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128 fluid ounces
- The National Academy of Medicine recommends that adult women and men drink at least 91 and 125 ounces of water a day, respectively. (For context, one gallon is 128 fluid ounces.)
time.com/5646632/how-much-water-to-drink/
Oct 12, 2022 · You've probably heard the advice to drink eight glasses of water a day. That's easy to remember, and it's a reasonable goal. Most healthy people can stay hydrated by drinking water and other fluids whenever they feel thirsty. For some people, fewer than eight glasses a day might be enough.
- Every day you lose water through your breath, perspiration, urine and bowel movements. For your body to function properly, you must replenish its w...
- You've probably heard the advice, "Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day." That's easy to remember, and it's a reasonable goal.Most healthy pe...
- You might need to modify your total fluid intake based on several factors: 1. Exercise. If you do any activity that makes you sweat, you need to dr...
- You don't need to rely only on what you drink to meet your fluid needs. What you eat also provides a significant portion. For example, many fruits...
- Overview
- Drinking enough water is important
- Should you drink a gallon of water per day?
- Water intake recommendations
- Water from foods and other beverages
- Benefits of proper hydration
- Concerns
- The bottom line
Your body requires water to properly perform and function. Some may benefit from drinking a gallon of water a day. But the amount of water you need varies according to factors like gender, age, medical condition, and activity level.
Hydration needs are highly individual and depend on many factors, including your body size and activity level.
Many people follow the 8×8 rule, which recommends drinking eight 8-ounce (237-ml) glasses, or about half a gallon (1.9 liters), of water daily.
However, many believe there are strong health benefits to be gained by increasing your water intake to a full gallon (3.8 liters) per day.
Perhaps surprisingly, about 60% of your body is water (1).
Drinking enough water plays an important role in keeping your body healthy and functioning properly.
For example, water is involved in managing your body temperature, carrying nutrients and oxygen to your cells, and protecting vital organs and tissues (2, 3, 4).
Water is also needed for the excretion of waste products, joint lubrication, and keeping the tissues in your eyes, mouth, and nose healthy and moist (2, 5).
In fact, almost all of your body’s major systems depend on water to function properly.
Summary
Water balance is essential for the health and proper functioning of your body. Staying hydrated is critical, but hydration needs are highly individual, so the same recommendations can’t be applied to everyone.
For example, activity level, body size, and how much you sweat are all factors that influence your water requirements and hydration.
Your body knows when you are becoming dehydrated. When your water content decreases, your body tells your brain when and how much to drink — a process known as thirst.
For most people, drinking when you feel thirsty and stopping when your thirst is quenched is a reliable way to maintain adequate hydration (6, 7).
To date, there is very limited research to show that drinking more than your hydration requirements benefits your health (8, 9).
Given that evidence is lacking and many factors affect individual hydration needs, drinking a gallon (3.8 liters) of water per day is likely arbitrary and unnecessary — unless your body requires that much water for proper hydration.
Adults
Most adults sufficiently meet their fluid needs by letting thirst be their guide. While there are no specific recommendations on how many glasses of water most adults should drink per day, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) sets recommendations for total water intake. The IOM suggests that most women meet their hydration needs when consuming 78 ounces (2.3 liters) of total water per day — from both beverages and food — while most men meet their hydration needs when consuming 112 ounces (3.3 liters) per day (10). It should be noted that individuals living in hot climates tend to experience increased sweat loss and may need to increase their water intake to stay adequately hydrated.
Athletes
Prolonged physical activity increases your water loss through sweat. It’s estimated that athletes lose approximately 6–10% of their body weight through sweat during prolonged athletic events. However, a water loss of 2% alone can have a noticeable effect on athletic performance (2). There is no exact recommendation for how much more water athletes need to drink to maintain hydration. Thus, if you’re an athlete or work out at a high intensity and tend to sweat, plan to replenish your losses with increased fluid intake during and after activity.
Pregnant or breastfeeding women
Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding have significantly increased water needs. According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), fluid needs are increased by 10 ounces (300 ml) per day during pregnancy (11). Additionally, it’s important that breastfeeding mothers compensate for the loss of water related to milk production. The EFSA recommends that breastfeeding mothers increase their water intake by about 24 ounces (700 ml) per day (11) A general recommendation for nursing mothers is to drink a glass of water with every meal and during breastfeeding to help meet their increased fluid needs (12).
Drinking plain water isn’t the only way to meet your fluid requirements.
It’s important to remember that water from other fluids, such as coffee, juice, milk, and tea, count towards your daily fluid intake.
Water from food also contributes to your daily fluid intake, especially fruits and vegetables with high water contents, such as cantaloupe, grapefruit, and cucumbers (17, 18).
On average, adults get about 80% of their water intake from fluids, while the other 20% comes from foods (19).
Summary
Other fluids and water found in food also contribute to your daily water intake.
There are many benefits associated with drinking enough water. That said, it’s estimated that 16–28% of adults don’t meet their daily fluid needs (10).
The following are a few of the many benefits of drinking enough water:
•Enhanced exercise performance. Being adequately hydrated can enhance physical performance by preventing fatigue, controlling body temperature, and reducing oxidative stress during intense workouts (2, 20).
•Keeps you regular. Inadequate water intake has been associated with increased risk of constipation. When there is too little water in the colon, stools harden and become more difficult to pass (21, 22).
•Weight management. Drinking enough water may affect weight loss by increasing satiety and enhancing metabolic rate. One study found that drinking about 17 ounces (0.5 liters) increased metabolism by 30% (1, 23, 24).
•Brain function. Maintaining adequate hydration helps your brain function at its best ability. Research demonstrates that even mild dehydration can impair brain function, memory, and cognition in adults (25, 26, 27).
While drinking a gallon of water per day may be appropriate for some people, it may be too much for others.
A good way to know if you need to increase your water intake is to look at your urine. Urine that is dark yellow to amber in color may indicate dehydration, while urine that is pale yellow in color means that you are properly hydrated (31).
Dry or sticky mouth, headaches, cracked skin or lips, and muscle cramps are also common symptoms of dehydration that may improve if you increase your daily water intake (32, 33, 34).
Although water toxicity is rare in adults, drinking an extreme amount of water in a short time can be dangerous.
Drinking too much water too quickly can cause your sodium levels to drop too low. This is known as hyponatremia, which can be serious and even fatal (35).
However, most adults would have to drink an enormous amount of water fairly quickly for this to happen.
Ultimately, how much water you should drink per day depends on your individual needs.
While there are general guidelines regarding how much water you should drink, they’re to be used as a rule of thumb.
- Kaitlyn Berkheiser
Learn how much water it is recommended to drink per day in cups (glasses), ounces, and milliliters to maintain proper homeostasis, stay healthy, and achieve peak physical and mental performance. Daily hydration calculator to calculate your water intake.
Aug 9, 2019 · The National Academy of Medicine recommends that adult women and men drink at least 91 and 125 ounces of water a day, respectively. (For context, one gallon is 128 fluid ounces.) But pounding...
For example, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends drinking 90 to 125 ounces of water per day, depending on whether you are male or female.
Mar 15, 2024 · Drinking eight glasses of water a day – or about two litres – is actually more than our bodies need to stay hydrated, according to the latest research. Instead, you should drink between 1.5...
People also ask
How much water should you drink a day?
Why should you drink a gallon of water a day?
Is drinking a gallon of water a day too much?
How many cups of water a day?
How much water does a woman need a day?
How much water does a male dog need a day?
Jun 5, 2023 · Is it too much to drink a gallon of water a day? The recommended daily water intake for males is slightly less than a gallon. For females, it is a little over 4 cups less.
