Nashville Personal Trainer How Much Water Is Enough?

Like a lot of things in the health world, the daily requirements regarding the amount of water you should be drinking is always changing. Thus, the question remains, exactly how much water do you need to drink for optimal health? I'm about to show you just what the “scientific” community has come to the conclusion of about your drinking needs.

The Old Answer

Just a few years ago, the science community had a nice, one-size-fits-all answer to the water question. According to the experts, adults needed about 2.5 liters (83 ounces) of water each day. This came out to about 8-10 glasses of water per day. Yes, this was a good goal for most people, but lets be real, it was a goal that was rarely reached due to the fact that people were too busy to remember to down their daily regimen of water or the thought mere thought of it was intimidating.

Nowadays, that old answer is no longer the only answer. Yes, it is still an accepted answer that keeps people of the toes as a reminder that they should downing water, but nutritionists and dietary historians spent a lot of time researching just how much water a person needs and realized there may be other ways to go about liquid intake.

"People turn their noses up at water even though it is the best thirst quencher. It's not exciting, it's boring" - Christine Palumbo

The Recent Answer

Most people have thrown the towel in on drinking 8-10 glasses a day. Now, they’ve came up with another well-known method for determining fluid intake: replacing the fluids lost during the course of a day. How much water do you drain on a daily basis? Do you sweat more than the average person or have you been suffering with a weak bladder? Then you’ll need to add some cups to the total.

While water is the preferred liquid, some people count coffee, sodas, and juice as alternatives. True, all contain water, but are they good substitutes for straight-up water? Well, you have to take into account what else is in these beverages. Concentrated sugar, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, etc. Also, many of these beverages act as diuretics, where they draw water from your system at advanced rates. Have you drunk a soda when you were really thirsty then few minutes later, you were thirsty AGAIN? What happens is that you crave even more soda. Alcohol has the same effect.

The Revised Answer

The revised answer is to drink half your bodyweight in ounces. So if you weigh 140 lbs., you'll drink 70 ounces of water per day.

Remember, there is no “one size fits all” in requirements. Every person is different and every condition is different and the same condition may have varying results with each individual. Scientists have found out that the body of a typical adult contains 60 to 70 percent water. Babies are closer to 90 percent. Our brains are 90 percent water, while blood is 85 percent water. Muscles are 75 percent, the liver is 69 percent and even bones have 22 percent water.

The key word is “typical.” Who's typical nowadays?

What Kind of Water Should I drink?

The kind of water you should be drinking is crucial with the system that we live in nowadays. Not to scare, but with all the things that are being put into tap water, its classified as poisonous. Tap water is loaded with chlorine, fluoride and other harmful substances that cause illnesses and diseases (see here).

The water that you drink has to be PURE in every sense. Reverse-osmosis is probably the best option when it comes to filtering water. Many bottled spring waters are good as well.

Wrap up

If somebody asked me what's one thing that I can start doing immediately to get healthier, I would say just drink more water. Drinking plenty of water is probably the best way to enhance exercise performance. Dehydration can affect every aspect of your life. As you get older, you will be more prone to dehydration injuries.

Water is involved in nearly every physiological process. It moves nutrients, hormones and antibodies through the bloodstream. It rids the body of waste products. It is essential to cooling your body's core temperature, which would burn you up if left unregulated.

Many times when people feel lazy or sluggish, they feel the need to eat something. You actually need to drink something... water that is.

Pour up

Cheers,