What do trees, dogs, and us have in common? Give up? We all need water to survive, whether they get it from a water fountain, a rain cloud, or a water bowl. Without water our bodies do not function properly. Water makes up half of our body weight, and without it we cannot survive more than a few days. Why? Your body has lots of important jobs and it needs water to do many of them. For instance, your blood, which contains 60% of water, carries oxygen to all the cells of your body. Without oxygen, those tiny cells would die and your body will stop working properly. In addition to being an important part of the fluids in your body, each cell depends on water to function normally. Your body doesn't get water only from drinking water. Any fluid you drink will contain water, but water is the best choice. So how much is enough? There is no magic amount of water that you need to drink every day. Usually, you like to drink something with meals and you should definitely drink when you are thirsty. But when it's warm out or you're exercising, you'll need almost 25% more than that of the daily eight 8oz glasses recommended by the USDA. When you drink is also important. If you're going to sports practice, a game, or just working out, drink water before, during, and after playing. When your body doesn't have enough water, that's called being dehydrated. Dehydration also can keep you from being as fast and as sharp as you'd like to be. A bad case of dehydration can cause you to have a dry mouth, muscle cramps, nausea and vomiting, heart palpitations, and lightheadedness. These can all be cured simply by increasing your water intake. So keep that water bottle handy when the weather warms up! Not only does water fight dehydration, but it's awfully refreshing and has no calories. Your body can help you stay properly hydrated by regulating the amount of water in your system. Your body can hold water when you don't have enough and get rid of it if you have too much. If your urine has ever been very light yellow, your body might have been getting rid of excess water. When your urine is dark yellow, it's holding on to water, so take it as a sign to drink up. You can help your body by drinking when you're thirsty and drinking extra water when it's warm out. Your body will be able to do all of its wonderful tasks it needs to do to maintain proper body function. So drink up and let your body take it from there. Copyright (c) 2010 Justin Hoopes
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