As you become dehydrated, your body's core temperature increases.  This adversley affects your cardiovascular function and reduces your capacity for physical work.  Additionally, one of the important functions of the kidneys is to eliminate toxic waste products from your body through the urine.  When you're dehydrated, the body's instinctive reaction is to hold on to whatever water it does have in order to survive.  When this water retention occurs, the waste products in the body aren't flushed out, and build up in your system.  At this point, the liver will try to help out with the overload.  The problem is, when the liver helps out during fluid retention, it can't do its own jobs as efficiently, one of which is burning stored body fat for energy.  The result is that your body may not be able to burn body fat as efficiently as normal. 

Many people avoid drinking a lot of water because they think it will make them retain fluid and become bloated.  Actually, the opposite is true.  When you consume adequate amounts of water, your body senses that you're no longer dehydrated, and therefore your kidneys flush the water out of your system like they normally do, resulting in less water retention.  I can attest to this fact in that I urinate 20+ times a day.

So, how much water should you drink?  Water needs may vary depending on a number of factors such as body size, if you're active or inactive, or even the environment you live and work in.  If you want the best estimate of your water needs, you should factor in your activity level and the best way to measure your activity level is by daily calorie expenditure.  The National Research Council's recommended dietary allowance for water is 1.0-1.5 ml per kcal expended per day.  I am currently drinking a minimum of a gallon of water a day to meet the daily recommendation.

Finally, your level of thirst is not a good indicator of your level of hydration.  By the time your body registers the sensation of thirst, you're already somewhat dehydrated.  Therefore, you should continue drinking water throughout the day, even when you're not thirsty.  The secret is not to let yourself get dehydrated in the first place.  If in doubt, drink more, not less.

Add This Entry To Your CureZone Favorites!