If you are like 75% of Americans on an average day you probably breathout, sweat, pee and poo more water than you consume…(1)
What does that mean?
Well, we are mostly composed of water. When we are born we are about 78% water and this drops as we age to be about 57-60%. As we are essentially half water a lot of the processes in our body require it…just think of our blood…it’s a liquid…
When we don’t get enough water things start to go wrong.
Symptoms vary from mild to severe:
Fatigue
Irritability
Memory Loss
Kidney stones
Death – I thought I’d throw that in there to make sure you were paying attention!
What can you do about it?
According to the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine the adequate daily fluid intake is: About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day for men. About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women.
That might seem like a lot, but you also get fluids from your food – especially plants, so if you eat lots of fruit and veggies you don’t need to chug 3.7litres a day, but you need to be pretty close.
I find that in order to start my day right I have a pint of water next to my bed. The first thing I do when I get up is drink it. That means I’ve got that in the “bank” so to speak and it also creates a ‘flush’ for me – if you know what I mean.
Coffee drinkers get that a different way!
Secondly, I try not breath through my mouth during the day. We have seen a resurgence in interest about nasal breathing thanks to books like James Nestor ‘s BREATH. Regardless of the other problems mouth breathing causes it has been shown to increase water loss by 47% when compared to breathing through the nose (2).
I even tape my mouth shut at night….you’ll have to read “Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art” to find out why.
[1] Survey of 3003 Americans, Nutrition Information Center, New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center (April 14, 1998).
(2) Svensson et al, Rhinology, 2006 Mar;44(1):74-7. Increased net water loss by oral compared to nasal expiration in healthy subjects.
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