The Importance of Water

Water is an essential element to our body's well being.

• Approximately 60 percent of our body is made up of water,
  
• Our brain is comprised of over 75 percent water,
  
• 80 percent of our blood is made up of water.
  

Thus, water plays a very important role in our body.

Water facilitates the following functions:

• it helps to regulate and maintain our body temperature
• it facilitates blood flow and waste removal
• it transports nutrients and oxygen in our body
• it helps to ward off constipation
• it helps remove toxins from our kidneys and liver
• it moistens our eyes, nose, mouth, joints and digestive tract. 

In addition, it is believed that the consumption of adequate amounts of water can aid in weight loss by speeding up your metabolism.

A recent study by German researchers found that drinking  just two 8-ounce glasses of cold water increased their subjects metabolism by 30% for up to 90 minutes.  One-third of the increased metabolism resulted from the body's efforts to warm the water, and the remaining metabolic increase resulted from the work that the body did to absorb the water.

 
The human body expels between 10 and 12 cups of water each day.  Depriving your body of its needed daily water intake can put undue stress on your body to the point that your body's electrolytes become out of balance.  This can result in a range of symptoms that can include dizziness, dehydration, fatigue, headaches, and decreased performance.  If you are thirsty, you have not been drinking enough water. 

How Much Water Do We Need?

How much water do we really need to consume on a daily basis?  There are a number of rules of thumb that you can follow.  The rule of thumb that is used by many nutritionists to calculate a body's water need is to take your body weight in pounds and divide it in half, and that is how many ounces of water you should drink each day.  For example, If you weigh 150 pounds, you should consume about 75 ounces of water each day.

The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council recommends that you consume approximately 1 milliliter of water for each calorie of food consumed, which typically amounts to between 64 and 80 ounces of water each day.

The 2004 Guidelines from the Institute of Medicine recommends:

• Women should consume at least 72 ounces (9 cups) of fluid per day
  
• Men should consume at least 100 ounces (12.5 cups) of fluid per day
  

While water is the best choice for fluid intake, if you cannot stand the thought of drinking water all day, just make sure that you get plenty of fluids. Keep in mind that water is also derived from the foods that we eat and other liquids that we drink.  You should, however, try to limit your intake of caffeine.