Water and Healthier Drinks | Healthy Weight, Nutrition, and Physical Activity

Benefits of Drinking Water

• Benefits of Drinking Water
• Tips to Drink More Water
• Healthier Drink Options
• Other Beverages

Getting enough water every day is important for your health. Drinking water can prevent dehydration, a condition that can cause unclear thinking, result in mood change, cause your body to overheat, and lead to constipation and kidney stones. Water has no calories, so it can also help with managing body weight and reducing calorie intake when substituted for drinks with calories, such as sweet tea or regular soda.

Water helps your body:

• Keep a normal temperature.
• Lubricate and cushion joints.
• Protect your spinal cord and other sensitive tissues.
• Get rid of wastes through urination, perspiration, and bowel movements.

Your body needs more water when you are:

• In hot climates.
• More physically active.
• Running a fever.
• Having diarrhea or vomiting.

Everyone should consume water from foods and beverages every day.

Although there is no recommendation for how much plain water everyone should drink daily, there are recommendations for how much daily total water intake should come from a variety of beverages and foods.

Daily total water intake (fluid) is defined as the amount of water consumed from foods, plain drinking water, and other beverages. Daily water intake recommendations vary by age, sex, pregnancy status, and breastfeeding status.  Most of your fluid needs are met through the water and other beverages you drink. You can get some fluids through the foods that you eat—especially foods with high water content, such as many fruits and vegetables. Drinking water is one good way of getting fluids as it has zero calories.

Tips to Drink More Water

• Carry a water bottle with you and refill it throughout the day.
• Freeze some freezer safe water bottles. Take one with you for ice-cold water all day long.
• Choose water over sugary drinks.
• Opt for water when eating out. You’ll save money and reduce calories.
• Serve water during meals.
• Add a wedge of lime or lemon to your water. This can help improve the taste.
• Make sure your kids are getting enough water too. Learn more about drinking water in schools and early care and education settings [PDF-3.68MB].

Healthier Drink Options

Of course, there are many other beverage options besides water, and many of these can be part of a healthy diet. 

Low- or no- calorie beverages
Plain coffee or teas, sparkling water, seltzers, and flavored waters, are low-calorie choices that can be part of a healthy diet.

Drinks with calories and important nutrients
Low-fat or fat-free milk; unsweetened, fortified milk alternatives; or 100% fruit or vegetable juice contain important nutrients such as calcium, potassium, or vitamin D. These drinks should be enjoyed within recommended calorie limits.

Other Beverages

Sugary drinks: Regular sodas, fruit drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, sweetened waters, and sweetened coffee and tea beverages, contain calories but little nutritional value [PDF-30.6MB]. Learn how to rethink your drink.

Alcoholic drinks: If you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation.

Caffeinated drinks: Moderate caffeine consumption (up to 400 mg per day) can be a part of a healthy diet [PDF-30.6MB]. That’s up to about 3 to 5 cups of plain coffee.

Drinks with sugar alternatives: Drinks that are labeled “sugar-free” or “diet” likely contain high-intensity sweeteners, such as sucralose, aspartame, or saccharine. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, “replacing added sugars with high-intensity sweeteners may reduce calorie intake in the short-term…yet questions remain about their effectiveness as a long-term weight management strategy [PDF-30. 6MB].” Learn more about high-intensity sweeteners.

Sports drinks: These are flavored beverages that often contain carbohydrates, minerals, electrolytes, and sometimes vitamins. The average person should drink water, not sports drinks, to rehydrate.

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• Water and Nutrition Basics
• Frequently Asked Questions about Drinking Water

Water: Essential for your body

Speaking of Health

Thursday, September 29, 2022

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• Get healthy recipes and tips

Drinking water does more than just quench your thirst. It’s essential to keeping your body functioning properly and feeling healthy.

Nearly all of your body’s major systems depend on water to function and survive. With water making up about 60% of your body weight, it’s no surprise what staying hydrated can do for you.

Here are just a few examples of the ways water works in your body:

• Regulates body temperature
• Moistens tissues in the eyes, nose and mouth
• Protects body organs and tissues
• Carries nutrients and oxygen to cells
• Lubricates joints
• Lessens burden on the kidneys and liver by flushing out waste products
• Dissolves minerals and nutrients to make them accessible to your body

How much water do you need?

Every day, you lose eight to 12 cups of water through breathing, perspiring, and urine and bowel movements. In general, men need at least 12 cups of fluid daily, while women require a minimum of nine cups. Factors that increase your fluid needs include exercise, hot weather, high altitude, a high-fiber diet, and increased losses from caffeine and alcohol intake.

Adequate hydration varies from person to person. A practical way to monitor hydration is by observing the color of your urine right after you get up in the morning. Straw- or lemonade-colored urine is a sign of appropriate hydration. Dark-colored urine — about the color of apple juice — indicates dehydration.

That’s why it’s important to replenish your body’s water supply with beverages and food that contain water.

While you should meet most of your fluid needs by drinking water, beverages such as soups, milk, 100% fruit juice and decaffeinated teas are an option. Fruits and vegetables also contain a fair amount of water. Since it’s hard to track the amount of water you get from food, it’s best to try for at least eight cups of fluid daily.

Ways to stay hydrated

Developing healthy water habits isn’t a heavy lift.

By practicing some of these tips, they’ll soon become a natural part of your day:

• Start the morning off by drinking a glass of water as soon as you wake up, even before coffee.
• Carry a water bottle wherever you go.
• Set goals for yourself.
• Cut out sugary beverages to avoid empty calories.

By consuming the minimum recommendation of water, you’re helping your body function better and improving your overall health. For more information about ways to consume more water and find out if you’re getting enough for your body’s needs, talk to your health care professional.

Don’t like plain water? If you like the tingle of carbonated soda, try club soda, seltzer or sparkling water with a splash of fruit juice. If you’re looking for a little flavor in your water, try adding a slice of lemon or lime or making fruit-infused water.

Here’s a recipe to try:

Strawberry basil-infused water

1 pint sliced strawberries
10 fresh basil leaves, torn
1 sliced lemon
2 quarts water

Combine strawberries, basil and lemon in a 64-ounce pitcher. Pour water over the top and chill for at least three hours.

This refreshing, flavored water can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two days.

Have more questions about hydration? In this video, physician assistant Abbie Bartz explains thirst cues and more:

Allie Wergin is a dietitian in Nutrition Counseling and Education in Le Sueur and New Prague, Minnesota.

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• Nutrition
• Get healthy recipes and tips

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Importance of water in human life

Water is the source of life

Drinking water is an important element necessary for the existence of all life on the planet. For a long time, when choosing a place for a settlement, people preferred the area located near any source of life-giving moisture: rivers, lakes, seas, oceans. The development of a site for the construction of a dwelling began with determining the location of the passage of groundwater for the construction of a well.

Going on long journeys, whether by sea or by land, sailors and travelers always took care of drinking water supplies. Nothing is more valuable to a traveler in a hot area than a sip of water. Only air is more important, without which life is unreal. Without the possibility of quenching thirst, life in the human body is maintained for only 2-3 days. You can go much longer without food. For this reason, it is necessary to treat the gifts of nature with respect and gratitude.

Human health directly depends on the environment and water reserves. Our careful attitude to water resources will allow us to efficiently spend their small reserves. After all, there is not much suitable water for drinking, only 1% of the total area, the predominance of water over land.

Water is the basis of human life

The human body is 60-70% water. Interestingly, the embryo in the fifth month of life in the womb, consists of 94% of water. But the human body is so arranged that with age it loses moisture. Starting from infancy, the water content indicator is 85% of the whole body. With age, the coefficient of fullness with water already becomes 85–70%. In the elderly, the level of moisture saturation decreases to 70-50%.

All living things are made up of water: animals – 75%, marine life – 80%, shellfish – 99%. Most vegetables have water in their main composition: cucumbers – 96%, tomatoes – 95%, apples – 85%, potatoes – 76%. Watermelon holds the record for water content among food crops, it is 97% water.

A person needs water for use throughout his life: for quenching thirst, cooking, washing, bathing, etc. One inhabitant of the planet consumes approximately 30 to 60 tons of water per year only in the process of nutrition. Every day we lose a large amount of it with sweat, breath and through other excretory systems. It is obvious that these losses must be replenished without fail. You should not limit yourself to drinking. A person needs to drink from 1.5 to 2 liters of clean, filtered, non-carbonated water daily to replenish internal water reserves. It is better to drink little and often. Required before meals and not earlier than 1 hour after the meal.

Health benefits of water

It is necessary to observe the drinking regime throughout life. To avoid such unpleasant symptoms as fatigue, lethargy, irritability, increased blood pressure and other indicators. Bringing the consumption of clean water to the required norm increases life expectancy by an average of 15–20 years. Water stimulates the complete regeneration of tissues and all functional processes of the body. It improves digestion, taking an active part in the assimilation of the necessary elements obtained from food. Thus, contributing to the acceleration of metabolism and restoration of the functions of the immune system. Due to which there is a rapid recovery and rejuvenation of the whole organism, normalization of weight.

Water increases overall energy. It is known that the human body receives “fast” energy from two sources: water and carbohydrates (sugar). Agree, the first option is much preferable for many factors! This is because water is easily processed and excreted by the body, along the way, taking with it also slags with toxins. What can not be said about carbohydrates – their excess is translated into fat reserves, which are very difficult to get rid of. The feeling of hunger and thirst occurs simultaneously with a decrease in energy levels. A person, confusing these signals, seeks to satisfy one of them, most often hunger. Not realizing that thirst often disguises itself as appetite. Don’t rush to eat at the first sign of hunger. First you need to replenish the water reserves of your body, thereby helping it to cleanse and recover. And along the way, prepare the digestive system for the next meal.

It is water that has all the above-mentioned cleansing, healing, regenerating and rejuvenating properties. It must be clean, of high quality and degree of purification. Because all drinks, such as tea, coffee, juices and the like, are perceived by the body as food. Also, water is of paramount importance in the assimilation of food by the body, enriching it with the necessary energy. After that, the food particles, split into trace elements, deliver all the nutrients along with energy to the entire body. It turns out that without water, food products have no nutritional and energy value, as they are simply not digested. Without the participation of blood, consisting of 90% from water, nutrients are unable to transport themselves to the organs and tissues of the human body.

So, we can sum up that water is not only a source of life, a guarantee of health, and the full functioning of the body. It is a guarantee of cheerful health, excellent mood and attractive appearance for many years. Health is so easy!

5 liters Water water 19 liters water to office water for children water for cooler water for home Drinking water Children’s water Children’s drinking water water delivery drinking water

Facts about water

Water itself has no nutritional value, but it is an indispensable component of all living things. None of the living organisms on our planet can exist without water.

All living plant and animal creatures consist of water:
fish – 75%; jellyfish – by 99%; potatoes – by 76%; apples – by 85%; tomatoes – by 90%; cucumbers – by 95%; watermelons – by 96%.

In general, the human body consists of 50-86% by weight of water (86% in a newborn and up to 50% in the elderly). The water content in various parts of the body is: bones – 20-30%; liver – up to 69%; muscles – up to 70%; brain – up to 75%; kidneys – up to 82%; blood – up to 85%.

This circumstance allowed the science fiction writer V. Savchenko to declare that a person “has much more reason to consider himself a liquid than, say, a forty percent solution of caustic sodium. ”

Throughout his life, a person daily deals with water. He uses it for drinking and food, for washing, in summer for rest, in winter for heating.
For humans, water is a more valuable natural resource than coal, oil, gas, iron, because it is irreplaceable.

A person can live without food for about 50 days, if during a hunger strike he drinks fresh water, he will not live without water for a week – death will occur in 5 days. According to medical experiments, with a loss of moisture in the amount of 6-8% of body weight, a person falls into a semi-conscious state, with a loss of 10%, hallucinations begin, with 12%, a person cannot recover without special medical care, and with a loss of 20%, inevitable death occurs. .

In the human body, water:

• humidifies oxygen for breathing;
• regulates body temperature;
• helps the body absorb nutrients;
• protects vital organs;
• lubricates joints;
• helps convert food into energy;
• is involved in metabolism;
• removes various waste products from the body.

A person begins to feel thirsty when the amount of water in his body decreases by 1-2% (0.5-1.0l). Loss of 10% of moisture from body weight can lead to irreversible changes in the body, and the loss of 20% (7 – 8l) is already fatal.

The average person loses 2-3 liters of water per day. In hot weather, with high humidity, during sports, water consumption increases. Even through breathing, a person loses almost half a liter of water daily.

The correct drinking regime implies the preservation of the physiological water balance – this is a balancing of the inflow and formation of water with its release.

The daily requirement of an adult in water is 30-40 grams per 1 kg of body weight. Approximately 40% of the body’s daily water requirement is met with food, the rest we must take in the form of various drinks. In summer, you need to drink 2 – 2.5 liters of water daily. In hot regions of the planet – 3.5 – 5.0 liters per day, and at an air temperature of 38-40C and low humidity, outdoor workers will need 6. 0 – 6.5 liters of water per day. At the same time, you can’t focus on whether you are thirsty or not, since this reflex occurs already late and is not an adequate indicator of how much water your body needs.
It is interesting to know that cereals contain up to 80% water, bread – about 50%, meat – 58-67%, vegetables and fruits – up to 90% water, i.e. “Dry” food consists of 50-60% water.

And about 3% (0.3 l) of water is formed as a result of biochemical processes in the body itself.
According to some estimates, in 60 years of life a person drinks about 50 tons of water – a whole tank!
By participating in metabolism, water can reduce fat accumulation and reduce weight. Many of those who want to lose weight believe that their body retains water and try to drink less of it. However, water is a natural diuretic and if you drink it, you will lose weight.

If the body receives enough water, then the person becomes more energetic and hardy. It is easier for him to control his weight, as digestion improves, and when you are drawn to a snack, it is often enough just to drink water to reduce your appetite. Symptoms of dehydration are dry skin (may be itchy), fatigue, poor concentration, headaches, high blood pressure, poor kidney function, dry cough, back and joint pain.

Research scientists have already proven that drinking enough water can minimize back pain, migraines, rheumatic pains, as well as lowering blood cholesterol and blood pressure, thereby reducing the likelihood of a heart attack. Drinking enough water is one of the best ways to prevent kidney stones. Since water does not contain salts, fat, cholesterol and caffeine, then, accordingly, it is excreted from the body in a different way.

German scientists, after conducting tests on student volunteers, came to the conclusion that those who drink more water and drinks show more endurance and a penchant for creativity than those who drink less.

Regular water intake improves thinking and brain coordination. The brain and the whole body will be sufficiently charged with the necessary substances if the water we drink is of high quality, that is, rich in minerals.