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Water - Why We Need To Drink 8 Glasses A Day

By: Maria Esposito Around about 2.5 litres of water is required on a daily basis for an adult to replace fluid losses that occur through the feces, urine, skin and lungs.

To replace the water loss about 1 to 1.2 litres needs to be in drinks, (mainly water or cold herbal teas), 0.9 ml is taken though food and 0.3ml will be made by the body (oxidative metabolism).

If you don't drink enough water, this is what happens.

1. Increase in pulse rate and in rectal temperature

2. Increase in respiration

3. Experience numbness and tingling in the fingers and toes

4. Increase in blood concentration

5. Reduced blood volume and more difficult circulation of the blood

The difficulty and inadequacy of the circulation of blood under these conditions leads to:

1. breathing problems

2. gastric upsets

3. nausea and loss of appetite

4. if it carries on for an extended period it will cause problems with muscle movement and unstable emotions

In an animal study, where water was restricted the animals were highly irritable and in some cases bad tempered.

Thirst

Under a great deal of physical activity it has been demonstrated that a man will only choose to drink half of the water intake needed to replace losses from sweat and urine. It takes a period of rest and a meal for the cravings for water to return to replace losses.

Hot Drinks

After drinking hot liquids, the internal temperature of the body rises, resulting in sweating. This cools the body down. This is sometimes used in the practice of medicine when an increase in body temperature is required for a short time, or whether sweating is required. So it is preferable to choose cool or cold drinks rather than hot ones to replace fluid losses, particularly if hot drinks are the only types of drinks that are normally chosen.

Drinks containing sugar

Water is the preferred choice of liquid for physical activities that last less than 90 minutes. For activities that would create fatigue after an hour or so, drinks that contain some carbohydrate are better for sustaining power output than water alone.

Article Source: http://www.lifeweightloss.com

For a fuller version of this article please visit the alternative medicine website. Maria is a london nutritionist who specialises in the treatment of allergic disorders. She has worked in the holistic medical field for ten years.

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