Ensure you drink enough water always
With temperatures soaring in the past weeks, I have been feeling a lot thirstier than usual. I’m sure you feel the same. Any chance I get, I’ll be guzzling down a glass of water.
In nutrition, water is in a different class by itself compared to other nutrients such as carbohydrates, protein and fat.
If you remember your science class lessons in school, water is a compound that comprises two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.
Unlike other nutrients, water is not digested in the body per se. It is absorbed in the intestinal tract. Also, water has zero calories.
Up to 75 per cent of our body is made up of water. This has a lot to do with our age, gender and body composition — whether we have more muscles or body fat. Our muscle has more water than our fat tissue.
The percentage of body water decreases as we age.
For example, a newborn baby may have up to 75 per cent water. On the flip side, an elderly person may only have about 45 per cent.
Water plays several key roles in the healthy functioning of our bodies:
• As a solvent for other nutrients in our body
• Transports substances
• Removes waste materials
• Lubricates tissues
• Regulates body temperature
• Maintains proper blood pH
• Is a major component in blood, saliva, mucus, sweat, tears as well as fluid in joints
Drinking water is the most obvious way that we rehydrate ourselves. But we also get liquid into our body when we eat.
Juicy food such as fruit and vegetables naturally have a high water content. But do you know that even grains and meat have to some extent water in them too?
Vegetable cooking oil, while it may be a liquid, has no water in it.
So don’t drench your cooking with oil thinking that it contributes to water intake.
WATER IN FOOD
Here’s a quick glance at the water content of some every day food we eat:
One of the most obvious and simplest ways to know if you are drinking enough water is to observe the volume of your urine.
When you drink enough fluid, your kidneys will produce sufficient urine to maintain a proper fluid balance.
Similarly, if you aren’t drinking enough, your kidneys will produce less urine.
There is generally no exact rule of thumb as to how many glasses of water you should drink a day.
A lot of factors come into play — you sweat a lot, your work is physically demanding, you actively exercise, you consume a lot of diuretic beverages, you are pregnant/breastfeeding — which require you to drink a certain amount of water.
According to the World Health Organisation, the adequate intake of water for a healthy adult requires averages 11 cups (2.7 litres) for women and 15.5 cups (3.7 litres) for men.
These amounts of water can be from all sources such as drinking water and food with high water content. Young children should aim for half of the amount of adults.
DIURETIC SUBSTANCES
Have you heard of the word “diuretic”?
A diuretic is a substance that increases your urine production. Caffeine is a diuretic. You will find caffeine in coffee, tea, cocoa, soft drinks as well as energy drinks.
Caffeine is also a main ingredient in weight loss supplements. Hence, a lot of the weight loss you experience when you are on slimming regiments is actually the loss of water.
Alcohol is also a diuretic. So essentially, when you drink too much alcohol, the hangover you experience the next day is a indication that you being dehydrated.
Here are some tips on how you can make sure you stay hydrated every day:
* Make it a habit to drink a glass of water as soon as you wake up in the morning. I find that it hydrates me and helps kickstart my body system as I start my day.
* Keep water near you at all times such as a mug or bottle at your office desk, tote/computer bag, car, next to the couch where you watch TV or at your bedside.
Having the water accessible to you makes it so much more easier to reach out and drink it.
* Consider switching to decaffeinated coffee and tea. I do this, so I can enjoy my hot beverage indulgence with the unwanted caffeine.
If you do drink caffeinated beverages or alcohol, do ensure that you replenish the fluids by drinking an additional glass of water for every drink you have.
* If you don’t like the taste of plain water, try slicing some lemon, lime or add a teaspoon of cordial to add a very light flavour. It may help make the water taste better for you.
* Have more dishes with a high water content. Think noodle soups, soups, salads, fresh cut fruit porridge or cereal with milk. These are all tasty ways to hydrate.
* Make sure children pick up the water drinking habit at a young age too. I see many children nowadays filling up on sugary drinks instead of water.
This adds empty calories to their diet and also gets them used to only having flavoured drinks. Water becomes bland and tasteless for them.
So parents, do work on nipping this in the bud while they are still young. Encourage them to drink water by getting them cute bottles that they can use. This is a good way for you to monitor how much they have consumed too by the end of the day.
Lastly, children learn best by example. So make you drink up too!
*Indra Balaratnam is a consultant dietitian who believes in simple, practical ways to eating well and living healthy. She can be reached at indra.balaratnam@gmail.com