Drink to Live
Water works hard for you. Do you work hard for it?
Raise your glass as often as you like and toast to your good health and long life. That is, if your glass is filled with pure drinking water.
Too often when people assess their diets, they concentrate on getting the right amounts of proteins, carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits, and supplements but overlook the importance of what they drink.
Next to air, water is the second most important nutrient we take into our bodies. Depending on the source, experts say, water makes up somewhere between 75 percent to 90 percent of your body, depending on your phase of life. (We are born with a higher water content, which decreases as we get older.)
“You need water for everything your body does,” says Lisa Dorfman, M.S., R.D., an American Dietetic Association spokeswoman who works in Miami, Fla. “Water is an essential nutrient that helps your body do everything from breathing to digesting food to hormone production to lubricating joints.”
Water assists with metabolizing carbohydrates, fats and proteins; digesting food; creating enzymes, which support all body functions; insulating organs; protecting the fetus in pregnant mothers; dissolving vitamins; regulating the body’s temperature; supporting healthy skin and a host of other vital functions.
Everyone has different needs, though, says Dorfman, based on their individual chemistry and physical activity. If you are not getting enough water, she says, you body will let you know. Thirst is the first sign of dehydration. In addition, pugent, yellow urine is an indication that your system is low on water.
“When you don’t have enough water in your body, your cells will start to die,” Dorfman says. “Nausea, stomach pains and headaches are common symptoms of dehydration.”
How much water is enough? Most sources agree that the advice you got in grade school — eight cups daily — is a good starting point. The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science found that most healthy adults are adequately hydrated, and recommends 11 cups of total water— from all beverages and food — for women, and 16 cups for men.
About 80 percent of people's daily water intake comes from drinking water and other beverages, including caffeinated beverages, and the other 20 percent comes from water contained in food. Most unprocessed, uncooked foods have a high water content, as well. A half cup of lettuce, watermelon, broccoli or grapefruit are all made up of more than 90 percent water, according to the American Dietetic Association.
Water intake can come from other drinks or food, but this doesn’t replace the power of pure water. Heavy dependence on these drinks can lead to dehydration. And alcohol and caffeinated drinks have potential diuretic affects, says Cynthia Sass, R.D., adjunct professor at the University of South Florida, in Tampa.
“A couple of drinks a day are OK, but more than that can lead to dehydration,” Sass says. Our bodies actually adjust to what we drink and compensates to flush out any extra caffeine or alcohol, up to a point. “Any time you have an unusually high caffeine or alcohol intake, like five more cups a day, you should have more water.”
When people are active, however, experts agree they may need up to twice as much water, 20 cups or more. And don’t be fooled by the seasons. It is natural to seek more water when the weather is hot, but you need just as much hydration in cold weather. Winter sports, snow shoveling and heated air all suck water from your system just as readily as a hot day. Medications, high-fiber and high protein diets, and age also can lead to the need for extra water intake.
“We lose muscle as we age, and a great deal of that is made up of water,” Sass says. After we reach 30, each decade we lose body mass and with it water. People over 70 are particularly at risk of dehydration because their kidneys start to retain less water, they take more medicines that require water intake, and their thirst messages tend to dull.
“Generally, it’s recommended that no matter how old you are that you drink water with pills to help dissolve the medicines and then remove the extra wastes products,” Sass says. “Make sure to really talk with your pharmacist to understand when you need to drink extra water or have food with your medicine.”
Experts agree that water is the best beverage around, but it should be balanced with other nutritional drinks — particularly when you are active or exercising.
“Electrolytes don’t have anything to do with energy, but help balance fluid levels inside and outside of cells,” Sass says. We lose sodium, potassium and chloride when we sweat, and pure water doesn’t have these elements, but juices and sports drinks replace needed electrolytes. “If you only put back water, the electrolyte level in your body can get low,” Sass says, “which can lead to a heart attack, brain swelling, or even death.”
Electrolytes also help regulate heart rhythms.
“Anybody who is over 45 is at risk of chronic diseases — heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, high blood press and stroke,” Sass says. Mature adults can get extra water by eating a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, which also helps provide two other elements that they need, extra nutrients and fiber.
But you can overhydrate your system, a problem that few people monitor. Drinking too much water can leads to low sodium or potassium levels, Dorfman says, and “hyperhydration” can cause some of the same physical problems as dehydration.
“If you don't like to drink water, create your own spa water,” says Debbie Mandel, author of “Changing Habits: The Caregivers' Total Workout” (Resurrection Press, 2005). “Take a pitcher and fill with water. Cut up a few strawberries or a peach and drop them in the pitcher and refrigerate. When chilled, pour yourself a nice tall glass.”
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