Bodies of water



Bodies of water

Did you know that your muscles contain the single largest pool of water in your body? In fact, muscle is about 73% water.

Water also accounts for about 60% of your total body weight. What does all this water do? Among other things, it carries nutrients, removes waste, cushions organs and controls body temperature. Thus, a dehydrated body is an unhappy body.

Water loss
On an average day, you lose about three quarts of water through breathing, elimination and perspiration.

On a hot day or during strenuous exercise, you can lose more than two quarts--or four pounds--per hour.

Losing as little as 2% of body weight due to dehydration can reduce aerobic ability by 10% or more. That’s because blood volume drops and your muscles don’t get adequate oxygen.

Thirst is not a reliable indicator of dehydration. Many people don’t feel thirsty until they have lost at least 2% or more of total body weight.

Water intake
Drink it: The average person should drink about 1 liter of water per day, according to experts.

Eat it: Food--a rich source of water--provides another liter of water per day, on average.

Make it: In addition, your body produces about 350 milliliters--or 1 1/2 cups--of water per day as a by-product of metabolism.

Figure it: Adults need about 1 milliliter of water per calorie burned. Put another way, you need about 1 to 1.5 liters of water for every 1,000 calories burned. For a 2,400 calorie diet, that adds up to 2.4 liters of water a day from combined sources.

Food is a good source of water!
Tomato juice is 54% water.		Yogurt is 75% water.
Lettuce is 95% water.		Carrots are 87% water.
Grapefruit is 91% water.		Milk is 89% water.
Watermelon is 92% water.		Pasta is 66% water.
Chicken is 65% water.		Potatoes are 71% water.

Water and exercise

Two hours before exercise, drink 2 cups of cold water, diluted juice or sports drink. Avoid caffeine and alcohol. They have a diuretic effect which promotes fluid loss.

During exercise, drink 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cold water or sports drink every 20 minutes.

During exercise longer than one hour, use a sports drink containing 6-8% carbohydrates to extend performance and to prevent excess sodium loss and electrolyte imbalance.

Weigh before and after exercise. For every pound lost, drink at least two cups of water to restore hydration

Sources: NISMAT, American College of Sports Medicine, Intellihealth, Healthline, American Dietetic Association.

Related links:
Dehydration: How to recognize and prevent its effects
Symptoms, guidelines and advice from Medicine Net.

NISMAT Sports Nutrition Corner: Fluid
Type and timing of fluid ingestion and types of beverages from the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine.

Overweight? Liquidate
Men's Health article on losing weight by eating "wet foods." Includes lots of food charts with water content ratings.

To read more about fluids and dieting in CPT
deficiency, visit Body work and Liquid assets.

To read about intravenous hydration during attacks of muscle breakdown, visit Been there, done that and Anatomy of an attack.

During running, muscles generate heat--lots of it. A typical 5-mile run burns about 500 calories, and 70 percent of this heat must exit the body to keep muscle tissue from literally cooking. The body stays cool by producing sweat, the evaporation of which rids your body of unwanted heat--roughly 600 calories of heat for every quart of sweat that evaporates. And during an hour of running, you can easily lose more than 2 quarts of sweat.