How to learn to determine how much water that we need to consume during the day?
Many people know that you need to drink 8 glasses of water a day. But no one knows where this formula came from and whether it has any scientific basis.
The fact is that we are all different, and our need for water depends on the conditions in which we live. Therefore, to focus on a certain amount of, say, 8 glasses a day or two liters of water is not entirely reasonable.
For example, water consumption may be depend by factors such as:
- gender of the person
- height
- weight
- the intensity of physical work
- the climate
- physical condition patient, for example, or he has chronic diarrhea
That is, many factors can affect our water needs. And for us to figure out how to determine our individual water needs. I will tell you about where our water in the body is taken from and how it is released.
Where do we get water from?
20 percent of the water in our body we take with food, and 80% we get with liquids.
Liquid intake can be anything from simple water and even ending with tea and coffee, contrary to popular belief that caffeine-containing foods contribute to dehydration. Recently, studies have shown that this has not been confirmed. And in principle, even caffeinated drinks can serve as a good source of water replenishment in our bodies.
Of course, beer can also serve as a source of water replenishment. But given that it carries an unfavorable alcohol load, we will not consider it here as a means of hydration.
It is believed that if we drink water, then in 1 hour, we absorb about 1 liter.
How is water releasing from our body?
With the help of the skin, it can either evaporate without forming a pod, or you can sweat and release a large amount of water:
- when breathing
- urine, healthy kidneys within 1 hour can compensate for up to 80 percent of the incoming fluid.
- A small amount may be excreted in the feces through the gastrointestinal tract.
Sweating here is the most variable way of removing it. If a person lives in the north and is cold, it is unlikely that he will sweat.
Quite the opposite if we are talking about people who live in southern countries or work in production associated with high temperatures. Athletes who train for endurance and who can lose from 2 to 4 liters per hour with sweat.
Hormones
two hormones mainly carry out the regulation of the water balance in our body:
- It is vasopressin or the antidiuretic hormone
- aldosterone
Vasopressin is produced in the posterior pituitary gland and is released in response to changes in salt concentration in our blood. In the hypothalamus, there are special sensors that catch the concentration of salt in our blood. And if this salt concentration increases, the body perceives it as a lack of fluid. Immediately increases the vasopressin level (vasopressin acts on the kidneys), and the kidneys begin to take more water from the urine. That is, the urine becomes more concentrated, they saturate it with metabolic products. Excess water is reabsorbed into the body.
The second mechanism of water balance regulation is the activation of the sympathetic nervous system.
In the system that produces epinephrine and norepinephrine, as soon as there is an increase in the concentration of salts in our body, the sympathetic nervous system is immediately activated. This leads to the fact that the donkey glands stop producing a liquid secret, the saliva becomes viscous, and the mouth dries up. That is, it also stimulates our drinking behavior.
And the third mechanism is that when the level of the circulating fluid decreases, our pressure drops a little. Once the pressure drops, the sensors located on the vessels, particularly on the carotid arteries and on the aortic arch, send signals, leading to an increase in the production of angiotensin 2. It is an enzyme that activates the production of aldosterone. It is a hormone that retains sodium in our body. And after sodium, water enters the body again for the second time.
Stimulating the thirst center
Another way in which water absorption is stimulated is by stimulating the thirst center. Here, the same thing, the thirst center is stimulated, and we have a signal in the brain that we are thirsty.
And in most people, such mechanisms of regulating the water balance are pretty enough not to be hydrated. That is, not to lose water and not to drink it in excess.
For those who do not rely on their feelings of thirst, there is a very objective method that allows you to judge whether you have enough water in your body or not.
First: it just needs to look at the light of the nights normally in a person with enough water intake to color the urine. It should be light yellow. And if the urine turns dark, it is a sign that there is not enough water in the body. It means that it is time to drink water even if you are not thirsty.
The second method is determining whether you need to drink water or not simply drink 0.7 liters of water on an empty stomach. Normally, if a person’s body is not dehydrated, then after 30-40 minutes, the urge to urinate should follow. If this urge does not occur in the urine is not released. So your body is where hydrated drink water.
These rules are universal, very simple, and do not require a laboratory. that is, please use them for your health.
Risk
The risk of dehydration is a decrease in the amount of water in the body is mainly present in:
- sick
- children, for example with work with diarrhea
- infectious patients
- patients with high fever how to drink more for the thermoregulation of the
- elderly
In the elderly, the mechanisms of regulating the water balance are disrupted. That is, the feeling of thirst for them may be absent even though the body is dehydrated.
People who are sick and the elderly need to take enforcement measures to guarantee the body. That is, this rule is just right here: drink 8 glasses of water a day for sure here, you will not lose.
Water intoxication is very rare, it does not occur in healthy people.
it occurs only in people with:
- kidney failure
- liver failure
- heart failure
Usually, such people know about their diseases and are monitored by doctors. Therefore, we will not talk about them here.
Water for athletes
Regarding athletes here is just a very high risk of dehydration during long competitions such as:
- marathon
- triathlon
- cycling race
For many hours of intensive work and sometimes in hot climates, the human body can lose 2 to 4 liters of water per hour with sweat. While we can only absorb one liter per hour, here, we see an imbalance immediately. No matter how much we drink, even if we force a person to drink 3 liters of water at once, he still does not suck more than 1 liter per hour.
And he can sweat so that he stands out there two or three liters. that is, there will already be a negative balance.
It is the first side of the medal. And the second side is that with intense sweating with sweat, sodium is lost. 1 liter of sweat contains approximately 2 grams of sodium.
It is easy to calculate that you spend 1 liter of sweat per hour if you spend. Then we will lose 2 grams of sodium every hour.
That is, you have ridden a bicycle for 5 hours at a competition, and already you have minus 10 grams of sodium.
Therefore, if they have more than 1 hour of training for endurance athletes, it is necessary to drink special salt solutions or isotonic.
Overweight people
There is another category of people who need to monitor their water consumption. These are overweight people who want to lose weight.
The fact is that our body sometimes does not understand whether it wants to drink or wants to eat. And so it is useful for such people every time they want to eat something to take and drink a glass of another water.
It often helps to avoid unnecessary food intake. And the second trick that allows people to lose a few pounds completely effortlessly easily is if you start drinking 2 glasses before each meal.
For a simple reason: it will fit less. We drank 2 glasses of water and half a liter in the stomach. Already half a liter of volume, you can not cram food there.
Therefore, this substitution of food with water grad plays a very positive role in weight loss.
There are people who effortlessly for several months achieved weight loss in the flesh up to 10 kilograms. Exclusively only with the help of water without changing their essential food habits.
Result
Focus simply on your sense of thirst. Be sure to look at the color of your urine, do not allow it to be dark.
There are no upper and lower limits on water consumption. Focus on those signs said from above.