Choose Water for Healthy Hydration

​​​​By: Janine Rethy, MD, MPH, FAAP​

​All living things need water to survive. Along with milk, plain water is the best drink choice for kids. Why? It’s super healthy with zero calories & no added sugar. It good for the body – keeps joints, bones and teeth healthy, helps the blood circulate, and can help kids maintain a healthy weight into adulthood. Being well hydrated improves mood, memory and attention in children . And it’s economical – tap water is much less expensive than sports drinks, sodas and juice.

Here are some tips on how to help your family choose water.

How much water do children need?

At around 6 months, babies can be introduced to water. They only need about 4-8 ounces per day until they are a year old because the rest of their liquids are coming from breastmilk or formula.

To stay well hydrated, children ages 1-3 years need approximately 4 cups of beverages per day, including water or milk. This increases for older kids to around 5 cups for 4-8 year olds, and 7-8 cups for older children.

It should be noted that these
amounts vary by individual and may need to be adjusted depending on levels of activity and environmental conditions like heat and humidity.

How to help your family choose water

Water doesn’t have to be boring! There are plenty of ways to entice everyone in the family to drink healthy and stay hydrated throughout the day. Being a good role model yourself is a great way to help make water part of your children’s routine and gets them in the habit of drinking water before they’re thirsty. Here are a few twists to add some fun:

• Infuse water with lemons, berries, cucumber or mint for some added flavor. This is an easy way to keep the whole family coming back for refills.

• Keep fruits and vegetables that are high in water content handy – and there are plenty of them. Some of the best vegetables to choose from are cucumber, zucchini, iceberg lettuce, celery, and tomato. Top fruits include watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries, and grapefruit.

• Freeze fruit inside ice cubes. It dresses up the drinks at any table, and young children can help fill the trays.

• Delight kids with special water bottles or cups. Whether it is a personalized sports bottle or a fancy cup with an umbrella or swirly straw, adding a festive touch can go a long way.

• Make your own popsicles with pureed fruit for an afternoon cool-down. Make it a fun family activity by using small paper cups. Let your kids decorate them before filling or look for popsicle molds in fun shapes and colors.

Drinks to limit

Water and milk are all the drinks kids need. So don’t believe all the hype surrounding many of the other drinks marketed to kids. These usually contain way more sugar than children need in a day and can contribute to poor health. Here’s what to avoid:

• 
  Sugary drinks: Make a rule: no
  sugar-sweetened beverages for your children who are less than 2 years of age. And try to limit them for your older children as much as possible. This includes sports drinks, juice cocktails, sodas, lemonade, and sweetened water. These drinks discourage a habit of drinking plain water, and can add extra “empty calories” to the diet. They can also leave your kids less hungry for the nutritious foods they really need. Added sugars can lead to excess weight gain, dental cavities, diabetes, and more.

• 
  Juice: Even 100%
  juice should be strictly limited. While it can contain some vitamins, these drinks are high in sugar and calories and low in the healthy fiber found in whole fruit. Because of its sweet taste, once children are offered juice, it can be difficult to get them to drink plain water. Keep these amounts in mind:

• Children less than a year should not drink any juice at all.

• Children 1-3 years of age should have no more than 4 oz per day.

• For older children, juice is only recommended if whole fruits are not available. Children ages 4–6 years, no more than 4–6 oz per day, and for children ages 7–18, no more than 8 oz per day.

• 
  Flavored milk: Even though you get the benefits of the calcium and vitamins found in milk, flavored milk can be much higher in sugar. These added sugars should be avoided to discourage a preference for sweet flavors, which can make it difficult to have success when offering regular milk.

• 
  Stevia- or artificially-sweetened drinks: Because health risks for children from stevia and
  artificial sweeteners are not well understood, it is best to avoid these drinks. Instead, make water readily available to encourage healthy hydration.

Signs of dehydration

Even with the best habits and intentions, trouble can arise. It is important to know the signs of
dehydration so you can address them quickly.

Infants 0-6 months should only be drinking breast milk or formula. Additional water is not recommended at this age. Around 6 months, complementary foods and small amounts of water can be added. If you are worried that your infant is not getting enough to drink, call your pediatrician immediately. The most noticeable symptoms of dehydration in this age are:

• Fewer wet diapers, with the typical range being from 6 to 8

• Overly sleepy

• Sunken soft spot (fontanelle) on the baby’s head

• No tears when crying

As children get older, they are better able to tell you how they are feeling. However, it is still necessary to keep an eye on them since children at play often have a hard time stopping. Symptoms in older children include:

• Dry lips or sticky mouth

• Less urination or dark-colored urine – remember urine should be very light yellow, almost clear

• Sleepy and irritable

• Flushed skin

In teens, dehydration is a big risk especially if they do high-intensity workouts or heavy team practices. Most common signs for this age group are:

Staying hydrated during sports, exercise or heat

Being active​ is an important lifestyle choice for every member of the family. But during sports or other physical activities, your child may need additional water to prevent dehydration. For example, when taking part in sports, make sure your child drinks water before, during and after practices or games.

When exercising vigorously or sweating, children from 9-12 years of age generally need to drink about 3–8 ounces of water every 20 minutes to stay hydrated. Teens need to drink about 34–50 ounces per hour. It is helpful to stay well hydrated in the days and hours before activity begins. While playing at the park may not bring the same level of intensity, if your child is sweating, make sure they are adequately replacing fluids.

If vigorous exercise extends beyond 1 hour in a day or your child is sweating a lot, electrolyte-supplemented beverages may be necessary.

Heat-related illnesses

If your children do become dehydrated or overwhelmed in the heat, they are at risk for
heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Here’s how you can tell the difference.

• 
  Heat exhaustion occurs from excessive sweating, causing dehydration and for the core body temperature to rise. If this happens, move your child out of sunlight to a cool place, rehydrate with cool water, wear light, cool clothes and use cold towels or ice packs to lower your child’s body temperature. To be safe, if your child’s symptoms are concerning or last more than an hour, talk with your pediatrician.

• 
  Heat stroke. Sometimes called sun stroke, heat stroke is the most serious. It is when the body overheats to a point where it begins to shut down. If your child is confused or unresponsive, has a rapid
  pulse, or a
  temperature over 103 degrees, immediate medical treatment is needed.

Remember

Staying properly hydrated keeps the body and mind running efficiently and feeling strong. Se​​rve water with meals and snacks, and take those extra few minutes to pack the water bottles before your family heads out the door. Helping your children choose water first, and modeling this choice yourself, builds healthy habits that will pay dividends for a lifetime!

More information

• 
  Recommended Drinks for Young Children Ages 0-5
• 
  How Children Develop Unhealthy Food Preferences
• 
  How to Reduce Added Sugar in Your Child’s Diet: AAP Tips​

About Dr. Re​thy

Janine Rethy, MD, MPH, FAAP, is Division Chief of Community Pediatrics at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Georgetown University School of Medicine. She serves as Medical Director for the Kids Mobile Medical Clinic and FITNESS programs providing integrated, place-based primary care and wrap-around services through a health equity lens. Dr. Rethy is a member of the AAP’s Council on Community Pediatrics and Sections on Obesity and Breastfeeding.  She serves as an AAP COACH (Childhood Obesity Advisor for Continuing Health).  For the AAP DC Chapter she serves as a CATCH co-facilitator and was recently elected as an at-large Board Member. ​

The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.

Busting the Myths About Your Water Intake

By
Stephanie Thurrott

, Contributing Writer

Mar 25, 2021

Advise Me

How much water should you drink? Forget the simple math—eight glasses a day isn’t the answer. And forget the complicated math, too—half your body weight in ounces isn’t right, either. In fact, there’s no formula that gives you the magic number for hydration. “It’s really dependent on your individual needs,” said Tyler Florek, a registered dietitian nutritionist at Banner Del E Webb Medical Center in Sun City West, AZ.

How many calories you eat, how much you weigh, how active you are and what health requirements you have all play into how much water you need to drink. Florek said that instead of measuring cups or ounces of water, look to your urine to tell if you’re drinking enough. Your urine should be light yellow and almost odorless. Dark yellow urine with a strong odor means you aren’t getting enough water. If you aren’t drinking enough water, you might also notice signs such as fatigue or headaches.

You don’t want to overdo it with water, either. Drinking more than about a liter of water per hour for several hours can cause water intoxication, where your electrolytes get out of balance. It can cause headaches, nausea, and vomiting, and in extreme cases it can be fatal.

What’s the big deal with drinking water?

More than half of your body is made of water, and water is crucial to just about everything your body does. What it does:

• Keeps all your organs functioning properly
• Maintains your blood pressure
• Helps your kidneys filter your blood
• Helps you excrete toxins and waste through urination
• Lubricates your joints

Can drinking water help you lose weight?

“Water itself doesn’t have any special weight loss properties,” Florek said. But if you replace high-calorie, sugar-sweetened beverages with water you could see some weight loss. Florek recommends choosing water as your main beverage as much as possible.

Don’t waste your money on things like alkaline water, though. “Your stomach has a way of strictly managing the pH of foods and drinks you consume. So as soon as you drink alkaline water, your body neutralizes it. There is no scientifically proven benefit to drinking alkaline water,” he said.

And it’s a myth that caffeinated drinks dehydrate you. They may make you need to urinate, but you won’t expel more water than you took in. Water is still the best choice, though.

The bottom line

“Drinking enough water seems to be a struggle for a lot of people. But at the end of the day there is no getting around the fact that getting enough water is absolutely vital to your health,” Florek said. There are lots of ways to get creative about how you hydrate. Find what works for you.”

Similar Reads:

• Decoding Six Milks and Milk Alternatives
• Bone Broth: A Nutritious Elixir or the Latest Gimmick?
• 5 Ways to Kick Your Soda Habit for Good

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Benefits of water for humans

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Good to know

Benefits of water for human health

Water is the driving force of all life on earth. Together with oxygen, it supports the vital processes of the animal and plant world. For a person who is 70% water, it is the main source of vital activity. Water saturates our organs and tissues with life-giving moisture, helps with proper metabolism and even helps fight excess weight!

Meanwhile, if the body does not get enough water, dehydration can occur, the severe form of which leads to death. In addition, according to the results of research by medical workers, more than 80% of diseases are transmitted through water.
There is no doubt: for human health, it is necessary not only to drink water regularly, but also to control the quality of the water consumed. Now it is not difficult to do this thanks to water treatment systems. Install a filter in the house – and drink purified water.

Water performs vital functions in the human body:

1. Nourishes body tissues.
2. Regulates digestion and normal metabolism.
3. Lubricates joints to keep them flexible.
4. Cleanses the body of toxins and waste.
5. Maintains skin and muscle elasticity.
6. Regulates body temperature by promoting perspiration.

How often should I drink water?

Thirst is a sign that your body is already dehydrated. Therefore, try to prevent the appearance of thirst. Teach yourself to drink water in small portions, but regularly throughout the day.
How much water do you need to drink? Health magazines and online beauty portals recommend drinking no more than 2 liters of pure water a day. This is an average figure, which, of course, cannot be applied to every person.
To calculate your daily water intake, remember that for every kilogram of weight you need 30 g of water. So, if you weigh 65 kg, then you need to drink 65 kg * 30 g \u003d 1.950 liters of water.

“Water” recommendations

• Start your morning with a glass of clean water (add a wedge of lemon for flavor). This will help your body wake up.
• Even if you are a very busy person, find time to drink water. Always carry a small bottle of water with you.
• Do not try to drink all the daily water in one sitting – it is ineffective.
• Drink more water when you are sick. Broths, compotes, fruit drinks – also go into business. But be careful! In case of kidney disease, water intake should be regulated by a doctor.
• If you go in for sports, remember that water is the first assistant to your body. Together with sweat, you lose a considerable part of the moisture, which certainly needs to be replenished.

DRINK CLEAN WATER AND BE HEALTHY!

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The benefits of water for the body and what the lack of water leads to

Only water can really quench your thirst – no juices, tea, coffee can achieve the desired satisfaction. But the body needs it not only when you really want to drink – all human organs and systems consist of liquid, and therefore water in a certain amount is important for maintaining health and prolonging life.

What is the importance of drinking water?

The healing properties of plain water have been known since ancient times. To heal many diseases, people visited a bathhouse, took various baths, and also simply drank water extracted from the bowels of the earth. Of course, the therapeutic effect can only be achieved when using pure water that is not contaminated with harmful chemical impurities and microorganisms.

All processes in the body are carried out under the influence of water. It helps to process food into an energy component, promotes the necessary substances into cells, participates in cleansing work, restoring the functioning of blood vessels and joints, helps dissolve various deposits, remove toxins and toxins. It also helps to maintain a stable body temperature in any weather.

Without a doubt, the benefits of water for the human body are enormous:

• improves brain function – the brain consists of a large volume of water, and its lack causes a decrease in brain activity, as the delivery of necessary elements to brain cells worsens;
• promotes the production of fat-burning enzymes – fats are broken down by lipase, and this enzyme does not work when there is a lack of water;
• helps to get rid of the constant feeling of hunger – sometimes it is impossible to distinguish between the feeling of hunger and the feeling of thirst, and when drinking water in the right daily amount, the constant feeling of hunger disappears, as a result of which extra pounds do not appear with unnecessary snacks;
• helps to eliminate toxic substances – many harmful toxins are excreted through the kidneys, and their normal functioning is achieved by drinking enough water daily;
• makes the skin younger – daily use of the required volume of water prevents dryness of the skin and favorably affects their condition;
• acts as a lubricant for the joints – due to lack of fluid, muscle spasm can occur, in addition, water is the main component of “lubricants” for the joints, so it is recommended to drink water before and after sports;
• ensures the normal functioning of the digestive tract – thanks to water, constipation is prevented and the “waste” of the body’s vital activity is well removed;
• reduces the likelihood of a heart attack – experts believe that drinking seven glasses of water a day reduces the risk of heart disease by 70%;
• reduces the risk of developing infectious diseases – due to lack of water, the immune system suffers, as a result of which infectious diseases can fall on a person;
• acts as a thermoregulator of the body – water regulates body temperature, which is why it is so important to recover after sports by drinking clean water;
• improves well-being and gives vitality – water acts as an excellent antipyretic, removes toxins, gives vitality to all cells of the body, improving its condition.

Symptoms of lack of water in the body

If a person does not drink enough water, this may manifest itself as follows:

• often dry mouth;
• skin becomes pale and dry;
• dry eyes appear;
• often there is a feeling of thirst;
• there is a constant feeling of hunger;
• muscle mass decreases;
• feeling worse;
• concentration of attention decreases;
• dry hair and brittle nails appear;
• there are pains in the head;
• when moving there are various pains in the joints;
• a person feels “broken”, tired, constantly wants to sleep;
• a person can be ill for a long time and severely, and after recovery for a long time feel a lack of vitality, weakness, apathy;
• possible digestive problems, which are manifested, for example, by nausea, constipation;
• may disrupt the work of the heart and nervous system;
• signs of aging appear prematurely.