“Water is the most precious substance on earth, extraordinary for its remarkable aspects and unique properties. All living things require water. The Hebrew word for life, chaim, is composed of two words, chai, living, and yam, sea. Life is living water, and water is the matrix for spiritual and biological processes.” From Living Waters, by Y. Pinchas
Water has a central role in Jewish tradition; the Sages have compared water to Torah. Water enables and promotes physical growth, and all living things are made predominantly of water. Torah enables and promotes spiritual growth, and our spirit is housed in our physical body. Allegorically and practically, water and Torah are bound together.
From a nutritional standpoint, everything revolves around water. It accounts for 60 percent of our body weight and is vital to every system and organ in the body. The brain is more than 70 percent water, the heart 73 percent, and our muscles nearly 80 percent. Even our bones are nearly a third water!
Water serves many functions in the body. For one, it is an excellent solvent. Glucose, minerals, proteins, and other molecules easily dissolve in water, enabling them to be used in life-supporting chemical reactions. Water is the primary constituent of blood, whose vital role is to deliver oxygen and nutrients to cells and transport waste out of the body. Water is also involved in regulating body temperature. It allows the body to release heat when ambient temperature is higher than body temperature. Water, in the form of sweat, evaporates from the surface of the skin, efficiently cooling the body. In addition, water lubricates joints and acts a shock absorber for the eyes, brain, and spinal cord.
A person’s water consumption may also be a “wildcard” in weight management. The more properly hydrated a person is the better and more efficiently metabolism works. Fatty tissue is metabolized more efficiently when a person is drinking enough water.
How much is enough water to drink each day? This seems like a simple question, but, in reality, it is not. The usual recommendation dispensed freely in the last several decades, by health organizations and health professionals alike, was to strive to drink eight eight-ounce glasses of water a day: the “8 by 8 rule.”
According to the latest (2004) recommendations from the Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board, however, most healthy people can adequately meet their daily hydration needs by simply letting thirst be their guide. Along with this advice, the board did offer some very general guidelines: 11 cups of water per day for women and 16 cups for men.
Keep in mind, though, that these amounts include not only water you drink but also the water contained in the foods and other beverages. Typically, about 80 percent of our total water intake comes from beverages, and the remaining 20 percent comes from foods.
In 2011, Scottish physician Margaret McCartney wrote in the British Medical Journal that there is no evidence in the scientific literature to support the board’s specific guidelines. Later, a Dartmouth Medical School physician, Heinz Valtin, in a review of the literature in the American Journal of Physiology, came to the same conclusion. On the other hand, Iranian-born physician Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, who for decades has studied the link between chronic dehydration and chronic illness, does advocate for higher water consumption for most people. He details his theory and evidence in a book titled Your Body’s Many Cries for Water (third edition, 2008). His recommendations are more or less in line with the “8 by 8” rule.
Dr. Joseph Mercola, whose Mercola.com website often challenges conventional medical wisdom but is generally respected as credible and science-based, has this reasonable recommendation: “Drinking eight eight-ounces glasses of pure water a day may not be likely to cause you harm: It’s just that the evidence is lacking on whether that is the magic number for everyone. And … it appears that it is not. The reality is that many people are dehydrated and would benefit from drinking more water each day, and making water their primary source of fluids.”
A simple way to monitor if a person is drinking enough water is to observe urine color. An article at Eatingwell.com quotes University of Connecticut hydration researcher Douglas Casa: “Lighter urine color, like lemonade, means you’re well-hydrated. If it’s darker, like apple juice, you are most likely dehydrated.” (Note: if you take a multivitamin or B-complex that contains riboflavin, also known as B2, this can turn your urine a harmless bright yellow.)
Bottom line: If you are a healthy person who regularly eats fruits, vegetables, soups, and other water-rich foods, you will probably do fine by relying on thirst as your guide. Be aware, though, that people whose thirst mechanism is impaired because of illness or medication for heart disease, stomach ulcers, depression, or certain other conditions should seek a recommendation from their health care provider.
Here are some especially hydrating foods, according to their water content:
- 90 to 99 percent: soup, strawberries, watermelon, lettuce, cabbage, celery, spinach, and broccoli
- 80 to 89 percent: yogurt, apples, grapes, oranges, carrots
- 70 to 79 percent: bananas, corn, potatoes, avocado, cottage cheese
- 60 to 69 percent: pasta, legumes, salmon, chicken
(Statistics from Learning Zone)
Prolonged physical activity and heat exposure will increase water loss and thus increase daily needs. Dehydration occurs when water loss exceeds water intake. It causes a reduction in blood volume, which impairs the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to cells and the removal of waste products. When you’re active outdoors during the summer, be on the lookout for signs of dehydration: thirst, dry mouth, muscle weakness, headache, tiredness, dark-colored urine.
If you’re tempted to reach for a sugary beverage, consider the following: When you consume fruit juice, soda, or most commercially available iced teas, you also get 8 to 10 teaspoons of sugar per serving. A typical sports drink will give you about five teaspoons of sugar per serving. Remember, “liquid candy” does not contribute to good health. It robs your body of needed nutrients, as the body has to steal from its own stores to metabolize the sugary concoction. Also, drinking sugar-containing beverages on their own may contribute to blood sugar abnormalities. Studies show that, over time, drinking even as few as three or four cans of soda per week can triple the risk of diabetes.
If water by itself seems too “plain” for you or your family members (I’ll admit, I love the taste of a cool glass of spring water), try some of these refreshing ideas:
- Top your water with a slice of lemon or lime
- Brew a cup of herbal iced tea
- Drop a few fresh cucumber slices into your glass
- Squeeze in some orange juice
- Try plain or fruit-flavored seltzer (avoid seltzers with artificial sweeteners)
For further inspiration, here are two recipes for getting an extra nutritional boost with your water intake.
Stevia-Sweetened Iced Tea
Here’s a simple recipe for iced tea from the makers of Truvia, a brand of stevia-based sweetener.
4 c. water
4 bags black, green, or red (rooibos) tea
1.5 to 2.5 T. or 10 packets Truvia or other natural sweetener
2 tsp. lemon juice
Bring water to a boil, remove from heat, and add tea bags. Let steep for 5 minutes. Stir in Truvia and lemon juice and refrigerate until cool. Serve over ice, if desired. Makes one quart.
Fruit-Infused Water
A great way to add a flavorful and nutritional kick to your water is by adding fruits, vegetables, or herbs to water and letting the mixture soak overnight in the fridge. Here are three variations, courtesy of Realityofyou.com. Be creative and come up with your own.
Cucumber Crush
2 kiwis
1/2 lime
1/4 cucumber
Sprig of mint
Strawberry Kiwi
3 – 4 strawberries
2 kiwis
Watermelon Mint
1/2 c. cubed watermelon
3 mint leaves
Lauren Mirkin, CNS, LDN, LCPC, is a licensed nutritionist and professional counselor. She provides nutritional counseling at the Johns Hopkins Integrative Medicine and Digestive Center at Green Spring Station. Contact her at 443-326-7023 or holisticnutritionhelp@gmail.com.
