How Much Water Should I Drink?

What is Dehydration and what causes it? Dehydration is when your body loses more fluid than what you take in (think, you pee 4 cups but only drink 3). Your body requires a certain amount of fluid intake, every day to function properly and keep you healthy. When it doesn’t get these fluids, there is short term & long-term damage that can happen to your body, sometimes irreversible.

Recommended daily intake, per the Mayo Clinic, is outlined here:

About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day for men
About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women

Roughly, half your body weight in oz.

For example, Mary weighs 150lbs. She would want to drink 75oz of water daily to maintain healthy hydration.

Does Coffee Count?

Yes coffee is a fluid, and research is still being done. The National Library of Medicine has studies showing a diuretic effect that caffeine has. But it also has studies showing regular coffee drinkers aren’t affected by the water depleting effects of coffee.
Er on the safe side, if you are not normally a caffeine drinker, don’t drink caffeine when you are behind on water intake.

What can I do?

It sounds so simple, “just drink more (insert word; coffee, tea, WATER)” we say. But how? If you could, you would, right? Let me make some suggestions:
1 whole 16 oz glass of water – before you do anything else! Start your day with 1 whole glass of water. Keep a glass next to your water source, and every time you go there, take a drink. It needs to become a Habit, however that looks for you.
Drink a glass during each meal during snacks.
Some fruits and vegetables are higher in water content, like spinach and watermelon, both are 91% water weight. So eat up!

There are options other than water. Add a lemon or lime to the water, drink flavored water, tea, coffee, skim milk, seltzers, 100% fruit or vegetable juice to name a few.
Carry a water bottle with you throughout the day.
Drink your way to a happier healthier you!!

Causes of Dehydration:

Causes can be mental; you are busy, you forget, you don’t make it a priority nor a habit. Causes can also be physical, like excessive sweating, vomiting and diarrhea, fever and increased urination.
Medications can also affect the water levels in your body. Some change how your body absorbs and gets rid of water. “Water pill, pee pills”, are diuretics that increase how much water is removed from your body. Some common names include Lasix, furosemide, Aldactone, spironolactone and torsemide (list is not all inclusive).
Speak with your physician or pharmacist if you have questions about your medications.

Complications:

Initially you will see headaches, tiredness, dark colored urine, urine infections, constipation, dizziness and/or confusion. With dehydration are often electrolyte imbalances. This is your vitamin K levels, your sodium levels and your potassium and magnesium levels. This in turn, can have ill effects on your heart and other body systems.
Long term dehydration can cause kidney damage, low blood pressure, increased risk for falling and hospitalizations to rehydrate. If treatment is not sought, irreversible shock and death are possible.

Those with higher incidences of dehydration are infants and children, older adults, people with chronic illnesses and those who work or exercise outside. This is not to discount the many cases that present with dehydration due to an acute illness such as the flu or pneumonia.

Some signs of dehydration include: constipation, tiredness, frequent UTI’s, dark colored urine, dizziness and headaches are some of the few. And don’t wait for your mouth to tell you it’s dry, a dry mouth is a late sign of dehydration.

These recommendations are for a healthy individual without health complications. Always follow the advice of your physician.

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