How much water do you consume on a daily basis? None? A cup? Eight glasses? What is the magic number? How do you know if you are drinking enough?

Water is a basic necessity of life and is important to all living things. In some organisms, up to 90% of their body weight comes from water. In the human adult body about 70% is made up of water.

• Brain and heart —— 73% water
• Lungs —— 83% water
• Skin —— 64% water
• Blood and kidneys —– 83% water
• Bones —— 22% water

How to Consume Water

You actually get water from more places than a glass of plain water. You can get small amounts of water from the foods that you eat and the liquids you consume.

Diuretics cause an increase in urine output. Diuretics can be a prescription pill, caffeine related drinks, or there are several natural diuretics in nature. Natural diuretics are things such as: dandelion extract, parsley, hibiscus, coffee, green or black tea, and horsetail. (Along with several foods like watermelon, asparagus, and garlic.)

As a general rule of thumb, a person can survive without water for about 3 days. However, some factors, such as how much water an individual body needs, and how it uses water, can affect this.

How much water do you need?

I always tell my patients take your body weight and divide it by 2. This is the number of ounces your body needs a day. Now with that being said, if you are consuming more water dense foods it will not need to be as close to that number as if you ate grains and other “dry” foods.

The environmental conditions a person is in will also affect how much water their body uses. A person living in a very hot climate will sweat, causing them to lose more water. A person in a climate-controlled environment will not sweat so they will not use as much water.

So I weight about 125-130 (on average), so I need to drink around 65 ounces of water a day. Some days I’m great about getting my water intake, others…. not so much! Once you start drinking more water, your body will actually crave water. When you are thirsty, your body is already dehydrated.

Chiropractic

Chiropractic is whole body wellness. When the central nervous system is functioning at higher levels (due to the chiropractic adjustment) your body can handle the stresses (pollution, stress, bacteria, viruses, toxins, poor choices, sugar and many more) of life better. Good nutrition and staying hydrated helps nourish your body to protect and support the processes in which the body functions.

If you have any questions about nutrition, chiropractic or anything health related, give us a call or call a chiropractor near you!

~Dr. Lacey~
Carder Chiropractic Clinic, INC.
El Reno, OK 73036