Water Facts - Essential KnowledgeThe following article covers numerous fundamental water facts that you should know when looking to improve Total Fitness and health. Without a doubt, water plays a massive role in contributing to our health and well being - it plays such a crucial role that you can’t live very long without it! One of the key water facts is in understanding that our bodies comprise of approximately 60% water - which is a huge figure if you stop to think about it. Water serves many purposes within our bodies including: - This is due to the cleaning and filtration processes the water undergoes in making it safe for us to drink. Further water facts relate to the way in which water is stored within the body; namely, within the body's cells and in the bodily fluids such as blood. Our bodies naturally loose between 2-2.5 litres of water per day through the action of the metabolism, movement and all of the millions of the bodily functions that occur within our body over the course of the day. Due to this constant loss, it is VITAL to replenish the lost water. The British Dietetic Association states that on average, an adult should consume 2.5 litres of water per day. Our water requirements increase in warm weather, when being physically active and when exercising.Its quite possible to loose over and above 1 litre of sweat per hour when exercising heavily, in fact a 2% drop in body weight can result in a significant decrease in your ability to perform exercise! In this respect, one of the fundamental water facts is that for each pound of body weight lost when exercising, 0.5 litres of water should be drunk to replenish fluid levels. Drinks containing alcohol do not count towards your daily intake of water - as alcohol is strongly diuretic (which means it promotes the excretion of water - meaning more trips to the bathroom!) Other water facts which are often misinterpreted refer to the drinking of Tea and Coffee. In short, these beverages CAN contribute to your daily intake level of water, as despite containing caffeine, which is also slightly diuretic; the quantity of water within each of the beverages tends to balance out the induced fluid loss. Having said that, in striving for TOTAL FITNESS and optimal health, remember we are striving for balance in all that we do, and therefore tea and coffee, if consumed, should NOT form the bulk of your intake.
One simple way of gauging hydration level is to monitor the colour of your urine. It should ideally be straw coloured or lighter.
If your urine appears as dark yellow - get drinking water!
Other indicators include fatigue, headaches, irritability, poor concentration, dizziness, cramps and constipation.
I'm sure you will agree, these are all things best avoided!
Simply re-fill the bottle as and when needed, until its time to get a new one! Can you drink TOO much water? Within the media, you may have seen reports of people dying from drinking too much water. As with most things in life, balance should be sought - and drinking water is no different. The reports of people dying from over consumption or water, or hyper hydration, usually involve individual’s drinking water to extreme excess - such as 10 litres within a day. In a normal healthy individual the effect of drinking too much water is to essentially dilute our delicate electrolyte balance - electrolytes are trace minerals required for muscle contraction, brain function and host of other vital bodily processes. By drinking water to excess, these essentially become flushed out of the body, leading to potentially FATAL repercussions. In SummaryThe water facts presented provide further evidence in support of the need to achieve balance within our lives.In the case of water, it’s such a crucial addition to our intake (second only to oxygen itself!) that we simply cannot live without it! To those who fall into the category of not getting enough water, even slight dehydration can impact many areas of your well being. It’s amazing to see how many people spend money on pills and potions designed to make them feel better, yet often, ensuring you get the recommended level of water intake can work wonders! Why not try it for a week? Drink Up!
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