Your Hydration a.k.a Water
Water is probably the most important essential nutrient that a person needs. Even slight dehydration can cause headaches and impaired physical and mental functioning. The human body is made up of mostly water, and every cell requires water to function. Water helps with several functions, including:
• flushing toxins out
• shock absorption
• transporting nutrients
• preventing constipation
• lubrication
• hydration
The best source of water is to drink it naturally, preferably filtered water from the tap or a fresh spring. A person can absorb additional water by consuming fruits or vegetables, but bear in mind that fructose in fruit is sugar and in certain conditions consuming large amounts of fruit is not recommended for everyone.
Ideally, we definitely would like to avoid getting our water intake from sugary drinks. Sugary drinks include sweetened teas, coffees, sodas, lemonade, and fruit juices. I can’t recommend anything with sugar substitutes either, that is a whole other topic. Want to know more? Contact me.
Recommended daily water intake
There is no fixed amount of fluid recommended by age, but some patterns emerge among healthy individuals doing a moderate amount of activity in a temperate climate. Try this formula: Your weight in pounds divided by two, equals a number in ounces per day. One glass is 8 ounces. Too difficult? You won’t go wrong drinking 1.5 liters of water on a regular day. Uptake your liquids when exercising, sweating, drinking alcohol, or coffee, or when you are sick.
Dehydration has been linked to a higher frequency of:
• weight gain
• urinary tract infections and otherwise lowered immune system function
• confusion
• kidney failure
• slower wound healing
Sources
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/healthy-eating-you-age-know-your-food-groups
https://www.who.int/
https://www.helpguide.org/harvard/vitamins-and-minerals.htm
https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sodium/how-much-
sodium-should-i-eat-per-day
https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/2015-2020_Dietary_Guidelines.pdf
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/interactivenutritionfactslabel/assets/InteractiveNFL
_Protein_March2020.pdf
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/196279#summary
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/food-nutrition/sodium-
reduced-targets-2020-2025.html
