How Much Water should you drink a day?
Our body is made of about 60% water, give or take. You are constantly losing water from your body, primarily via urine and sweat. To prevent dehydration, you need to keep yourself hydrated that why drinking enough water play an important role for your health and fitness.
Now question is how much water you should a drink. There are many different opinions on how much water you should be drinking every day.
Many people follow the 8x8 rule, which recommends drinking 8-ounce glasses, or about half a gallon (64 oz) of water daily. However, many believe there are strong health benefits to be gained by increasing your water intake to a 1 gallon (128 oz) per day.
Should you drink a gallon of water per day?
Water intake balance is essential for the health and proper functioning of your brain, Metabolism, mood, heart health and energy levels are some common factor. Staying hydrated is critical, but how much you need varies depending on how active you are and what type of climate you live in, among other things, so some general recommendations can’t be applied to everyone.
Water Intake Recommendations
Water intake recommendations can vary based on your gender, age, medical condition, and activity level.
Adults
Most adults sufficiently meet their fluid needs by letting thirst be their guide.
While there are no specific recommendations on how much glasses of water most adults should drink per day.
Athletes
Active athlete enthusiast loss more water through sweat. It’s estimated that athlete’s loss around 6-10% of their body weight through sweat during workout or other sport activity. However, a water loss can have a noticeable effect on athletic performance.
Athletes need proper electrolytes as well which carry electrical charge. They have an impact on how your muscles function, how alkaline your blood is, and how much water you have in your body. Also, electrolytes often work in harmony with vitamins and other minerals in the body to keep you feeling good and performing at your best. It would be fairly impossible to achieve peak performance without proper balance of water and electrolytes.
There is no exact water intake recommendation for athletes because it’s all depends on athlete hydration need, type of activity and tend to sweat. Athletes should plan to replenish your losses with increase fluid intake during and after activity.
Pregnant or breastfeeding women
Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding have significantly increased water needs.
According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Fluid needs are increased by 10-ounces per day during pregnancy(Ref). For breastfeeding mothers, EFSA recommends increase their water intake by about 24-ounces per day due to loss of water related to milk production.(Ref)
A general recommendation for nursing mothers is to drink water a glass of water with every meal and during breastfeeding to help meet their increased fluid needs.
Other Considerations
Certain medical conditions may require a restricted water intake or increase water needs.
Congestive heart failure, undergoing dialysis and end-stage renal disease are some of the more common medical conditions that require less fluid where condition like constipation, fever and urinary tract infections (UTIs) increase fluid intake.
Every person’s conditions and requirement are unique. It’s always best to consult your healthcare provider for personalized recommendations regarding your fluid needs.
Emblem of Dehydration
Unfortunately, thirst is not always a reliable gauge of the body’s need for water. A good way to know if you need to increase your water intake is to look at your urine. Urine that is dark yellow to amber in color may indicate dehydration. Other sign like Food Cravings, bad breath, Dry skin, Headaches, Muscle cramps, constipation and lightheadedness are some common symptoms of dehydration.
This is why it is so important to catch dehydration before the obvious signs like thirst and fatigue.
Conclusion
At the end, how much water you should drink per day depends on your individual needs and conditions.
While, there are some common guidelines regarding how much water you should drink, they’re to be used as a rule of thumb.
In most cases, it’s best to trust your thirst- drink when you are thirsty and stop when you are not and use some common indicators such as urine color to determine you’re properly hydrated.