In order for our body to continue to function well, it must be renewed. ” Most people only drink 500 ml of water a day and then make up for it with sodas, ” which is exactly what not to do, according to nutritionist Laurence Plumey. The author of Sugar, fat and salt: what our food really contains , published by Eyrolles editions explains to us how much water we should drink each day.
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What is the water for our body used for?
The water in our body manages the volume of blood and lymph. It feeds all our wet areas: saliva, eyes, joints, absorption of nutrients during digestion, hydration of the skin. It is it which eliminates the waste of digestion and which helps to maintain the temperature of the body. But to do all this, it must be ingested in sufficient quantity.
How much water should you drink per day?
The body is composed of 65% water, if we make 60 kg this represents 40 liters. Each day, we lose an average of 3 liters of water which needs to be renewed. But the quantity changes according to several factors: its weight, its size, its physical activity, as well as the outside temperature … The bigger you are, the more you need to drink water. The more you exercise, the more the body spends its water and needs to be renewed.
How does the body lose its liters of water daily?
The 2.5 to 3 liters of water lost daily are evacuated via the urine mainly: 1.5 liters. But also the stools, the expired air (half a liter), breathing: either the water vapor that leaves the skin due to temperature changes and of course sweating. You lose by sweating at least half a liter of water each day, which varies depending on the heat and the physical exercise you do.
What is good hydration?
Being well hydrated is 100% compensating for the natural loss of water from the body. That doesn’t mean you have to drink 3 liters of water a day. We recover a good part of it through food. Fruits and vegetables are on average 95% water. If we eat it at each meal, we already recover 1 liter to 1.5 liters of water. The rest should be drunk, 1.5 to 2 liters of water each day.
How to hydrate yourself throughout the day?
There is no point in drinking nothing during the day and swallowing a whole bottle at night. Drinking late clogs the bladder overnight, water stagnates and promotes the development of bacteria. The ideal is to distribute our 1.5 liters of water throughout the day, from morning to evening. This represents about 8 glasses of water. You can drink a large glass of orange juice in the morning (which provides you with the necessary vitamin C) and a glass of water, then two other glasses of water at midday. Doctor Laurence Plumey adds: ” There are rumors that it is not good to drink while eating. But the stomach is quite capable of supporting two glasses of water with a meal! Drinking a lot requires eating a little salt for the well-being of the cells.
Should we trust the feeling of thirst to drink?
” The need to drink is training! ” Explains the nutritionist. Often, we tell ourselves that we are not thirsty and that therefore, we do not need to drink. But if the mind is busy, it does not necessarily feel thirsty. However, the body dehydrates anyway. It is by drinking that the desire to drink arises. So you have to drink little by little, and keep a bottle of water in your field of vision at all times to think about it.
What are the signs of dehydration?
Thirst is the first sign of dehydration. When you do not drink enough, a slight dehydration is created at the start, the blood pressure decreases which stimulates the center of thirst. Older people experience this feeling much later, which makes them very vulnerable to dehydration. Then, if you still do not drink enough, you feel tired, dizzy, headache. After a few days, this can cause problems with consciousness, drops in blood pressure, behavioral problems and very dark urine. If the body loses more than 10% of its weight in water (i.e. 4 to 5 liters of deficit) life is then endangered.
Too much drinking is a disease, it has a name: potomania . It creates hyper hydration and upsets the balance of the body. In the same way that cells do not function properly below a certain amount of water, they also do not do well if they receive too much. But it is very rare. If you are very thirsty while you continue to drink, associated with weight loss, this can be a sign of diabetes, it is better to go see your doctor.
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