People die faster without water, because they may not be able to last more than two to four days without water, depending on the temperature, humidity and physical activities. Water is the most essential part of our body and it is needed to regulate digestion, body temperature and blood pressure. Dehydration is a condition that significantly affects our body. Much of our body is consisted of water and dehydration will change the characteristics of our blood. Our cardio-respiratory system would work much harder when we are dehydrated. It means that our muscles will get less oxygen and it would cause weakness. It means that performance will be impaired and physical activities become much harder. As dehydration becomes worse, vomiting and nausea could happen, releasing more fluid from our body. If we lose 5 percent of water from our body, dizziness, confusion and weakness will start to occur, resulting in coma and eventually death. Water is among the most abundant things on Earth, but we often overlook it.
Determining our body’s fluid status can be quite challenging and it is obvious that water is second only breathable air in terms of importance for our life. Unfortunately, many people would prefer drinking a cup coffee than a big glass of water. Drinking coffee isn’t really helpful when we want to hydrate our body. Caffeine is a diuretic substance and it releases water from our body. We would need water to function and survive properly. If we drink coffee more than water, it is likely that we will end up dehydrating ourselves. If we want to maintain proper hydration, we should drink more water until our urine is colorless like plain water. Fluid loss could depend on the environmental humidity, temperature and our activity level. In general, we could lose about 2.5 liters water per day and this is also the amount of water that we should drink to maintain a proper hydration. Without enough water, we won’t be able to maintain proper body temperature and many essential chemical reactions won’t work well.
Fortunately, bottled water is cheap even if we purchase it in the convenience stores. We could always take a few quick sips when our lips are dry. This should be a very mild sign of dehydration and we shouldn’t wait until we actually feel thirsty. Rehydration is further needed when we have more physical activity each day, for example when we walk to work. We also lose water when we breathe and it must be replaced. We should also drink water before, during and after physical activities. Water is also needed to make it easier for us to remove waste. This will reduce risks of colon cancer, so we should make sure that we drink enough water. We should be aware whether we drink enough water and it is recommended to drink eight 300ml glasses of water each day. In reality, many of us drink less than the recommended amount and if our urine has yellow color constantly, then we are dehydrated.
