Water is an amazing compound that has a profound effect on the overall physical, mental, and cognitive performance of our bodies. As humans, it is important that we maintain healthy levels of water within our system at all times, so we don’t become susceptible to dehydration. This means that you have effectively lost more water from the cells that build muscle and maintain our bodies than you have consumed.
Providing our bodies with adequate hydration doesn’t just prevent us from feeling parched, it also lays the framework for essential processes that we often take for granted. Not only does water make up more than 85% of your brain, it also transports energy to your brain. Water also assists with the digestion of food, allows organs such as the liver and kidneys to break down toxins, fats and alcohol, and it assists in the protection of tissue and tendon material in the body.
The average Australian adult loses approximately 1.6 to 2 litres of water per day through normal bodily tasks such as digesting food, breathing, and sweating. This figure can be drastically increased for people participating in sporting activities, arduous work such as building and construction and those exposed to warm outdoor environments. With this is mind, it is important to understand your own water intake requirements. Factors such as your age, weight, lifestyle and dietary intake all have an influence on the level of water that you will need to drink to maintain your required hydration level. For example, foods that contain high sodium concentrations such as pizza, heavily deplete your body of water in the digestion process. While foods such as vegetables and fruits can actually help to maintain a healthy hydration level.
The general consensus within the scientific and health communities is that an Australian adult requires between 35-40 millilitres of water per kilogram of their total body weight. For example, I am an adult male of 35 years and I weigh 82 kilograms, so based on the recommendations above, I require a minimum of 2.49 litres of water per day to maintain a healthy hydration level.
For children under the age of twelve the amount becomes difficult to calculate using the previous method as the result may become less than the bare minimum intake. It is recommended that a child consume at least 1.3 litres of water per day to maintain healthy brain function and support growth until the adult weight calculation method can be used. Keep in mind also, that children exposed to severe heat, sporting activity, or infection, will require more than the baseline figure.
As humans become older, we generally experience a diminished sense of hunger and thirst. This is due to a variety of reasons, and it can have a negative effect on our water intake. Unfortunately, as we get older, we actually require fresh hydration more than ever to assist our bodies in digesting food, and as well as our ageing organs as they break down vitamins, carbohydrates, and proteins. For this reason, it is recommended that regardless of thirst levels, an elderly adult should aim to consume between 1.4 to 1.8 litres of water per day as a minimum.
To check your hydration levels, you can monitor your urine colour: the darker it is, the closer you are to dehydration; the clearer your urine, the closer to hydration you are. You will notice that your first visit to the bathroom in the morning will usually result in a darker solution as generally you would not have consumed water in approximately 8 hours. For this reason, water is best consumed early in the morning when you first rise as a form of detox from the previous nights' sleep and just before bed to help carry you through the hours of rest.
To maintain a healthy overall hydration level, the consumption of fresh, clean water is key. Other fluids such as soft drinks, juices and energy drinks all contain external elements such as sugars, preservatives and flavour additives, which don’t help hydrate your body. Instead of these beverages, opt for a glass of fresh water from a filtered tap or system, which ensures your drinking water is safe, clean, pure, and tasty.
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