Dehydration can cause serious consequences. Learn how to manage your fluid intake to protect your health.
To stay healthy and feel well, you need enough water every day. You could live without food for several weeks, but you cannot survive without hydration for more than a few days or more than a few hours in extreme temperatures and environments. Generally, women need more than 11 cups of fluids daily, and men need over 15 cups.
Here is some information about how to be healthy by ensuring you have sufficient fluid intake:
Why you need water to be healthy
Every system in the body needs sufficient water to survive and function properly, for example to:
- Regulate body temperature
- Deliver nutrients to cells
- Lubricate joints and cushion spinal cord
- Prevent infections
- Eliminate toxins (by the liver and kidneys)
- Curb appetite (Drinking water before meals can partially fill the stomach, helping you eat less.)
- Promote quality sleep
- Promote improved cognition
- Eliminate wastes through perspiration, urine, and bowel movements
When you need extra water
- During heightened physical activity
- In hotter weather
- With a fever
- With vomiting or diarrhea
Limit your intake of these
Consuming less healthy water sources has significant health effects.
- Artificially Sweetened Beverages — Some evidence indicates that these may contribute to weight gain. (Limit to 16 ounces daily.)
- Whole fat milk
- Sports drinks, vitamin waters
- Fruit and vegetable juices (these are high in sugar (Limit to 4 ounces daily)
- Soda (These are high in calories and provide no nutritional value.)
- Alcohol
Foods that help you hydrate
Many foods have high water content and are helpful for hydration.
- Cucumber 96.7%
- Grapefruit 90.5%
- Watermelon 91.5%
- Cantaloupe 90.2%
- Tomatoes 94.5%
- Spinach 91.4%
- Broccoli 90.7%
- Cauliflower 92.1%
- Baby carrots 90.4%
- Iceberg lettuce 95.6%
- Green Peppers 93.9%
- Celery 95.4%
- Radishes 95.3%
Dehydration
Your body loses water constantly from breathing, sweating, urination and bowel movements. Electrolytes, which are required for cell function and energy, such as sodium and potassium, are lost along with the water.
Dehydration happens when more water is leaving your cells than is entering them. Even mild dehydration can impact your body’s functioning. Symptoms of dehydration include:
In Infants and Young Children
- Lethargy
- Irritability
- No wet diapers for three hours or more
- Dry tongue and mouth
- No tears during crying
- Recessed eyes and cheeks (appear sunken)
- Shrinking soft spot on top of the head
In Adults
- Inability to concentrate
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Confusion
- Extreme thirst (Elderly adults may not feel thirsty while dehydrated.)
- Less-frequent urination
- Short-term memory problems
- Sleep difficulty
- Moody, feeling anxiety
- Reduced energy
- Migraine
- Constipation
- Darker urine (With severe dehydration, salts and minerals crystallize in urine, potentially leading to kidney stones.)
Where is there a family clinic near me in Arkansas?
ARcare provides quality affordable healthcare for you and your family. Your ARcare primary care physician is your lifetime family doctor, also making our network of medical specialists available to your entire family. ARcare accepts all patients, regardless of ability to pay.
For more information
For more information, or to see a doctor, just search “primary care doctor near me in Arkansas,” or contact ARcare at (866)-550-4719 to schedule your first appointment.