23 August 2019 Friday
The Importance Of Drinking Of More Water In The Summer
Although water is a calorie-free drink, it is vital for the human body. Water is essential for the processes of digestion, absorption, and excretion. In addition, it is responsible for regulating body temperature. To give an example of vital importance, loss of 20% of body water may cause death; loss of only 10% may lead to damage to essential body systems. Healthy adults can live up to 10 days without water, and children can live up to 5 days, whereas one can survive for several weeks without food.
Water is the largest single component of the body. In particular, the body of newborns consists of 75-85% water, while in adults this amount is 60-70% on average. Contrary to popular belief, this rate is lower in obese individuals than in normal individuals, and is around 45-55%. This rate also decreases in the elderly.
As water is vital, it is important to maintain the body's water balance. In other words, there should be a balance between daily water intake and water output. Daily fluid requirement is met with food and other beverages, besides water. In addition, some metabolic water is produced in the digestive processes in the body. However, it should be aimed to meet this need primarily from water. Because high consumption of sugar sweetened beverages like cola, ice tea instead of water can cause excessive energy and added sugar intake. While sugar-free tea and coffee are among the better options, it should be remembered that excessive consumption of them can have diuretic-increase in urine output- effect. In brief, it is the best to drink water in order to meet the daily fluid need.
Water output from the body occurs through urine, feces, sweating and respiration. Under hot weather conditions, water loss because of sweating is much higher than normal weather conditions. Therefore, water consumption should be increased in the summer months. In addition, long-term exercises also cause more water loss through sweating. As a result, it should be aimed to increase the amount of water consumption in hot weather and also in prolonged exercises.
One of the formulas used in nutrition related to daily water requirement is to consume 35 mL of water per kg. More practically, it is recommended to consume 1 liter of water per 1000 calories taken for the general population. In conclusion, individuals should consume 2-2.5 liters of water per day.
When water intake is insufficient or water loss is excessive, healthy kidneys compensate by conserving water and excreting more concentrated urine. Thus, a simple way to tell if you drink enough water is to check the color of your urine. A pale-yellow urine indicates sufficient water consumption; whereas dark yellow urine indicates that water intake is not adequate. Inadequate water may cause kidney damage in the long term. In addition, regular water should be consumed to prevent constipation.
Children and the elderly are at greater risk of dehydration than the general population. Simply, “dehydration” is the loss of fluid in the body. Signs of dehydration include headache, fatigue, decreased appetite, light-headedness, poor skin turgor. While adults are very good at regulating water in the body these mechanisms are not yet fully developed in children. To illustrate, fluid loss through diarrhea is responsible for thousands of children's deaths in developing countries. In the elderly, sensitivity to thirst decreases, so drinking water in this age group should be reminded regularly.
In conclusion, individuals should protect themselves from fluid loss by drinking a minimum of 2-2.5 liters of water, especially in summer months. The urine color can be used as an indicator of water consumption, and light yellow is ideal. It should also be noted that children and the elderly are vulnerable groups for fluid loss.
