Water is more essential to us than anything else in the world. We should drink plenty of water every day, as our body is largely made up of water and we lose about half a litre of water a day through our skin and breathing. The human body can withstand several weeks without food. However, if we don't drink water, depending on the ambient temperature, activity level, state of health, age and many other factors, we cannot survive even for a week. Our body would simply dry out without hydration. Water is the main means of transport for blood, urine and sweat. Today you will find out what percentage you are made of water and how much water you should drink every day. I will also give you 10 good reasons to drink enough water every day and show you how you can easily integrate drinking enough water into your everyday life.
This fact alone underscores how important it is for us to drink enough water. The average water balance is around 65%, but it differs depending on the age. While infants consist of around 90% water, older people only have a water content of around 60%. How can that be? As we get older, we lose vitality, just like our cells. The feeling of thirst also decreases with age, which is why we are less aware that we are drinking too little as we get older.
How much water should we drink a day?
Again and again, you hear different litre figures. But how much water should you really take in every day? Doctors recommend drinking around 2 to 4 litres of water a day. This value does not only have to be achieved by drinking water: we also take in a large part of the daily fluid requirement through fruit or dairy products and ensure that our body is adequately supplied with water. We have learned that our fluid requirements differ depending on the ambient temperature, activity, state of health or age. Anyone who does a lot of sports sweats and loses a lot of fluids. Therefore, when we are more active, we have a correspondingly higher fluid requirement. Water is a real coolant for our body during physical activity.
A real food hype has broken out in our society today. Many pay special attention to what they eat. This is a good thing, but our drinking habits are often forgotten because most people drink too little during the day. Everyone knows the feeling of being thirsty. But this feeling shouldn't arise in the first place, because it means that you already have a fluid deficit. By the way: Alcoholic beverages such as beer remove more fluid from the body than beer does. It is optimal to drink pure water that can directly support your metabolism.
Not drinking enough - what happens if you don't drink enough water?
You now know that you can drink too much. However, most people are aware of this when they drink excessively. Often, increased drinking goes hand in hand with the desire to lose weight. The stomach feels full, our mechanoreceptors in the stomach wall react to the increased tension and report to our brain: we are full.
However, if you drink too little, you usually only notice it in the evening when it is already too late. Because it is important to know: Your body can only absorb 200ml per 15 minutes. That's why you should avoid not drinking for hours and then emptying a whole bottle out of sheer thirst. You'll only have to go to the toilet soon and you haven't done your body a great favour. It's better to have one bottle distributed throughout the day than all at once in the evening.
