“Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it” – Lao Tzu. Now come ‘on who can dare disagree with that statement. Surely not us humans or any living being. We all are familiar with facts like humans are about 60% water or the fact that even in average conditions humans cannot survive more than 3-4 days without water. So, hands down, water is life, no questions about that, however, what makes for an interesting question is how much water does one need?
The world accepted strategy being followed is 8 by 8 glasses of water every day, about 2 liters, but does that hold true for everybody at all times – No. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a pretty good rule to follow, however, a person’s requirement of water varies from time to time, situation to situation based on few factors. Let’s check those out:
- Climate: if you stay in hot and humid temperatures, you are going to sweat more and lose more water than someone living in colder climates, so you would need more water than the other.
- Age: Do you think that you drink the same amount of water as your child or your older parent. No, right? because as one progresses in age it impacts your water intake.
- Health: We don’t always stay the same way, some days you suffer from diarrhea, vomiting, fever which would require more liquid intake, than other days, also, pregnant and breastfeeding females need more water than the ones who aren’t. Besides if you are a highly active person or athlete your water intake would need to be more than your desk job neighbour.
Now, you can understand that water requirement is not one simple answer, depending upon your lifestyle and situations you would need to change those to suit the current situation, and keep your body functions working well. If you still need numbers, consider this in everyday life excluding any variant:
- Young Children Aged between 4-13 years require 5-8 cups a day
- Teenagers require 8-11
- Adult Male 13 cups
- Adult Female 9 cups
- Breastfeeding Female 12-13 cups
When considering water intake, always remember all other fluids like tea, coffee, juices etc. count as well. Plus, all the food that you eat has some water content that would also be taken into account. The best strategy is to drink when you are thirsty, be observant of yourself and drink depending upon your body requirement.
Another major quoted effect of drinking water is, it helps you lose weight. We have all heard that drinking more water increases metabolism, how – Coldwater. If you drink cold water than your body burns more calories to warm it up, hence aiding your metabolism. Also drinking enough water and especially 30 min before food helps you feel fuller and you end up eating less. Owing to this you will also reduce the number of calories from the liquid intake, further helping you to shed some weight by controlling your diet. Drinking plenty of water ensures waste cleansing and no water retaining which is a plus when working on losing weight. Subsequently, the strategy works.
On this note, I am off to quench my thirst and I suggest you do too.