Water! It’s the single most important substance for you to consume to be healthy. We are just a big walking talking battery that requires 65-75% of our body to BE WATER. That’s right, up to 2/3’s of your body weight is water! Below are 15 facts about H2O…I bet you don’t know all of them!
1) Drink 8 oz of water per hour in an airplane. You get dehydrated when flying due to the low moisture content of recirculated air in the plane.
2) Men are made up of about 75% water via women’s 65%. This is due to more muscle mass in males.
3) Your sweat rate will vary depending differences in the environment (heat and humidity), exercise intensity, exercise duration, mode of exercise (the less accustomed to the activity, usually the more work and sweat loss) and type of clothing (water absorbency).
4) You can lose up to 100 ounces of water in an hour of intense exercise on a hot and humid day, or as little as 3 ounces doing yoga in an air conditioned room for an hour.
5) With age, thirst becomes a less effective indicator of the body’s fluid needs. Seniors who have relocated to locations where the weather is warmer or dryer than the climate they are accustomed are also more susceptible to become dehydrated. They need to drink water regularly. Dehydration in children usually results from losing large amounts of fluid (such as from play) and not drinking enough water to replace the loss. An infant can become dehydrated only hours after becoming ill. Dehydration is a major cause of infant illness and death throughout the world.
6) Water is essential to consume during competition in hot environments. But what about cold settings? Dehydration is not as deleterious because cardiac output (heart rate x stroke volume) is higher in colder environments, thus enhancing cardiovascular performance. This is thought to occur because core temperature is lower
7) To determine sweat rate, measure body weight before and after exercise (wearing no clothes), the amount of fluid consumed during exercise, and the amount of urine excreted (if any) during exercise.
Sweat rate varies from person to person due to body weight differences, genetic factors, heat acclimation ability and metabolic (energy production) efficiency.
8) What are the differences in herbal, vitamin, purified, spring, mineral and artesian water?
a. Herbal water features flavors derived from herbs that tout health benefits associated with antioxidants.
b. Vitamin water is fortified with various vitamins and other additives, including a sweetener that adds calories to the drink.
c. Purified water is usually produced by some type of distillation process.
d. Spring water flows naturally from an underground source.
e. Mineral water comes from a protected underground source and must contain some minerals. This is what I like to drink the most of.
f. Artesian water is drawn from a well that taps a confined aquifer (underground layer of water permeable rock, sand, clay or silt).
9) Sweat is 99% water and 1% other trace elements and electrolytes.
10) Monitoring the color of your pee is still a good indicator for hydration status.
11) Will drinking water help with weight loss? There is some evidence for men and women that water intake with a meal may help to promote satiety and take the edge off hunger. Water has no caloric value, however, stay away from flavored water as there is usually added sugar in that. Also, remember, water is the main vehicle for transport in the body as well as the catalyst for almost all chemical reactions in the body. Altering your fluid status would certainly cause detrimental effects to weight and would not help it in any way.
12) Sponging the head and torso with cold water or a water spray is a skin wetting technique. Although perceived to be performance enhancing, this practice has not been demonstrated to reduce core temperature or improve cardiovascular performance.
13) Expectant mothers and those who are breast-feeding need additional fluids daily to stay hydrated. Women at risk of gaining too much weight are encouraged to consume more water (no calories) and limit their consumptions of sweetened fluids (with calories).
14) Hyponatremia (“natremia” comes from the Latin word for sodium, and means “sodium status”) means subnormal levels of sodium in the blood. This may occur in prolonged cardiovascular events such as a marathon. Symptoms include vomiting, headache, bloating, swollen feet and hands, disorientation, undue fatigue and wheezy breathing. Fluid intake overload is the main cause of exercise-induced hyponatremia. An excessive loss of total body sodium is another cause or contributing reason. Medical intervention is necessary in order to clearly discern whether symptoms are from a heat disorder or hyponatremia.
15) The temperature of water does not affect how fast it’s absorbed into the body, nor does it make a statistically large different in calories burned, i.e. consume cold water to burn more calories. Yes, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not that big of a deal.