Its Water Time...naa naa naa naaaa

Recent research has given a rise to the benefits of the life sustaining substance known as "water". As I delve more into those life events and practices that help us to live a longer and better quality of life, drinking water seems to be the number one factor. You may have heard somewhere that the human body is composed of 60-70 percent water. You can get more facts about the facts of pure water at this link. A few indicators that you are dehydrated include lower back pain, headaches and constipation and/or a strong odor to your urine combined with a yellow or amber color. There are other symptoms as well but perhaps these few will help.

So how much water should a person drink at a time? "Water intoxication" or "hyponatremia", water poisoning results when too much water is ingested. This is most often the case when most of the electrolytes are flushed out of the body in a short period of time. The NYTimes has an story about water intoxication you might find interesting. Drowning is another example of too much water. Having learned this fact first hand I can verify the results as, ummm...less than desirable.

The International Bottled Water Association has a hydration calculator to help you find out how much you need. Another resource for how much to drink from ask.com suggests, "take your body weight in pounds and divide that number in half. That gives you the number of ounces of water per day that you need to drink. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds, you should drink at least 80 ounces of water per day. If you exercise you should drink another eight ounce glass of water for every 20 minutes you are active. If you drink alcohol, you should drink at least an equal amount of water. When you are traveling on an airplane, it is good to drink eight ounces of water for every hour you are on board the plane. If you live in an arid climate, you should add another two servings per day."

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