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How Water Can Keep You Healthy

When you treat your body right, it will reward you by keeping you healthy and free from pain. One of the ways to support your health is to drink the water your body needs to stay properly hydrated.

Your Body Craves Water to Function

Did you know that about 60-70% of your total body weight is water? The exact percentage depends on your ratio of muscle cells (which consist of about 70-75% water) to fat cells (which only contain about 10-15% water), but water also helps keep you looking and feeling young by aiding in nearly every bodily process. Here are some of the ways it does that:

Determining How Much Water You Need

A common rule of thumb (though this is a subject of debate, even among experts) is that most people need to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day. You need more than that if you live in a hot climate, do any kind of exercise, or have a larger body size.

Our bodies naturally lose water in a variety of ways. These include urine output, perspiration, and imperceptible losses such as through respiration, normal digestive elimination, and evaporation through the skin even when not visibly perspiring.

How much water you need is connected to how many calories you burn. The body requires about 1 ml of water for every calorie burned. Very active individuals who burn from 3000 to 4000 calories per day should plan on drinking from 13 to 17 cups of water per day. About 15 to 30 minutes before your workout, try to drink from one to 2 cups of water. For every pound you lose during your workout, drink at least 2 cups (16 oz.) of water afterward.

Yes, the food you eat, especially fruits and vegetables, do provide some fluid intake. Your body also extracts water from non-caffeinated beverages such as herb teas, vegetable juices, fruit juices, sports drinks, and milk. But caffeine is a diuretic and contributes to dehydration, so monitor your intake of coffee, regular tea, soda pop, and other caffeinated drinks. Alcohol is also a diuretic.

Being Hydrated is Vital to Your Health

How can you tell if you’re dehydrated? The first sign is thirst. However, by the time you experience thirst, your body is already 2% dehydrated and your energy levels have already diminished. Other signs of dehydration are mild headache and fatigue. If you become severely dehydrated, you might experience nausea, chills, increased heart rate, lightheadedness, and an inability to perspire. If you have any of these symptoms, you may need to seek medical attention.

The best hydration indicator is urine color. When a person is sufficiently hydrated, the urine is clear. Generally speaking the darker the urine, the more dehydrated a person is. (Some medications and vitamin/mineral supplements can discolor urine too, but proper intake of water will return urine to a clear color.)

Dehydration is defined scientifically as a loss of fluid that equals an amount greater than 1% of your body weight. Your blood is the first area to be affected. After that, the body’s cells will then start to lose water content. Death occurs when you lose from 9% to 12% of your body weight due to dehydration.

Dehydration Affects Your Memory

Your brain is composed of over 85% water, so being hydrated is essential for optimal brain function. No matter what your age, the number one cause of memory loss is dehydration. A “senior moment” is your brain alerting you that your body’s water levels are low and you need to drink a glass of water now! Of course, since your brain controls all of your body’s physiological functions, memory isn’t the only process affected when your brain becomes dehydrated.

Taking Care of Your Health Brings Quality of Life

In addition to drinking adequate amounts of water to maintain optimum health, consider the excellent quality of life you can enjoy from getting good chiropractic care. A chiropractor can help you focus on reaching your potential in every area of life by keeping your nerve system as clear of interference as possible so your body can work better – naturally.

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