat to regulating blood pressure to taking out the trash relies on water to get the job done. No other substance is as widely involved in the processes and make-up of the body.  A man's body is about 60 percent water, and a woman's is approximately 50 percent. Water is the basis of all life and that includes your body. Your muscles are 75% water; your blood that transports nutrients is 82% water; your lungs that provide your oxygen are 90% water; your brain that is the control center of your body is 76% water; even your bones are 25% water.

While water is a vital nutrient, the majority of Americans don’t consume the amount their bodies need. If you short yourself on water, you may notice the results in the gym—dehydration can impair your exercise performance. Because our bodies need water to function normally, when you’re dehydrated you may feel tired, have trouble concentrating or wind up eating more than usual since our bodies may misinterpret thirst as hunger. Dehydration can be caused by losing too much fluid from exercise or sickness, not drinking enough water or fluids, or both.  Often times we simply forget to drink water, we get to busy and preoccupied to get a glass.

Dehydration causes:

Excessive sweating (for example, from exercise)
Excessive urine output, such as with uncontrolled diabetes or diuretic use
Fever
Vomiting or diarrhea

You might not drink enough fluids because of:

Loss of appetite due to illness

Sore throat or mouth sores
Nausea
Just too busy
Dehydration in sick children is often a combination of refusing to eat or drink anything and losing fluid from vomiting, diarrhea or fever. Infants and children are more likely to become dehydrated than adults because they weight less and their bodies turn over water and elctrolytes more quickly. The elderly and people with illnesses are also at higher risk.

Dehydration Symptoms:

Dry or sticky mouth
Lethargy or coma (with severe dehydration)
Low or no urine output; urine looks dark yellow
No tears
Sunken eyes
Sunken fontanelles (the soft spot on the top of the head) in an infant

Drinking the right fluids is usually enough for mild dehydration. It is better to drink a small amount of fluid often (using a teaspoon or syringe for an infant or child), instead of trying to force large amounts of fluid at one time. Drinking too much fluid at once can bring on more vomiting.

A common water recommendation for the average, "within proper weight" people is to drink eight, 8 oz. glasses of water each and every day (About 2 quarts). Over-weight people need one additional glass for every 25 pounds of excess weight.  Low-grade dehydration (versus acute and clinical dehydration) is a chronic, widespread problem that has major impacts on well-being, energy, appearance and resiliency. Christopher Vasey, ND, a Swiss naturopath and author of The Water Prescription (Healing Arts Press, 2006), believes that most people suffer regularly from this type of chronic dehydration because of poor eating and drinking habits. All you need is 8 glasses of water per day. SIMPLE right? Maybe not, there is no scientific evidence to back up the very specific and well-worn advice that you need to drink eight, 8-ounce glasses of water a day (a.k.a. the 8 x 8 rule). In 2002, Heinz Valtin, MD, a retired physiology professor from Dartmouth Medical School and author of two textbooks on kidney function, published the definitive paper on the subject in the American Journal of Physiology. He spent 10 months searching medical literature for scientific evidence of the 8 x 8 rule only to come up empty-handed. In 2004, the Institute of Medicine (IOM), a division of the National Academy of Sciences, actually set the adequate total-daily-water intake at higher than 64 ounces — 3.7 liters (125 fluid ounces) for men and 2.7 liters (91 fluid ounces) for women. But those numbers refer to total water intake, meaning all beverages and water-containing foods count toward your daily quota. Fruits and veggies, for example, pack the most watery punch, with watermelon and cucumbers topping the list. So perhaps we should all be drinking MORE water?

Some people argue that they are getting enough hydration through other means- soda, energy drinks, coffee, tea, even alcohol. Artifically sweetened drinks and alcohol have been proven to add to the body’s toxic burden. Sugar and coffee also create an acidic environment in the body, impeding enzyme function and taxing the kidneys, which must rid the body of excess acid. Aside from liquids, animal proteins require a great deal more moisture than they contain to break down, assimilate and then flush from the body. And many processed foods, such as chips and crackers, for example, are nearly devoid of moisture, so — like dry sponges — they soak up water as they proceed through the digestive system. The body requires only 3 to 5 grams of salt a day to stay healthy, but most people gobble up 12 to 15 grams of the stuff daily. To rid itself of the overload, the body requires copious amounts of liquid. The fewer vegetables, fruits and legumes you are eating, and the more dried, processed or chemical-laced foods you include in your diet, the more water you’ll need to consume to compensate. Moderate consumption of beverages like coffee and tea is fine, but be conscious that while some of the fluids in non-water beverages may be helping you, certain ingredients may be siphoning away your body’s water stores.  So, when you’re drinking to hydrate, stick primarily with water, assuming you are getting your nutrients/electrolytes from you foods. If your quality food intake is shabby,  consider a multi-mineral supplement that includes an ample supply of trace minerals in its formulation. Vega, Ultima Replenisher, Nuun or Trace Minerals have all worked for me. Regardless of your diet, exercise and lifestyle, ensuring adequate water intake will, in fact, improve your overall health. Aim to drink AT LEAST 8 glass a day of pure water and your body will thank you!

Justin Valente
jbosports@gmail.com

1)     http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000982.html
2)     http://www.care2.com/greenliving/8-common-myths-about-dehydration.html#ixzz2MWfJ37Jx
3)     EA Symposium, Seattle 8/12