Ah, water. The age old question is how much should I drink in a day? We all have picked up beliefs about how much water we need. We see people carrying around gallons of water. We are always told water is the key to weight loss and digestive health. So when this topic came up in my biochemistry class, I decided to share the info like I promised I would in this section of my blog.
Water makes up about 60% of our body weight.
And since water recommendations vary with age, gender and physical activity an “adequate intake” is recommended. That adequate intake recommendation is 2.7 liters or 90 oz for women. And 3.7 liters or 123 oz. for men. So how many cups is that? That’s 11.25 cups for women and 15.375 cups for men. (mom, check my math)
Now what does that actually mean in terms of standard water bottles? For us gals, over five standard 16.9 Fl. oz water bottles a day and for the men, over seven.
So are you drinking enough? I for sure am NOT but just knowing this information helped me up my intake. I hope it does the same for you.
If you struggle to polish off those Poland Spring bottles think of eating more fruits and vegetables which are high in water. 75-80% of our daily water intake comes from beverages. 20-25% comes from food, like nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables. Obviously, watermelon. And a small amount, is created from cellular metabolic reactions.
. But here’s the bottom line, I think we just need to drink more water. And like me, if you were drawn to this article because you googled, “how much water should I drink?” then you probably aren’t drinking enough. Does it suck to pee every 35 seconds? Yes. I think we can all agree on that but the benefits of drinking more water far outweigh the total toilet time.