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Water. That transparent, tasteless and odorless liquid with the chemical formula H20 is a miraculous substance to say the least and one of the many blessings of nature that can never be paid for. Every form of life from microorganism to humans needs water to exist.
No doubt we’ve all heard so much advice and instruction about water. Such advice as; drink four liters of water a day, drink eight glasses a day, drink a glass on an empty stomach first thing in the morning etc. Which of such wisdom are correct? Which are beneficial? In fact are detrimental?
When my wife was pregnant and was experiencing those early stage sickness; that wonderful period when they hate the sight, smell or taste of everything sometime their husband inclusive and the man get really confused, sometimes even frustrated sometime scared, she wouldn’t drink even water. Sure I was really concern for her and the baby. How much water must she at least drink I’ll ponder. A google search will give a million result and a billion advice. How do you sieve through all that and figure out which to accept.
How Do Our Bodies Regulate and Maintain Adequate Fluid Level?
The body regulate water level through the mechanism of thirst which signal us to reach for water. This signal helps to regulate the concentration of salt and electrolyte in our body and the overall volume of water in our bodies. Then there is urination and sweating to expel water. Of course sweating is also a temperature regulating process.
Here are facts I learnt from trusted medical opinion about water and our bodies.
BELIEF: You must drink eight glasses of water daily.
FACT: though it is recommended to drink 8 glasses of water of 8 ounce (oz.) or approximately 24cl capacity per day, which will be roughly two liters. About 20% this volume is derived from food we eat so don’t necessarily have to keep counting till we drink eight glasses of water whether we feel thirsty or not.
BELIEF: Caffeinated sodas don’t hydrate and can even dehydrate you.
FACT: Yes caffeine is diuretic but a mild one and the fluid in a caffeinated soft drink is more than enough to hydrate the body. Of course caffeinated drinks cannot take the place of water and should only be taken for thirst when water is not available at that time.
The more the body expel water, the more one should drink. Did you know athletes can seat 1-2 liters of water per hour during high intensity exercise? Consequently, they could drink up to 10 liters on such days.
BELIEF: Just keep drinking as much water as you can.
FACTS: Too much water can actually alter the electrolytic balance of the body.
BELIEF: Packaged water is better than water from the tap.
FACT: This not necessarily true. Except in developing countries where availability safe drinking water is a big challenge, tap water is even better than bottled water. In developed countries, bottle water is a waste of money!
BELIEF: If you are thirsty, it means you are already dehydrated.
FACT: Thirst is just a signal that you need water intake it doesn’t mean you are already dehydrated. Symptoms of dehydration includes, dry mouth, weakness, dizziness, palpitations, fainting, inability to sweat, little or no urine. It take a long time or some serious loss of water from the body to be dehydrated.

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