We all know we should drink good clean water. But sometimes, we don't. Too much coffee or other beverages so we don't crave the water our body needs. I am aware there are many schools of thought on how much water one should drink in a day. Let's dive into some of the facts about water in the body.

First, our body needs water to survive. Definitely, we get some water from the foods we eat, but is that enough? As I researched this from several scientific sources, our bodies are approximately 75% water overall. The breakdown is muscles at 75%, blood at 82%, brain at 85%, and bones at 25% water. So water plays a massive role in the health of our body. Even minimal dehydration can have side effects that can hurt your health and wellbeing. A 1 to 5 percent fluid loss can cause…headaches, muscle pain, cramps, fatigue, mental fogginess, muscle weakness, constipation, tiredness, decreased blood pressure, sugar/carbohydrate cravings, reduced reaction time, and difficulty concentrating. These are just a few ways even minimal dehydration can affect the body.

Drinking water helps to flush out the kidneys and keep your body running smoothly. If you are active, you need more water to replenish what you lose through sweat. However, drinking half your body weight in ounces of water a day is a good measure. For example, a 125 lb person can try to consume 62.5 ounces of water daily. That sounds like a lot, but it's easy to do. Having access to a water container that shows the ounces helps so you can keep track. Another school of thought is that we don't need that much water. The belief is to drink when you are thirsty. However, once you are thirsty, aren't you already becoming dehydrated?

Water is an easy solution to keep your mind and body running at optimal performance. For more information about health and fitness, please contact Kay Colgan, Middleburg Pilates and personal training, 14 S Madison Street, Middleburg, Va, or call 5406876995.