So, the easiest thing to do is taking the first drink in front of you and refreshing yourself, right? WRONG!
There’s no point in making the quickest choice.
You may even fool your thirst, but not your health.
You need to drink water to fully hydrate your body.
Water is the essential element of every cell in your body. It acts as a body temperature regulator, eliminates toxins, lubricates mucous membranes and works as a nutrient transport vehicle.¹
In addition, it is recommended that every person must drink, in average, 2 liters of water a day. On the other hand, specialists recommend that different people have different biotypes and daily caloric needs.
That’s why the ideal amount of water intake is 1 ml per lost calorie².
The Harris-Benedict Equation³ will help you answer this question, in 2 steps.
1 Calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR):
This formula uses your weight in kilograms, your height in centimeters and your age to calculate the amount of energy your body spends at rest.
MEN
66.5 + (13.7 x weight) + (5 x height) – (6.8 x age)
WOMEN
655 + (9.6 x weight) + (1.8 x height) – (4.7 x age)
2 Multiply the result by your level of physical activity:
Sedentary (little or no exercise) ? BMR x 1.2
Slightly Active (light exercise, 1 to 3 days a week) ? BMR x 1.375
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports, 3 to 5 days a week) ? BMR x 1.55
Very Active (very hard exercise/sports, 6 to 7 days a week) ? BMR x 1.725
Use our calculator and find out right now the amount of water necessary for you to hydrate daily!
Watermelon, melon, pumpkin, chayote and so on: these and other foods are very rich in water. But they don’t solve your body hydration. With these foods, the maximum you can replace is 10% of your total daily hydration need.
If, for example, you noticed that you need 2 liters of water a day, the water-based foods will replace only 200 ml in your body.
If I’m thirsty, can I drink soda? NO.
If you read the label of any kind of industrialized drink, you will see that it is fooling your thirst and compromising your hydration. This is because you are taking in not only water, but also sugars, preservatives, stabilizers and many other components that will damage your health later.
The advice is, if you are thirsty, avoid industrialized options.
Drink water.
While watching a sports competition, you may wonder: everyone there is having an isotonic drink! Is it wrong? NO.
Regular athletes lose lots of minerals at every activity and they need to replace their fluids faster, but, even so, they can’t forget about water – this could even be the reason for injuries.
Well, we talked about adult women and men, athletes… but there are other people who need to have special hydration care. Check it out:
Children: they have less body mass and, consequently, need to replace fluids faster;
Pregnant and/or breastfeeding women: they must intensify water consumption to increase lactation;
Elderly people: they have a reduced water index in their bodies, which causes a faster dehydration. In addition, this is a group of people that may have difficulties in hydrating on their own. It is recommended that they are offered a glass of water every 2 hours.
If you notice symptoms such as a dry mouth, chapped lips, reddened skin and a yellow or dark yellow urine, drink lots of water and, more importantly, seek medical advice. We hope not, but it may even be a sign of kidney disease. And kidney crystals, my friend, are far from being a sign of wealth.
References: Ministry of Health¹, Ministry of Health², UNICAMP (The University of Campinas)³
