Water is a very essential element to make life possible on earth. Without water we cannot imagine life. It is next to air for the survival. Our body needs water for many purposes. We can live without food for nearly two months but without water only for few days. If we will be deprived of water then we will definitely lead to death because our own waste products will poison our body. We daily lose water from the body in the form of urine, sweat, breath. Now the question arises that how much water is required by our body. Most of the people do not know how much water is needed by the body and many of them mostly remains in the dehydrated state.
We should drink minimum of 7 to 10 normal size glasses per day. Each average size glass is equal to 8 ounce. Dr. Flaks says that a normal healthy person requires at least eight to ten ounces of water per day. 16 ounces are equal to a pint and two pint makes a single quart, four quarts form gallon. So from this we come to know that there are 128 ounces in a gallon and a normal person requires .625 gallons of water every day. The people who live in hot climate areas or do a lot of exercise needs more quantity of water than the normal ones.
International Sports Medicine Institute has given a formula for how much water should a person drink. For a normal person it should be half ounce per pound of body which is equal to eight to ten glasses. For the person who does exercise should drink 2/3 ounce per pound of the body which is equal to the 13 to 14 glasses per day.
If we do not drink the proper amount of water then it will cause many physical problems like poor muscle tone, digestive complications, muscle soreness, increase in body fat, stone in kidneys etc. proper intake of water also helps in reducing the extra body fats.
Uric acid and urea formed in our body is removed with the help of water as it gets dissolved in the water and if the required amount of water is not present in the body then these substances cannot be properly removed from the body and may prove very harmful for us. Even our lungs should be moist enough for breathing purposes. It helps the blood to carry oxygen to all parts of body. Water also lubricate the joints. Our body loses a pint of water each day only in exhaling.
Usually we drink water when our mouth starts feeling dry but this is the last indication of body for the need of water. Our body is already dehydrated at a lower level of hydration. So it is required that we must drink water several times a day.
Sometimes we drink other beverages like coffee, alcohol etc. to quench the thirst of water. No doubt they contain water but instead of quenching thirst they further compels your body to lose the water reserves of your body.
Great article, but the only problem these days is that our water supply is so contaminated that drinking 8 glasses of water can do you more harm than good.