WATER
The human body is about 60 percent water in adult males and about 70 percent in adult females. Muscles themselves are about 70 percent water, in bodybuilding it must be between 70 to 75 percent.
That alone tells you how important staying hydrated is to maintaining optimal levels of health and body function. Your body’s ability to digest, transport, and absorb nutrients from food depends upon proper fluid intake, and staying hydrated helps prevent injuries in the gym by cushioning joints and other soft-tissue areas.
As you can see, when your body is dehydrated, just about every physiological process is negatively affected.
To avoid dehydration, the Institute of Medicine reported in 2004 that women should consume about 91 ounces of water—or three-quarters of a gallon—per day, and men should consume about 125 ounces per day (a gallon is 128 ounces).
Now, keep in mind that those numbers include the water found in food, which accounts for about 20 percent of the water in the average person’s diet.
I’ve been drinking 1 to 2 gallons of water per day for years now, which is more than the Institute of Medicine’s baseline recommendation, but I sweat a fair amount when I exercise and I live in Florida, which means even more fluid loss through sweating.
Make sure the water you drink every day is filtered and not straight from the tap. While some people assume that tap water is clean enough to drink regularly, research has shown that it is becoming more and more contaminated with all kinds of pollutants, including bacteria, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, and various types of poisonous chemicals.
Many people are already aware of this and stick to bottled water, but this isn’t a great solution. Not only is it expensive, but research has also shown that bottled water is chock full of chemicals. One study examined 18 different bottled waters from 13 different companies and found more than 24,000 chemicals present, including endocrine disruptors.
Martin Wagner, a scientist at Goethe University Frankfurt’s Department of Aquatic Ecotoxicology, had this to say:
“Bottled water had a higher contamination of chemicals than glass bottles. There are many compounds in bottled water that we don’t want to have there. Part is leaching from the plastic bottles, lids or contamination of the well.”
This is why I recommend investing in an effective water filtration device and why I stick to filtered water myself.
The human body is about 60 percent water in adult males and about 70 percent in adult females. Muscles themselves are about 70 percent water, in bodybuilding it must be between 70 to 75 percent.
That alone tells you how important staying hydrated is to maintaining optimal levels of health and body function. Your body’s ability to digest, transport, and absorb nutrients from food depends upon proper fluid intake, and staying hydrated helps prevent injuries in the gym by cushioning joints and other soft-tissue areas.
As you can see, when your body is dehydrated, just about every physiological process is negatively affected.
To avoid dehydration, the Institute of Medicine reported in 2004 that women should consume about 91 ounces of water—or three-quarters of a gallon—per day, and men should consume about 125 ounces per day (a gallon is 128 ounces).
Now, keep in mind that those numbers include the water found in food, which accounts for about 20 percent of the water in the average person’s diet.
I’ve been drinking 1 to 2 gallons of water per day for years now, which is more than the Institute of Medicine’s baseline recommendation, but I sweat a fair amount when I exercise and I live in Florida, which means even more fluid loss through sweating.
Make sure the water you drink every day is filtered and not straight from the tap. While some people assume that tap water is clean enough to drink regularly, research has shown that it is becoming more and more contaminated with all kinds of pollutants, including bacteria, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, and various types of poisonous chemicals.
Many people are already aware of this and stick to bottled water, but this isn’t a great solution. Not only is it expensive, but research has also shown that bottled water is chock full of chemicals. One study examined 18 different bottled waters from 13 different companies and found more than 24,000 chemicals present, including endocrine disruptors.
Martin Wagner, a scientist at Goethe University Frankfurt’s Department of Aquatic Ecotoxicology, had this to say:
“Bottled water had a higher contamination of chemicals than glass bottles. There are many compounds in bottled water that we don’t want to have there. Part is leaching from the plastic bottles, lids or contamination of the well.”
This is why I recommend investing in an effective water filtration device and why I stick to filtered water myself.
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