Water is life, water is death!
Beginning:
Water saves life, and water takes away life! Just as we can live a healthy life by drinking enough water, drinking too much water can even lead to death. Also due to drinking insufficient water, one has to face various problems. So it is important to be careful about drinking water.
How much water to eat when?
For adults and active people, doctors usually recommend drinking 2-3 liters of water daily. However, the amount of water to drink in a day mainly depends on the weather, the physical labor of the person, the amount of sweat, etc. The demand for water in the body increases in summer than in winter. Those who do more physical work, need to drink more water. And for those who sweat more than usual, they need to drink a little more water.
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For this reason, there is no set standard for daily water intake globally. One study found that Americans get about 20% of their daily water needs from food. The remaining 80% has to be filled directly by drinking water or other beverages.
Fruits and vegetables contain a lot of water. Apart from this, a significant amount of water is also supplied from tea, milk and coffee. According to the guidelines of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine of the United States of America, the daily water intake of water obtained from food and water directly drunk should be 3.7 liters for an adult man and 2.7 liters for an adult woman.
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It is important to remember that we get a large part of this amount from food. So it is enough for us to drink the rest of the water except the amount of water taken through food. Daily water requirements are slightly higher for pregnant and lactating women. Again in the case of children, the daily water requirement also increases with age.
The problems caused by drinking less water
About 60 percent of our body is water. Therefore, if you do not drink enough water, the normal activity of the body is disrupted. Symptoms such as fatigue, headache, nausea, muscle tension, irritable mood as well as dry and rough skin and constipation occur shortly. Apart from this, in the long run, the insufficiency of water creates various complications. Decreased kidney function, kidney stones, urinary tract infections and high blood pressure. A study in 2020 shows that not drinking enough water increases the risk of stroke.
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Harmful side of drinking too much water
Due to drinking enough water, the cells inside the body are strong and normal, blood circulation in the body is also normal. The kidney works as a filter for our drinking water! But above a certain level this filter is not effective. If you drink more than 1 liter of water per hour, the kidneys can no longer remove this excess water from the body through urine. This kidney function is less in elderly and children. So if you drink more than 3-4 liters of water within a few hours, it becomes harmful for the body.
Initially, problems like nausea, fatigue, headache appear. Drinking too much water can cause sodium levels in the blood to fall too low - a condition called 'hyponatremia'. As a result, the body cells start to swell. Eventually the swelling of the brain cells leads to fainting or coma. It can even lead to death. Although death from drinking too much water is rare, it is not impossible!
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Deaths due to overhydration are more common in marathon runners or military training. This is often the case with mentally ill people. Besides, there are precedents of forcing people to drink excess water and pushing them to the risk of death.
This is why our awareness about drinking enough water is important. Water needs to be drunk keeping in mind the weather, gender, age, physical exertion etc. of the person. Doctors of kidney, liver and heart patients ask to drink water in moderation, drinking excess water in these cases can be dangerous. Thirst is one of the ways to tell the body's need for water. This water deficiency should be met by drinking water whenever you feel thirsty.
If you are in doubt as to when and how much water to drink, you can consult a doctor.