Water is important, making up about two-thirds of the body’s weight, carrying nutrients and waste around the body, regulating body temperature, acting as a lubricant and shock absorber in joints, and playing an important role in most of the body’s chemical reactions.
We lose water when we sweat, urinate and breathe. Keep your body hydrated to avoid dehydration. Dehydration occurs when the body loses 1 to 2 percent of its water, and if it is not replenished, the condition will continue to worsen. In rare cases, dehydration can be fatal.
The unproven “8-by-8 rule” leads us to believe that feeling thirsty means we’re already dangerously dehydrated. But experts say we don’t need to consume too much water when the body sends the signal, just enough.
“Hydration is a complex function that developed when we moved from the sea to the land. The body has a lot of sophisticated ways to stay hydrated.” Irwin Rosenburg, a senior scientist at the Neuroscience and Aging Laboratory at Tufts University in Massachusetts.