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Daily Hydration. How Much Water To Drink Daily?

How Much Water To Drink Daily? Daily Hydration.

Daily Hydration. Staying hydrated is crucial to stay healthy. Use the water intake calculator to find your optimal daily water consumption and change your routines to meet the mark. Then, enjoy the benefits of a body functioning as it should. And power your workouts and maintain a healthy weight.

Staying hydrated is perhaps the most natural improvement you can make to your daily health. If these small habits are adapted, staying hydrated will be easy

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Daily Hydration: WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO STAY HYDRATED?

Water is essential for survival. It keeps your organs functioning properly, particularly your kidneys. Drinking enough water also aids digestion, and it can even increase your calorie burn.

Daily Hydration: HOW MUCH WATER SHOULD I DRINK EVERY DAY?

The National Academy of Sciences recommends drinking about 11 cups of water per day for women and 16 cups per day for men. But, this number can vary based on lifestyle, body size, and other factors. If you’re active, you’ll need to increase your daily water intake. Variables such as living in a hot climate or wearing a heavy sweater can also increase your hydration needs.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to just drink plain water to stay hydrated. Fluids from other drinks, like protein shakes, BCAA drinks, coffee, and smoothies also count toward your water intake requirement. You also get water from foods, especially fruits, vegetables, and dishes like soup.

Daily Hydration: DOES DRINKING WATER HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT?

It is believed that drinking water can have indirect weight loss benefits.

Drinking extra water can boost calorie burn, helping you to lose weight. However, the effect is modest. You’d have to drink eight extra cups of water per day to increase your calorie burn by 100 calories, with cold water giving the best boost. Keeping your kidneys happy so you don’t retain excessive water weight is the most noticeable weight-loss benefit of staying hydrated.
Another important weight-loss benefit of water is that staying hydrated can help you feel full. Often you’ll think you’re hungry when you’re really just dehydrated. Try drinking some water before reaching for a snack, then see if you’re still hungry. Downing a couple glasses of water before meals can also help you eat less.
Since staying hydrated can help you work out longer and harder, you’ll get more out of your gym sessions and maximize your calorie burn. But you need to drink water throughout the day, not just at the gym!
Taking in adequate fluids throughout the day will ensure you’re already hydrated when you begin your workout. This is especially important if you work out first thing in the morning, before you’ve had a chance to chug a bunch of water.

Daily Hydration: LOSE WATER WEIGHT BY DRINKING MORE WATER?

This sounds a little counterintuitive. But there is an explanation to it. Ever wondered why some people can be shredded in their arms and legs, but still have some “puppy fat” around the belly? Or why, after following a diet plan and workout plan properly, there are just some stubborn areas of “thick skin” you can’t seem to shed?

At times this is misunderstood as excess fat, but it is actually water weight. This type of fatty-looking skin is called “subcutaneous fluid,” and it’s a sign that you are probably not drinking enough water. Yes, that’s right: Subcutaneous fluid is primarily made up of excess fluids (and sodium), and the solution is to drink more fluids.

Why so? Because,

When you are giving your body enough fluids, it doesn’t need to store fluids for later. Your body is a survival machine with thousands of tricks up its sleeve—some of which were evolved to help your ancestors survive in harsh climates. Drinking enough water will tell your kidneys that times are OK and that your body can flush those excess fluids hiding beneath the skin.
While it’s important to be getting enough fluids, it’s also important to make sure that these are clean, healthy fluids. If you don’t have easy access to clean, filtered water, maybe it’s time to have a stock of water bottles on hand or consider getting a water cooler.

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Daily Hydration: WHAT DOES WATER DO IN THE BODY?

Water is essential for life. Not just human life—all life. So, what does it actually do?

Here’s a quick list (restricted to fitness-related tasks):

Makes up a critical component of your blood, brain, muscles, and bones
Removes carbon dioxide from working muscles
Transports glucose and oxygen throughout the body
Regulates body temperature

While we already know how important it is to follow the recommended water intake, not enough people are doing it.This doesn’t have to mean that you fall to the floor, or that you start to feel lightheaded and dizzy—in fact, many people may not notice anything at all. They can go a lifetime without realizing that they are undercutting themselves by not giving their body the fluids it needs.

Fun Fact:

Sweat only works if it evaporates. When it is able to become a gas, it takes heat energy away from your body, leaving the remaining water molecules feeling cooler on your skin.

RECOMMENDED DAILY WATER INTAKE: IS IT ACCURATE?

The water intake calculator will tell you how many ounces of water a day you should aim for, but are there any other factors to consider?

Factors like climate, exercise habits, and even altitude should also be taken into consideration when finding the best daily water intake.

COMMON DEHYDRATORS

CLIMATE

Climate is a big one to understand since people can often be misled by what seems like common sense. For example: “Hot weather means we should drink more water, so cold weather means we don’t need to drink as much.”

This, unfortunately, is wrong. The truth is, in both climates (hot or cold) the body is in need of extra fluids for different reasons. When the weather is hot, our body naturally sweats more to cool us down; this increases fluid loss, thus requiring a higher water intake.

However, cold weather can be equally brutal for fluid loss. In colder climates, there is typically less water in the air, which results in the body losing fluids at a faster rate than usual. Fluids are also more difficult to keep warm than solids—when the body is cold, it flushes fluids rather than spending the extra energy on warming them up.

Humid conditions, too, mean that the body’s natural cooling system (sweating) is not as effective since the fluid cannot readily evaporate. This leads to the body overheating, requiring more fluids to cool it down again.

ACTIVITY

Activity is also a largely misunderstood (or, at least, underestimated) area of good hydration habits. Many people know enough to drink water while they exercise, however, they seem to think that the processes from mouth to muscle are instantaneous. Like Popeye eating his spinach, you might imagine water and electrolytes spreading through the body and muscles like wildfire.

The truth is, if you only start drinking water at the beginning of your workout, it’s already too late. (Although, at that stage, you should certainly still drink plenty for the remainder of the session!) Ideally, for the few hours leading into your workout, you should be drinking roughly a cup an hour.

ALTITUDE

Altitude may not be such a common factor, but it’s worth knowing about if you’re a frequent flyer. Perhaps you’ve already experienced a post-flight workout—jelly legs, fatigue, general muscle weakness, and soreness the next day. Long flights are known to throw off your circadian rhythms and negatively affect blood flow, but these simple workout symptoms are most likely the work of inadequate hydration. Low air pressure and heavy climatization on commercial flights encourage your body to shed fluids like nothing else (evaporating fluids more often than noticeably sweating it out), leaving you and your muscles parched and unprepared for activity.

The same goes for hikers and mountain lovers. Don’t underestimate the effects of changes to atmospheric pressure on your body. In such cases, hydrate more than usual, and take measures to replace electrolytes along with water, since frequent urination can remove essential minerals from the body.

ALCOHOL AND OTHER VARIABLES

Alcohol and other variables like large doses of caffeine, creatine supplementation, sauna sessions, or even a rough night’s sleep can also affect your body’s hydration levels. A lousy hangover can be enough to set your body back a few days in many respects, but when it comes to dehydration, it’s a real killer. That splitting headache associated with terrible hangovers is actually the result of extreme dehydration, which doesn’t allow your body’s circadian rhythms to kick in—thereby wreaking all sorts of havoc on your mental and physical states.

THE TRUTH ABOUT CAFFEINE AND HYDRATION

It has become widespread knowledge that drinking a lot of coffee can make you dehydrated. Since large doses of caffeine can act as a mild diuretic, many have concluded that coffee is a dangerous dehydrator. But what does the research say?

Well, it’s actually clear on this point: Caffeine consumption has no significant effect on hydration or fluid loss. Many studies have shown that, when you actually take a look at the data, caffeine simply is not linked to dehydration.

These studies also show that, while acute caffeine intake can act as a mild diuretic (mostly in females), these effects are eliminated when people start to exercise. That’s right: When you exercise, the diuretic role of caffeine is non-existent and fluid loss occurs at its normal rate.

So, if there’s no effect…what’s the problem?

In the end, maybe you’re right and it isn’t such a big deal. If you’re a regular coffee drinker, the worst case is that you’ve been overcompensating with your water intake. Considering everything we’ve spoken about in this article, that’s probably not a bad thing!

Caffeine is a known performance enhancer, and when athletes steer clear of it on account of its “dehydrating effect,” they are selling themselves short. It’s also useful for the big coffee drinkers to know that those morning coffees are counting toward their daily water intake, and not taking away from it. It may be a small victory, but that feels like a win to me, and every win counts.

SLEEP QUALITY AND HYDRATION

Other, more subtle deviations from your regular schedule can influence how much water you should drink daily. For example, illness and sleepless nights can also result in significant fluid loss. One way of correcting for this is by drinking more water than usual the following morning.

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Poor sleep quality is, more commonly suffered than it needs to be. In many cases, the simple addition of a magnesium glycinate or a similar compound can be the difference between tossing and turning every other night and sleeping like a baby for your remaining years.

ELECTROLYTES, MULTIVITAMINS, AND HYDRATION

When your body is working hard and replenishing those fluids as it should be, it might help to think of the system as a water wheel. You’re constantly picking up and dropping fluids, so that while the machine is running smoothly, there are also some important things being filtered out.

Endurance athletes and bodybuilders cut water weight before an event. They know the importance of supplementing with multivitamins and electrolytes. There’s a reason you see elite athletes drinking Gatorade and other colorful, sugary beverages. They wouldn’t normally be touching. Proper hydration means that you will go through important minerals at a faster rate through urination.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO DRINK TOO MUCH WATER?

Drinking too much water can result in hyponatremia, a condition in which you don’t have enough sodium in your blood. Hyponatremia can be serious and even fatal, but it’s rare—you’d have to down gallons of water at a time. That’s a lot, so don’t worry about it. Focus instead on getting enough fluids, which is a much more common challenge.

SUMMING IT UP

Staying hydrated is perhaps the most natural improvement you can make to your daily health. It’s all about habit.

Hydration will not be a conscious effort, if these small habits are adapted.

Take your water bottle along with you,
Keep it in your backpack whenever you go out,
Keep it by your desk while at work.

Our brain only needs a couple of weeks to form a new habit. Keeping a water bottle close by could be a real game-changer for people trying to improve their daily hydration.

When hydration becomes a part of your daily routine, you don’t need to think about it. Keep in mind that the figures in this article are averages and estimates—hydration is an individual task. Thirst is your body’s natural tool for measuring it, but it isn’t perfect.

Use the water intake calculator to find your optimal daily water consumption and change your routines to meet the mark. Then, enjoy the benefits of a body functioning as it should.

Got influenced by AdamEyal,FringePursuits.com.

A good health is key to happy heart.

Happy Morning Habits

Morning habits that can make your day more productive.

Morning can be the best time to make your day happier.

Image : Photo by Daria Obymaha from Pexels

Morning routine has the capacity to decide how productive we will be throughout the day. Our morning planning and routine can make or break our day. With the day all packed with work, office or family, mornings can be the best time to spend with ourselves. Getting up early can be a good idea if you want to spend time in organizing your day.

Everyone will have a different ideal morning routine, but let’s discuss some of the things that you might like to add to your morning routine.

Getting up a little earlier than all your family members will give you some extra time for yourself.
Drink some water: drink some water as soon as you get up. This will help hydrate your body after a good night sleep.
Make your bed – this is something we all have been asked to do as a child. But this really helps. Making your bed first thing in the morning can put you in the line with putting your first task done. It will make your space less cluttered first thing in the morning. A well made bed will also welcome you back in the evening when you come back tired after a day full of work.

Fit Habits

It is a great time to go for a walk or a brief run to kick start your day. This will also give you a feel good emotion from the morning itself.
Keep your phone away: this could be difficult to do in the beginning but staying away from your phone in the early hours is the best thing you can do to keep your mind away from the social flood of stimulation and information in your mind. It’s better for our bodies and our reactive emotional systems to reduce how long we’re feeling stress in a day. Plus, reaching for your phone first thing is a quick way to derail your whole morning routine. All of us have stayed in bed some time or other while watching Facebook, Instagram or twitter.
It is a good idea to stretch your body. If you are not an exercise person, use this extra hour to start a healthy habit.

Relaxing Habits

9 Small Morning Habits That Will Make Your Whole Day So Much Better Landon Phillips Jan 15th

All the writers can make their best compositions in the morning.
Pamper yourself: pamper yourself, do all the beauty treatments you want to do to yourself, and never get time. Establish a good skin routine for yourself in the morning.
Sit and have a nice cup of tea or coffee all for yourself. Spend some time for yourself. Read the newspaper, your favorite book or article.

Healthy Habits

Play with your pet, dance, sing, do zumba, do gardening, water your plants, make some craft, paint or do whatever you enjoy doing.
Make to-do list: write or review your to-do list. By doing this you will be ahead of making decisions based on your mood. For more focused and productive day, it is beneficial to plan your day in the morning.

Tag: health, routine, planning, habits,

Road To Healthy Eating*

The road to healthy eating* is easy with delicious recipes from Food Network. Let’s Find Out About Healthy Eating.

Healthy Eating*-Fabulous Food

Have you ever wondered why you get hungry? Your body needs healthy food, and there are many reasons for this.

Healthy food keeps your body working properly.

Why do you eat?

You need food to give energy to play, and do what you want to do. Your body even needs to sleep!

What are calories?

Some kinds of food give you lots of energy. The energy in food is measured in units called calories. Food that is high in energy has a lot of calories.

How are you feeling?

If you want to stay well, you need to eat healthy food. Eating too much of the wrong kind of food can make you ill.

If you are unwell, eating good food may help you get better.

Why should you try to eat healthy food?

Fresh food is usually better for you as it contains more of the essential vitamins and minerals you need. Try to eat as much fresh food as you can.

Children need to eat healthy food to grow.

Healthy Eating*- Eat your five-a-day

You need to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. A portion is a whole piece of fruit, a serving of one vegetable or a fruit juice drink.

What are vitamins and minerals?

Vitamins and minerals are nutrients that are found in fruits and vegetables. They help to keep you fit.

Vitamins and minerals help you to grow.

Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables can help to prevent heart disease. It will also help to keep your digestive system healthy.

What is the meaning of nutrients?

A nutrient is a natural chemical in food. Nutrients help you to grow and stay healthy.

What is fibre?

Some food is hard to digest. This means it takes a while to pass through your body. Fibre is a nutrient that helps digestion. It is found in many fruits and leafy vegetables.

Fruits and vegetables contains fibre.

What should you do if you don’t like fruit or vegetables?

Try drinking fruit juice – a pure fruit juice counts as one portion of fruit and vegetables. As you get older, you may find that you like them!

Healthy Eating*- Food for life

You need energy to get fit and keep your body healthy. Some high-energy foods help you stay active for longer.

What are carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are foods that are high in energy. They are very filling, and stop you from feeling hungry again for a while.

Foods that contain carbohydrates include bread, rice, pasta and potatoes.

Playing sport uses up energy, which makes you hungry. You need to eat to get your strength back.

What are pulses?

Pulses are seeds that grow inside plant pods, for example beans and lentils. Pulses add proteins to your diet, especially if you don’t eat meat.

What are whole grains?

Try to include whole grains like wheat, barley and oats in your diet. Whole grains are natural, and are not processed in a factory. They are a good source of fibre, vitamins and protein.

What types of food give you energy?

Carbohydrates provide most of the energy you need. Your body breaks them down into glucose, a type of sugar that the body can use for energy.

Healthy Eating*- Do you drink milk?

Dairy foods come from farm animals that produce milk, such as cows and goats. Cheese and yoghurt are made from milk, and are kinds of dairy food.

What’s the alternative?

Some people choose not to eat dairy foods, or they can’t because they are allergic to them. There are lots of different milk substitutes, including soya milk and rice milk.

Dairy foods contain a nutrient called calcium, which is good for your bones and teeth.

Some people prefer to drink soya milk. Soya is a vegetable product.

Are eggs dairy food?

Eggs are not a kind of dairy food, but they are not meat either. They are an animal protein, which helps your muscles and bones to grow.

Free-range chickens are farmed in a natural way, and can go outside to find food.

Why are dairy foods good for you?

Dairy foods contain calcium, which helps your teeth and bones to grow and stay strong. Children need more calcium than adults because their bodies are still growing.

What is food allergy?

If you are allergic to some food item, you have a sensitive reaction to it.

Healthy Eating*- Eating meat

Meat is good for you because it contains protein. This nutrient helps you grow and repairs damage to your body.

Meat can be an important part of a healthy diet.

What kinds of meat are there?

Red meat includes beef and lamb, and white meat includes chicken and pork. Most fast food meals contain processed meat. This is made from meat, but has other foods added to it.

Do you like meat?

A small amount of meat is good for you, but don’t eat too much every day. Many shops sell alternatives to meat, such as soya and tofu.

Many burgers contain meat, but they are also full of fat and salt. Don’t eat them everyday.

Cows provide lots of our food. Milk, butter, cheese and beef all come from cows.

What is a vegetarian?

Vegetarians never eat meat. If they are careful about what they do eat, they can still have a balanced diet.

What is a vegan?

Vegans are vegetarians who don’t eat any animal products. They don’t eat eggs or cheese, or drink milk. Many don’t wear leather or wool, or eat honey as it’s made by animals. They get all the nutrients from vegetable products.

Let’s Find Out About Healthy Eating. — Photo by **Nicolas Postiglioni** from **Pexels**

Healthy Eating*- Do you eat fish?

It is a good idea to eat fish twice a week. One of your fishy meals should include oily fish, such as kippers, salmon and sardines. Oily fish are full of healthy nutrients.

Oily fish contains vitamins that are good for your eyes, skin, hair, bones and teeth.

Why choose fish?

Eating fish adds protein to your diet. Fish are also rich in minerals, and are not as fattening as some meats, for example pork and lamb.

Which fish is best?

The oil in oily fish is called unsaturated fat. It contains a nutrient called omega 3, which helps your heart to stay healthy. It also helps different parts of your body to work well, for example your brain.

Eating oily fish is good for your brain, and may help you to concentrate on your work.

What are unsaturated fat?

This kind of fat is liquid at room temperature, and can be good for your heart.

Why is fish good for you?

Fish is full of healthy vitamins, minerals and proteins. Oily fish contains a healthy kind of fat that is good for your heart and brain.

Healthy Eating*- What are fatty foods?

You don’t need much fat in your diet. The two main kinds of fat are saturated and unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats are better for you than saturated fats.

What shall I eat?

When you can, try to choose foods that are made with unsaturated fats. For example, eat nuts instead of crisps.

Doughnuts contain saturated fat. They should only be eaten as a treat.

Biscuits, cakes and chocolate contain saturated fats.

Nuts and olive oil are good sources of unsaturated fats.

Sweet potatoes have more nutrients than ordinary potatoes.

Why should you try not to eat fatty snacks?

Snacks that are full of saturated fats are bad for your heart. Fatty snacks can make you put on weight. Choose a healthy snack instead, such as a piece of fruit.

Is It fattening?

Fatty foods give you energy, but make you put on weight if you eat too much. Starchy foods, for example sweet potatoes, fruit and vegetables, are also high in energy, but much less fattening.

Snack attack

Sugar and salt are often added to food to make it taste nicer, but you don’t need lots of sugar and salt in your diet. Too much sugar will rot your teeth, and too much salt is bad for your health.

Many snacks contain salt and sugar.

Avoid tooth decay

Try not to have too many sugary foods and drinks. Sugar that is left in your mouth turns into a sticky substance called plaque, which can cause tooth decay.

Clean your teeth about one hour after you eat sweets.

Does it need salt?

Many convenience foods are very salty. You don’t need to add extra salt. A salty diet may lead to heart problems.

Oven chips are a type of convenience food.

Why do manufacturers add salt to food?

Adding salt to food is a good way of making it last longer. Throughout history it was used as a way of storing food. It also improves the flavour of some food.

Make a choice

Not all snacks contain added sugar or salt. Next time you are hungry, try eating some fruit, plain popcorn, unsalted peanuts or breadsticks.

Healthy Eating*- Drink up

You need to eat, but you also need to drink in order for your body to work properly. About two-third of your body is made up of water!

Try to drink at least one or two litres of water a day. Don’t have too many sugary drinks.

It is a good idea to drink water before and after doing something very energetic.

Use this water intake calculator to find out how many cups of water you should drink each day.

Are you thirsty?

When you exercise, you sweat and your body loses water. This makes you thirsty. You also sweat when it is hot, so you should drink more on warm summer days.

How does your body tell you that you need a drink?

When the body needs liquid, your mouth feels dry and you feel thirsty. You need to drink some water to replace the liquid your body has used.

What happens when you sweat?

When you sweat, moisture comes out of your skin. You may feel hot and sticky.

Can you eat water?

Fruit contains water, and is good to eat. About half of the water you consume is in the food you eat, and the rest is in drinks.

What is a balanced diet?

You should eat three meals every day, with one or two healthy snacks and lots of water. Remember to eat food from each of the five different food groups for a balanced diet.

This picture shows how much of each food group you should eat. For example, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, but not much fat or sugar.

Have you had enough?

It is important to have the right kind of food, but also the right amount. Eating too much or too little can make you ill.

Off the menu?

Some people don’t eat particular foods for religious reasons. For example, Jewish people do not eat pork and Hindus do not eat beef. They can still have a healthy diet.

Why is it important to eat a balanced diet?

A balanced diet will give you all the different nutrients you need to stay healthy. Eat lots of different kinds of food, from each of the five main food groups. Don’t be a fussy eater!

Are you hungry?

Don’t fill up on fatty snacks between meals. Instead, choose high-fibre snacks. They stop you feeling hungry, because they take a long time to digest.