Water – it’s everywhere isn’t it?
I go to the beach, it’s there. I go to the local leisure centre, it’s there. I turn on the taps, it’s there.
About 70 percent of our planet is covered with water. Including all seas and oceans, water covers about 140 million square miles of earth, with an average depth of 11,600 feet.
If all the water on earth were spread over the planet evenly, it would cover all the land to a depth of almost two miles.
Something like 326,000,000,000,000,000,000 gallons (326 million trillion gallons) of the stuff (roughly 1,260,000,000,000,000,000,000 litres) can be found on our planet.
The amount of water in the human body ranges from 50-75%. The average adult human body is 50-65% water, averaging around 57-60%. The percentage of water in infants is much higher, typically around 75-78% water, dropping to 65% by one year of age.
So…
Have you grasped how important water is?
Then why…
Do we STILL not drink enough water?
I ask people if they drink clean water (not as part of coffee, tea or fizzy drinks) and they answer:
- “Well I have a glass before I go to bed but that’s it”
- “I forget to drink water”
- “I drink that flavoured sugary water – is that ok?”
- “Well I eat fruit so that counts, doesn’t it?”
- “No I don’t!”
It’s amazing isn’t it, especially when you consider the statistics above? What’s more important though is, by not drinking enough water, you could be heading for dehydration.
Now dehydration is potentially dangerous to your brain and bodily functions. Dehydration, or lack of water, can be detected by being thirsty. That’s the first sign. If you don’t address your thirst, you could be heading for danger.
Other signs could be headaches, dry skin, fatigue and muscle pains.
Drink enough water though and this is what it can do for you:
- Transports nutrients and oxygen into your cells
- Moisturises the air in your lungs
- Protects vital organs
- Regulates body temperature
- Protects and lubricates your joints
- Prevents dehydration in the first place
It’s good stuff, isn’t it? It’s not just for splashing around in on the beach or jumping in at your local swimming pool!
So how do you know how much water you actually need on a daily basis?
Well, here’s a quick calculation:
Divide your body weight (in kg) by 30. The resulting number is the number of litres you need daily. So, if you weigh 60kg, you should aim to drink 2 litres of water daily.
Increase your intake by:
• Drinking bottled water (still or sparkling)
• Add lemon or lime juice if you can’t take water as it is
• Increase your fruit and vegetable intake
• Include homemade soups in your diet
• Drink green or herbal teas
Increasing your water intake is one of the steps in my ‘Fit For Women’ 7-step life plan – a plan (when implemented correctly) can lead to a happy and healthy lifestyle.
Do you know my other 6 steps?