That we should stay well hydrated has become one mantra No contemporary surprises: Water is essential For the proper functioning of the human body. Not only can drinking water kill us in days (in contrast, we can go weeks without food), dehydration can cause other symptoms without reaching that extreme.
we have Various studies On the short-term effects of dehydration. Problems associated with insufficient water intake include fatigue, headaches, difficulty concentrating and decreased reflexes. It should be noted, however, that most of these studies were conducted with small samples in eight And 25 participants.
In the long run, proper hydration can prevent us from such problems Constipation, Urinary tract infectionis kidney stones.
Drinking plenty of water is necessary to maintain proper hydration, since our bodies “lose water” in various ways. Urine and sweat are the most intuitive to us, but we expel moisture from our bodies with our breath or bowel movements.
We have heard many times that we should Drink two liters or eight glasses Water daily to maintain adequate hydration. It won’t A bad guessBut there are many who consider that this should not be the guideline to follow.
According to the US National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine, the amount of water we should consume is 3.7 liters for men and 2.7 liters for women. But before we start refilling water bottles, there’s one big asterisk we must take into account. Quite a few, actually.
The first is that not all the water we consume is served in a glass. It is assumed that 20% of water What we eat is what we make of our food. From fruit to paella rice, all kinds of vegetables, meat and bread. All of these foods provide us with water, often more than we think. 20% figure also includes other beverages.
The drinking problem has created some controversy about this. Drinks like coffee or tea have a diuretic effect, which means that, although they hydrate us, they make us lose water at a greater rate. It is also recommended to keep in mind This diuretic effect These drinks are not strong enough to dehydrate us more than they hydrate us.
That is, a glass of tea will not hydrate us as much as an equal glass of water, but it will hydrate us. Recently, a group of researchers observed that, besides water, the beverages with the greatest hydrating power are milk (especially skimmed milk) and oral serum for rehydration.
Various reasons
But our gender and the foods we eat aren’t the only factors that can affect how much water we should drink in a day.
The first is related to our environment. The climate in which we find ourselves, the time of year, the weather, or whether we live in a building or outside can affect the thermal conditions and humidity of the environment. And this, in turn, can affect the amount of water we lose and therefore the speed at which we need to replace it.
We’ve already mentioned diet, but when we talk about its role we ignore foods that can actually increase our hydrate needs. One of them, spicy food which can induce our body to sweat is another. Alcohol is another Most importantly when we take it in excess: one of the contributing factors Hangover It is, precisely, dehydration.
Of course, physical activity should lead to our calling. while exercising We lose sweat and water that we must replace. That’s why it’s important to hydrate yourself both before, during and after physical exercise.
Our general state of health can also affect the amount of water our body needs. Diarrhea or fever can dehydrate us more easily, but there may be other conditions that may require us to drink more water.
Other situations in which we may need more water include pregnancy and breastfeeding. Something logical if we consider that in this case you need to “hydrate for two”.
As with everything, excess has risks. In this case: Drinking too much water can kill you. or damage your kidneys. Excess water causes what we call intoxication HyponatremiaA dangerous lack of sodium.
Kidneys are responsible for managing a good portion of the water that leaves our body, especially when we have excess of it. However, these organs have a limited working capacity. If we drink too much waterWhether suddenly or for a long time, our kidneys may not be able to cope.
This causes our body to retain water, thereby diluting electrolytes such as sodium. Sodium acts precisely to regulate water entering the cell. Absence of sodium causes our cells to swell and fail.
So how much should I drink? There is no magic number. There are so many variables that the best recommendation is to pay attention to our body and Look for signs of dehydration. the thirst This is the most obvious clue that we need to hydrate, but it’s not the only one.
The next clue is urine. Clear or light yellow urine is a good indicator that our body is properly hydrated. A darker, more opaque yellow is an indicator that we need to hydrate.
This is also good advice Pay attention to our situation. If we are sweating, whether due to heat or physical activity, we should pay more attention to hydration. We must do this if we are pregnant or breastfeeding. Older people should also pay more attention to their hydration, in this case because the thirst warning system tends to lose effectiveness over time.
In BDtechsupport | There are people addicted to drinking up to 15 liters of water a day (and this is a more serious problem than it seems).
Picture | Pixabay/Pexels