Water has many positive effects on the human body. But, How much water do you drink in a day? new is enough? What happens when our body is dehydrated or excess water and how to recognize it? What should users pay attention to about the water they absorb every day? Details of what readers need to know about how much water should be consumed each day will be in the article below.
Table of Contents
ToggleThe role of water in the body
Talking about the role of water, in general, water has 6 basic roles for the human body.
- First of all to mention, Water provides an amount of oxygen and nutrients Abundantly necessary for cells and tissues in the human body.
- Monday, Water aids in the excretion process The release of carbon dioxide and unnecessary wastes out of the body takes place smoothly. Third, water has the ability to help human body temperature stay in balance.
- Fourth, water can Maximize the effects of hormones present in the human body.
- Thursday, water support the operation process of the immune system and the detoxification system.
- And finally, Water helps amino acids to be synthesized inside cells to form proteins.
What happens to the human body if it falls into a state of dehydration?
When the body falls into a state of dehydration, people are at risk of many dangerous diseases.
The most dangerous disease that can be acquired due to dehydration of the body is cerebral edema. When a dehydrated person immediately replenishes a large amount of water into the body, each cell in the body will have to continuously absorb a lot of water. From there, edema and cell rupture easily occur, especially in cells.
Another equally dangerous disease is epilepsy. Water imbalance means electrolyte imbalance. This condition can lead to conduction disturbances or involuntary muscle contractions, or even more dangerously, loss of consciousness.
One of the most serious and possibly even life-threatening consequences for humans is shock. Lack of water in the body can easily lead to low blood volume. From there, it easily leads to a drop in blood pressure and a decrease in the amount of oxygen in the body.
The final complication of dehydration is acute renal failure. Water helps the kidneys a lot in the process of removing excess fluids and waste products from the blood from the body. So, when dehydrated, the kidneys will no longer be able to function.
>>> See more: The role of water in the body and human life
Is drinking a lot of water good?
Water plays a very important role in the human body. When dehydrated, the human body is susceptible to many even life-threatening diseases. But on the contrary, is drinking a lot of water good?
Excess water in the body can lead to blood thinning or in other words a decrease in the amount of sodium mineral in the blood. This condition will cause the cells in the human body to swell.
More specifically, when there is a lack of sodium, the gradient channels will not be able to function smoothly. Therefore, the cells in the human body will accumulate a lot of water and swell.
Low sodium levels in the blood It is a very dangerous phenomenon for the brain. If the swelling of the brain cells exceeds 8 to 10%, the skull will be put under pressure. And from there, users will always be in a state of constant headaches.
How much water to drink in a day?
How much water to drink a day depends on the user’s health condition
Each person has a unique health condition. Therefore, to be able to determine how much water to drink a day is enough, users need to consider their own health status.
The amount of water that should be tolerated by each person depends on many different health status factors, such as gender, age, weight or underlying medical conditions…
For example, in terms of gender, according to the NAS (American National Academy of Sciences), every day men should consume about 3.7 liters of water, and women should tolerate about 2.7 liters.
As for weight, according to US News & World Report, users can absorb the amount of water according to how to calculate the amount of water to drink down here:
Amount of water to drink (liters) = [Cân nặng (kg) * 2.205] * 0.5 : 33.8
How much water do people who exercise regularly drink a day?
In addition to health status, the amount of water that should be tolerated in the body each day depends on the frequency of exercise of the practitioner. During exercise, the body loses water through sweat.
Therefore, the frequency and duration of exercise will greatly affect the amount of water that the practitioner should tolerate. Specifically, according to the research results of the American College of Sports Medicine, people should drink 710 ml of water for every hour of exercise.
How much water should pregnant and lactating women drink a day?
The amount of water that the mother absorbs at this time can directly affect the health of the baby and the pregnant mother herself. Therefore, women need to pay special attention to the amount of water they drink at this time.
Women who are pregnant and breastfeeding need more water than usual. Specifically, the amount of water needed at this time will range from 2.5 to 3 liters a day. In particular, after week 27, a woman should drink more than 500 ml in the first weeks. This is the right amount of water to minimize the risk of miscarriage and premature birth.
For lactating women, a woman should increase her daily water intake by about 400-950 ml depending on her needs.
How much water to drink a day depends on the user’s living environment
Living environment is also an important factor in deciding how much water should be absorbed into the body each day. When the environment is hot, sweat is easily secreted, people will need to drink more water.
In addition, the human body is also prone to dehydration in places with thin air. Therefore, those living in high mountains will often need to be replenished with more water.
How to know if the body is enough water?
Many studies have shown that the human body needs about 8 glasses of water, equivalent to 2 liters of water everyday.
However, the data of that study are the average sum of the water needed by many different subjects. Therefore, this number will not be accurate for everyone. To check if your body has enough water is not impossible. The simplest way is based on the color and smell of the urine.
If the urine is almost clear, colorless, the user’s body is already over-hydrated. The solution to this situation is to temporarily stop drinking water for a while.
On the contrary, if the urine is dark yellow and has a strong odor, it means that the user’s body is already dehydrated and the user needs to actively replenish water immediately.
When the body is sufficiently hydrated, urine will be pale yellow in color and odorless. Try to keep this steady every day.
>>> See more: What are the effects of drinking salt water? How to make standard salt water?
How to avoid dehydration
Regularly check the color and smell of your urine
As mentioned above, the color and smell of urine is completely capable of indicating the state of excess water, lack of water and enough water of the human body. Regular testing will help adjust the amount of water absorbed in a timely manner.
Be careful when working in direct sunlight
Due to the nature of work, getting out of the house is essential. At this time, people going out need to be fully equipped with necessary sun protection items such as hats, sunglasses and sunscreen.
Consume foods that contain a lot of water
In addition to directly drinking water, users also need to absorb water from many foods with high water content such as fruits and vegetables.
Watermelon, cantaloupe, and strawberry are the three fruits with the highest water content. In addition, users can also eat other relatively water-rich fruits such as raspberries, plums, peaches, apples, pears, cucumbers and grapes.
Some notes on daily water supply for the body
Do not use water that has been reheated many times
Nowadays, boiling tap water with an electric kettle is quite popular with many households. However, the water after boiling cannot be used up, it is often boiled again.
This action can directly affect the quality of the water source and the health of the drinker. Therefore, water after it has cooled down should be drunk immediately or thrown away, not repeatedly boiled.
Do not use bottled water with PET material
Bottled mineral water contains a lot of minerals that help balance the electrolyte environment of the body. However, water bottles are made of PET plastic (plastic symbol number 7), which easily affects the quality and safety of water sources, especially when in a hot environment. High.
Therefore, when using bottled water, users should pay attention to the material of the bottle and avoid exposing the bottle to direct sunlight.
Water plays a very important role in sustaining human life. Dehydration or excess water is very dangerous. Therefore, readers should pay attention to the color and smell of their urine to know themselves How much water do you drink in a day? is enough.
John Alen was born in 1971 and is a doctor in the healthcare and psychology fields with many years of experience. He is currently working at easyhealthylive.com, a leading health and psychology blog. Having studied at Y1 National Medical University named after IM Sechenov, John Alen is using his knowledge and experience to help improve the physical and mental health of people in the United States.