How much water should you drink per day?

Gawan

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There are some topics on the forum of what kind of water one should drink (or which filter to use), but I couldn't find a specific topic about the daily water one should drink.

One author that came to mind was Nora Gedgaudas, where she had a chapter about water in her book Primal body Primal mind. But as far as I can tell there are many differences on how much to drink that it isn't too easy to navigate, what is now the right amount. At least for my part, I always need to force myself to drink more and to drink at all. Most often I drink about 1.5 liters per day only water - most often it is less.

Does anybody have some more data about water intake? And how do you proceed to drink enough water?

And here are some quotes from Nora Gedgaudas book as mentioned above:

Next to oxygen, water is the most important substance we put into our bodies. Most of us fail to get enough of it. It is used in every metabolic process in the human body and is utterly essential to the function of the human brain and nervous system. The human body mass is composed of roughly 55 to 60 percent water at minimum and the human brain of 70 to 80 percent water. The human body can produce about 8 percent of its water needs from its own metabolic processes. That leaves 92 percent that must be obtained through diet. Caffeinated beverages and alcohol cause dehydration, as do stress and physical activity. Replenishing the body with substantial amounts of pure, clean water is critical. No nutrient in the body can function without water. And the body’s bioelectrical system is nonexistent without it.

[...]

Among dehydrating beverages are caffeine, alcohol, some herbal teas, all juices, and sodas. Be sure to add another 12 to 16 ounces of pure water to your daily intake for every 8 ounces of diuretic beverage consumed. For further excellent information, look for the book Your Body’s Many Cries for Water, by F. Batmanghelidj, M.D. Also see the Water Cure website, at www.watercure.com.

[...]

Symptoms potentially associated with chronic dehydration include:
  • depression
  • stress
  • dyspeptic pain
  • colitis pain
  • false appendicitis pain
  • hiatal hernia
  • rheumatoid arthritis pain
  • low-back pain
  • neck pain
  • anginal pain
  • anxiety
  • headaches
  • high blood pressure
  • high blood cholesterol levels
  • excess body weight
  • excess hunger
  • asthma and allergies
  • chronic fatigue
  • irritability
  • constipation
  • cognitive impairment
[...]

How much water should we drink daily? Well, it’s certainly arguable that our ancestors did not walk around carrying water bottles or conscientiously drink “eight full glasses a day.” That said, our ancestors also didn’t face the levels of stress or environmental contamination that we now do or drink dehydrating sugary or caffeinated beverages. It makes sense to hypothesize that our need for this life-giving substance is likely greater today than ever before. Then again, overconsuming water can lead to something called water intoxication and overdilution of sodium in the body, also known as hyponatremia, leading to tissue swelling and cellular damage. Symptoms can include an irregular heartbeat, fluid backing up into the lungs, and even swelling in the brain and nerves, which ultimately mimic the effects of alcohol intoxication (without all the fun). It’s a little like drowning from the inside out. Athletes tend to be the most susceptible to this problem, but anyone who is overzealous with water consumption can succumb to the ill effects of hydration excess. True water intoxication is fairly rare. Most people really do fail to drink enough water, but watch out for going too far the other way.

Also, keep in mind that it’s less about how much you drink than how fast you drink it.

The human body (and kidneys) can process only so much water at a time. Drinking water more slowly (in sips) improves absorption and utilization considerably. A good analogy is likening drinking water to watering a dry houseplant. If you just dump a huge cup of water over an arid potted plant, you only flood or drown the plant and create useless runoff. If, instead, you slowly trickle the water in, the plant can far better absorb the water you give it. Same thing with us.

The rule of thumb I follow is this: Take your body weight (in pounds) and divide by 2 to get the rough number of ounces of pure water to drink daily. I generally recommend keeping this under a gallon per day. If dehydrating beverages are consumed, follow the aforementioned guidelines. If you are exposed to prolonged heat or exercise, obviously your need for water will be greater, and more is fine. I avoid drinking distilled water, and I often prefer to add ionic trace minerals to much of the water I drink to further enhance its electric potential and nutrient value on a cellular level.

Bottoms up!
 
How much water should be taken during the day depends on age, weight, body activity level, general health, and the climate in which you live.

It is best to listen to your body, also, urine color is a very good indicator.
I personally do a physically demanding job and during the day I drink more than 5 liters of water.
Knowing I lose a lot of fluid because I work at very high temperatures and regardless of the season, I'm always dressed like a temperature minus 20
 
Very interesting subject. I know for a fact that I do not drink enough water even though I work in a physically active job. We have a water cooler where delicious cold fluid can be obtained easily and in plentiful supply. What do I drink most of - coffee and tea? I am definitely going to trial drinking far more water than caffeinated drinks to see what the effect is on my body and mind.

I remember reading quite a long time ago about the effect on water of talking to it. I cannot remember details but the author was convinced that tests had shown an improvement in water quality if it was spoken to in a calm and loving way. Has anyone else come across this?
 
I think this would be an individual matter and it would depend on many factors, such as our weight, height, the weather, the amount of physical activity we do, types of food we eat, etc. There are online hydration calculators that will take some of the above variables into account. For example this one:

Hydration Calculator. How much water should you drink? — CamelBak

It asks a number of questions and the level of physical activity planned. I'm not going to do much so I selected hiking for 45 mins. This should be about the amount of walking I'm going to do today. Well...in my defence it's Monday. ;-) I'm also quite small, skinny and a female. It told me I should aim for 0.7 litres but it would most likely tell you to drink more if you're a man and you're bigger than me, even if the level of physical activity you entered was the same.

Another thing is that we do get water from the food we eat and I have a watery sauce to go with my bacon for lunch today. Bacon is quite salty and it makes me thirsty so I'll most likely go over the amount the calculator recommended.


How much water should be taken during the day depends on age, weight, body activity level, general health, and the climate in which you live.

It is best to listen to your body, also, urine color is a very good indicator.
I personally do a physically demanding job and during the day I drink more than 5 liters of water.
Knowing I lose a lot of fluid because I work at very high temperatures and regardless of the season, I'm always dressed like a temperature minus 20


I agree with casper, I think it's reasonable to say we need a different amount of water on a lazy winter afternoon in front of a telly and on a sunny day out in a park.

I also like the suggestion of paying attention to the colour of the urine.


One author that came to mind was Nora Gedgaudas, where she had a chapter about water in her book Primal body Primal mind. But as far as I can tell there are many differences on how much to drink that it isn't too easy to navigate, what is now the right amount. At least for my part, I always need to force myself to drink more and to drink at all. Most often I drink about 1.5 liters per day only water - most often it is less.


I was wondering if you feel worse if you don't force yourself to drink more water?

Personally I tend to drink as much as I need to prevent feeling thirsty and I don't pay much attention to how much that is. I'd say our bodies are quite good at telling us what we need, have you seen the videos of children reacting to broccoli for example? It's unlikely a child would respond this way to bacon! Well, unless my body tells me that it needs chocolate. Then I know caution is required ;-)

I wouldn't be surprised if the push to drink 2 litres a day came form mineral water manufacturers. I've always been quite suspicious of it becuase water should technically dilute stomach acid.

A technique called 'muscle testing' was described in the Iodine thread. Maybe it would be a good idea to use it for water intake too?
 
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The old adage was to drink 8 glasses of water per day. That never made sense to me. I mean, 8 glasses for a small woman and the same for a big man? Then I read a formula that made easy sense. Take your body weight, divide in half and drink that many ounces of water. For example, a 100 lb woman would drink 50 ounces of water. And with more exercise or sweating, drink a little more.
 
I think it also matters WHEN you drink. For example the kidneys become more active during 5 to 7 pm and if I didn't drink enough water between 3 and 5 pm I tend to feel sluggish and tired during that time. I'm rarely thirsty but sometimes when I am, then i know my body's self-regulation still works in this regard. Mostly I just reduce water intake if I had to pee 3 times in half an hour or something like this :-). Happens sometimes during the kidney time, the water seems to go just through.

Hilarious! The last one even gives a double facepalm.

water should technically dilute stomach acid.
I don't think that's a problem. My guess is that not to drink cold water after eating (which makes sense because it takes away the energy/heat) got a bit over-propagated into this. The water does mostly dilute the stomach acid physically but does not reduce it's acid reaction potential chemically (*), so i would think it even helps making everything mixing up more easily. But maybe drinking alkaline/basic tea for example after meal might not be helpful for digestion.

* just had a look. seems to vary greatly depending on the water type, but mostly being neutral or slightly towards alkaline, also to avoid reaction with the water pipe/line system.
 

Trashing the Eight Glasses of Water a Day Recommendation​

Story at a glance:
  • Most in the wellness industry will tell you to drink lots of water and limit your salt intake, but that is the opposite of what you want to do
  • Not only do these strategies not improve your hydration, but they may also cause many of the issues they’re intended to prevent, including headaches, skin problems, detox problems, decreased immune function and lower metabolism
  • By limiting salt, you may initially lower your blood pressure, but it comes at a cost. In the long run, it worsens dehydration and ultimately results in higher blood pressure
  • Drinking excess water can mimic having insufficient sodium, ultimately aggravating dehydration and high blood pressure
  • On a cellular level, hydration allows the cells to maintain their proper structure. But water is not the only factor in hydration. The ratios of electrolytes inside and outside the cell also play a role, as does the protein structure of the cell, and the amount of energy the cell has available
  • The same strategies that optimize your metabolism and cellular energy production will also ameliorate high blood pressure by relaxing blood vessels and calming the stress response
 

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Trashing the Eight Glasses of Water a Day Recommendation​

Story at a glance:
  • Most in the wellness industry will tell you to drink lots of water and limit your salt intake, but that is the opposite of what you want to do
  • Not only do these strategies not improve your hydration, but they may also cause many of the issues they’re intended to prevent, including headaches, skin problems, detox problems, decreased immune function and lower metabolism
  • By limiting salt, you may initially lower your blood pressure, but it comes at a cost. In the long run, it worsens dehydration and ultimately results in higher blood pressure
  • Drinking excess water can mimic having insufficient sodium, ultimately aggravating dehydration and high blood pressure
  • On a cellular level, hydration allows the cells to maintain their proper structure. But water is not the only factor in hydration. The ratios of electrolytes inside and outside the cell also play a role, as does the protein structure of the cell, and the amount of energy the cell has available
  • The same strategies that optimize your metabolism and cellular energy production will also ameliorate high blood pressure by relaxing blood vessels and calming the stress response
I read this on Mercola today and was surprised at its content. I will have to study this more closely, as I do feel better when I drink more water (before I get thirsty).
 
Hmm, I drink about a gallon a day, because I run my distiller once a day. But maybe only 3/4 that in the winter. I went off keto over a year ago and dropped my salt intake thinking I don't need as much, but when I added more salt to my water the other day I noticed it tastes a lot better and I crave it over my lower salted water.
 
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