The Importance of Water

Water is the most important liquid on the planet.  It covers approximately 72% of the earth and makes up somewhere between 50% and 75% of the human body, depending on its age.  Water is absolutely essential to life as well.  The average human can survive approximately three weeks without food but only three days without water.  Water makes up more than 75% of our blood and determines its level of viscosity.  Viscosity is blood’s thickness.  When blood does not have a lot of water, it is thicker and does not flow as easily (it is more viscous).  This causes the heart to work harder to pump thick blood.  More work for the heart leads to many problems down the road including cardiac arrest and failure.  When we are well hydrated, our blood is thinner and flows much easier (it is less viscous), putting less strain on the heart to perform its regular job.  This is a GOOD thing.

So now that we know water is extremely important to life, let’s talk about how much water we should be drinking each day.  The recommended daily intake of water is half your body weight in ounces.  This means that if you weigh 200 pounds, you need to consume 100 ounces of water (just over 3/4 of a gallon) to be properly hydrated.  That is a lot of water.  Additionally, we need to make up for any caffeinated beverages we consume such as coffee or soda.  For every ounce of a caffeinated beverage we consume, we need to take in an additional ounce of water to replace it.  So if we drink 2 cups of coffee in the morning (2 cups = 16 ounces), we need to add an additional 16 ounces of water to our daily intake.  That’s even more water!  At this point it may seem like we are going to either drown in all this water or strain a muscle going to and from the bathroom all day.  Here is a quick guide in calculating how much water you should be drinking on a daily basis:

A = (your body weight in pounds) / 2

B = (# of cups of coffee per day) x 16

C = (# of cans of caffeinated soda consumed each day) x 12

D = any additional caffeinated beverages in ounces

A + B + C + D = Total ounces of water required each day

Needless to say, it can be a challenge to keep up with hydration, but there are a few things we can do to make it easier.

1.       Do some quick calculations to determine how much water you should be drinking per day with your specific habits.  This way you have a goal.

2.       Carry a water bottle with you—preferably a large one to prevent frequent refilling, and one with the ounces marked on it.

3.       Know how many of your water bottles’ worth you need to consume to meet your daily goal.

4.       Try to cut back on the number of caffeinated beverages consumed each day.  This will help bring your total goal per day down.

5.       Substitute water for another beverage at one of your meals.

6.       Try and drink most of your water in the morning and early afternoon.  This way you do not have to consume as much in the evening, and therefore, not have to get up during the night to use the bathroom.

Some of these suggestions are easy to implement into your daily life and can help get your hydration levels up.  Now that you know what the recommended daily intake of water is, you can do more to try and reach it on a daily basis.  Just remember, the body relies on water to function.  A properly hydrated body system will function efficiently where a dehydrated body system will function less efficiently.  When the body has to work harder to complete its normal tasks problems and symptoms arise.  Proper hydration is a simple thing we can do to decrease the work load our bodies go through each day.