Ideal consumption of water

What should be the ideal consumption of water? 6 to 8 glasses? Does this change with the change in factors like weather, age or health related conditions?

Water is basic necessity for our life and looking at its importance we should know the ideal amount of consumption. But surprisingly, you will see people having different view on ideal quantity of water consumption. And hence I thought of discussing about “water” today!

More than 50% of our body comprises of water so in a way we can say, we are more of a water than anything else. Water plays an important role on the health of digestive system, skin, kidney, liver, brain etc. It helps in various functions like, maintaining body temperature, protecting organs, to absorb nutrients and mineral from the food we consume, transporting oxygen and nutrients to various cells, removing toxin from our body, disposal of waste etc.

Lack of adequate amount of water, can lead to headache, fatigue, dizziness, lack of concentration, dehydration etc. This all makes it utmost important to maintain the level of water to remain healthy.

What should be ideal amount of water consumption?

Bio-individuality: The requirement of water consumption differs from person to person. On an average, an adult man should drink 3 liters of water and for woman 2.2 liters is ideal. However, few factors need to be considered and make necessary adjustment to increase or decrease the amount of consumption.

First, we need to understand, when do we need to increase the water consumption than the suggested average quantity:

1. Body requires more water in hot and humid temperature.
2. The risk of dehydration increases at higher altitudes (especially above 8200 feet) so drinking adequate water at hilly areas is crucial.
3. Exercise leads to water loss in our body. One needs to increase consumption during and after exercise.
4. Risk of dehydration increases in case of fever, diarrhoea and vomiting. Drink more water at such times.
5. Similarly, drink more water in diseases related to bladder or UTI infection.
6. Pregnant women should increase water intake as body requires necessary fluid for the growth of fetus.
7. Lactating women should be encouraged to drink adequate water as too much water may harm their milk supply. According to one study, it is unnecessary to drink more water while breastfeeding and there is no clinical support which states, drinking water increases milk supply.
8. Alcohol is diuretic. Consumption of alcohol increases urine output and we need to use washroom more frequently which results in losing water from our body. This increases risk of dehydration. To add to this, people do not prefer to drink plain water separately while consuming alcohol and this goes on for a couple of hours on minimum side. This whole process puts extra load on the body. To avoid chances of dehydration and reducing hangover, one must include plain glass of water between consuming two pegs.
9. People having sedentary lifestyle or who mainly requires to sit all day for their work, do not get urge to drink water due to less activities in their day. This is similar with the elderly people as they do not move much due to less energy or painful joints. Infect, few avoid drinking water frequently to reduce number of times they need to use washroom. Drinking less water due to inactive lifestyle needs correction and people having inactive lifestyle should be mindful of their water intake throughout the day.
10. Dementia: People suffering from memory issues or disease like dementia often forget when they last drank water. Because of this, risk of dehydration and UTI increases. We need to take extra care of the water consumption for such people.

Now the crucial question: How to decide how much water is enough?

Let your body be your judge here. You will get the answer by looking at the color of your pee. Pale yellow color indicates adequate amount of water in the body. Dark yellow indicates less water and dehydration.  Whitish color indicates too much water in the body which ultimately puts load on kidneys, and it can do more harm than good.  So let your body decide, how much water you require to consume.

When we talk about consumption of water, drinking plain water is an excellent way to retain water in the body. Tea, coffee, cold drinks should not be counted in your water intake.

When we talk about necessities, it is better to follow what works with you. There are no strict rules for anything. Chances to go wrong are minimal if we follow signs and symptoms of our body. But, do not forget “your body is the best judge.”