How Much Water Should You Drink A Day?

In a world of countless types of soda, teas, latte macchiatos, iced coffee, and cocktails, water might not be the tastiest and most interesting drink, but it is a fact that your body can’t function without it.

Around 60 percent of your body is water. But, throughout the day, it continuously loses water through sweat, bowel movements, breathing, urine, and perspiration. To prevent dehydration and for your body to function correctly, you need to replenish the lost fluids by consuming water from food and drinks on a daily basis. (1)

The main question you probably have now is:

How Much Water Should I Drink?

A report on nutrient intake recommendations from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has indicated that men that seem sufficiently hydrated drink an average of around 3.7 liters of water from foods and drinks, while women drink an average of about 2.7 liters of water every day. The report has also suggested that those numbers show adequate daily water intake levels and that people living in countries with hot climate or being physically active may be required to drink more water."

To determine how much water you should consume daily, you certainly need to take the above-mentioned figures into consideration, but also know that there are other factors that play an important role in determining how much water your body needs. Those factors are:

• Your weight: The higher the number your scales show, the more water you should consume.
• Your diet: You should drink more water if you tend to consume foods that are high in added sugars, salt, and spices, or if you don’t consume a good amount of hydration drinks and foods, such as electrolyte-rich drinks, lemon water, tea, ginger water, milk, coconut water, fresh fruits and vegetables. You should also drink more water if you have a habit of consuming coffee and other drinks that contain caffeine since this causes you to urinate more often, thereby losing body fluids.
• Your metabolism: If you have a fast metabolism and your body appears to require more fluids so as to run smoothly, it’s recommended that you raise your daily water intake by a couple of glasses throughout the day.
• The temperature: You’ll most probably need to consume more water during warmer months since you tend to sweat more then and lower amounts of water during cooler months.
• Your health: You should consume more water if you have certain conditions, such as diabetes, fever, or infection, or if you’re sick and losing fluids as a result of diarrhea or vomiting. Additionally, if you’re taking medications, such as diuretics, which lead to more frequent urination, you’ll most likely need to consume more water.
• Your environment: Spending more time outside will likely lead you to get thirstier more quickly and therefore drink more water.

As we already said, you should stick to the recommended daily water intake (2.7 liters of water for women and 3.7 liters for men daily), so as to keep your body hydrated and help it function properly. Namely, water performs different functions in your body:

• It plays an important role in lubricating joints and it’s a significant constituent of your body’s fluids, such as urinary, intestinal, and respiratory mucous, gastric, and, of course, saliva.
• It helps blood circulation, which in turn helps transport vitamins, proteins, fats, minerals, and carbohydrates to your cells and clears them of waste.
• It helps your tissues and organs retain cellular shape, thereby protecting them.
• It hinders changes in the temperature of your body in cold and warm environments.

And now, let’s see why you should drink water daily:

7 Health Benefits of Drinking Water Every Day

1. Drinking water helps digestion and clears toxins.

When your body is adequately hydrated, this helps it fight infections more easily, remove bad bacteria, and stimulate good bacteria to grow in your gut. In addition, consuming plenty of water a day can provoke more movement in your bowels and cause you to urinate more frequently, and in this way, it will help your body get rid of all harmful toxins and waste.

2. Drinking water keeps your body hydrated.

Your body can be dehydrated when you wake up in the morning. So, instead of making yourself a cup of the coffee first thing, pour yourself a fine glass, (or two), of water. Making hydrating the first thing you do every morning a routine will let your body get the right amount of water so as to function correctly during the whole day. Moreover, it’ll help you develop a healthy habit that will bring you numerous benefits.

3. Drinking water helps you lose weight.

Drinking plenty of water a day makes you feel full, and as a result, it lowers your daily intake of calories and prevents overeating. It also helps your body burn off more calories easily and it causes more movement in your bowels, which lets your body remove waste from it.

4. It improves your skin health.

Drinking a good amount of water a day keeps your skin moisturized and makes it look healthy and glowing. It can also prevent acne or help reduce them. Whereas, dehydration can cause your skin to become dry and get wrinkly.

5. Drinking water improves your mental health.

Dehydration can oftentimes be the reason behind a person’s lack of ability to carry out simple mental tasks, such as learning or remembering new things. Dehydration can have an adverse effect on your concentration, alertness, and short-term memory.

6. Drinking water enhances your metabolism.

Water helps metabolize and transport the proteins, fats, and carbohydrates you consume to your cells on a daily basis. In addition, when your body is hydrated, this helps it burn off calories more quickly, which is especially important when you are trying to lose weight.

7. Drinking water helps you maintain healthy hair.

Dehydration can cause the roots of your hair to become rough and dry. Moreover, since water transports nutrients to cells in your body, inadequate daily water intake can lead to some hair issues. So, in order to keep your hair  healthy, glowing, and moisturized, make sure you consume enough water every day. (2)

Drink Water Before Bed

If you’re someone who likes enjoying some drink before going to bed, drink water instead of tea, coffee, or soda. Beverages that contain caffeine increase your need to urinate and they can make it harder for you to fall asleep. But, to prevent needing to urinate more times at night, make sure you don’t drink water right before you go to bed – do that an hour or two before.

By drinking water before bed, you’ll make sure you stay hydrated and sleep better during the whole night. This can also help relieve stomach cramps.

And here’s one tip: If you don’t like drinking plain water, you can make yourself hot lemon water. This beverage benefits your health in different ways:

• Being rich in vitamin C, it can improve your immune system, and it can also help your body get rid of toxins.
• It keeps you hydrated.
• It moisturizes and nourishes your skin.
• It improves your digestive system and it can help prevent constipation.
• It can help your body remove kidney stones and prevent their formation.
• It can alleviate symptoms of the common cold and soothe an achy throat.
• It can help you shed pounds.
• It prevents bad breath, (especially if you consume it first thing when you wake up and after meals).

How To Prepare Hot Lemon Water

Add a few slices of lemon or squeeze half of it to 230 milliliters of boiled water and let it cool. To add more flavor to it, you can add one teaspoon of honey, a pinch of cinnamon, or a couple of springs of mint.

In addition to hot lemon water, there’s one more drink that can benefit your health, and that is…

Black Water Drink

Black water, also known as natural mineral alkaline water and fulvic water, is a type of water that has minerals and fulvic acid, which gives its dark color. It has a more alkaline nature than tap and bottled water.

Fulvic acid has many health benefits. It is believed to:

• Enhance absorption of minerals and electrolytes.
• Have antioxidant nature, which can help fight inflammation.
• Enhance gut health by stimulating good bacteria to grow
• Help prevent allergies