Wednesday, June 25, 2008

How much water do you need a day?



Water is an important structural component of skin cartilage, tissues and organs. For human beings, every part of the body is dependent on water. Our body comprises about 75% water: the brain has 85%, blood is 90%, muscles are 75%, kidney is 82% and bones are 22% water. The functions of our glands and organs will eventually deteriorate if they are not nourished with good, clean water.

The average adult loses about 2.5 litres water daily through perspiration, breathing and elimination. Symptoms of the body's deterioration begins to appear when the body loses 5% of its total water volume. In a healthy adult, this is seen as fatigue and general discomfort, whereas for an infant, it can be dehydrating. In an elderly person, a 5% water loss causes the body chemistry to become abnormal, especially if the percentage of electrolytes is overbalanced with sodium.One can usually see symptoms of aging, such as wrinkles, lethargy and even disorientation. Continuous water loss over time will speed up aging as well as increase risks of diseases.

If your body is not sufficiently hydrated, the cells will draw water from your bloodstream, which will make your heart work harder. At the same time, the kidneys cannot purify blood effectively. When this happens, some of the kidney's workload is passed on to the liver and other organs, which may cause them to be severely stressed. Additionally, you may develop a number of minor health conditions such as constipation, dry and itchy skin, acne, nosebleeds, urinary tract infection, coughs, sneezing, sinus pressure, and headaches.

So, how much water is enough for you? The minimum amount of water you need depends on your body weight. A more accurate calculation, is to drink an ounce of water for every two pounds of body weight.

Here is the calculation for your minimum water need per day:

=[(Your weight in kg*2.2)/2/15]*450

So, if your weight is 50kg, then you require 1,650 ml of water per day.

4 comments:

Liang Mui said...

then i nit 1782ml..
wah.. i onli drink 1.5liters onli wor.. excluding coffee or tea.. how ar?

Little Inbox said...

Liang Mui, It's never too late. Start from now, drink adequate quantity and quality water.

Liang Mui said...

haha...
ya lor.. but tummy cant stuck so much water.. nvm.. i try my veli best.. but water reali play an important role to our body.. my mum alwis suffer from heatiness cos she drink less water.

guess wat i do to her?? wahahah.. torture my mama to drink water.. see lar.. this kind of dotter.. haha.. no lar.. i jus bought her a 500ml bottle and i fill in for her and put near her sewing machine.. oh ya, she helped ppl to sew baju kurung.. extra $$$.. so whenever she sees the bottle, she drink abit.. she refill herself after finished it.. haha

Little Inbox said...

Liang Mui, good daughter ya. Ppl used to forgot drinking water when they are busy. Me too...I will fill up the 1 liter felton bottle and bring it all over my house, upstair and downstair, to make myself remember to drink more water. :P Good idea?