Drinking to Your Health The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service

We are Made of Water 50-75% of body is water gallons in an adult

Guess the Percentage of Water In Blood Muscle Body Fat Bone 83% 73% 25% 22%

Can’t Store Water for When We Need Extra Lose 10% - weakness and potential heat stroke Lose 20% - life threatening Average loss per day is 10 cups or 2 ½ quarts

The More Calories You Burn the More Water You Need 1 milliliter per calorie burned About 1 ½ liters per 1000 calories 8 cups for 2000 calories

What Does Water Do? Temperature control Carry nutrients and oxygen Keep tissues moist Make up body fluids Cushions joints Protects organs and tissues

Where Does All That Water Go? 4 – 6 cups in urine 2-4 cups perspiration 1 ½ cup breathing 2/3 cup bowel movements

Where Do We Get All That Fluid? Drinking fluids4-6 ½ cups Solid food3-4 1/3 cups Body metabolism¾- 1 1/3 cups

What Can Increase Needs? Extreme cold or heat Strenuous work or exercise Exposure to air on airplanes Fever, vomiting, diarrhea High fiber diet Pregnancy and breastfeeding

Check Urine Color to See If You are Drinking Enough Apple juice color – Not Enough Colorless or light lemon juice color – Drinking Enough

Name Some Fluids That Are Healthy Water Juice Milk Fortified Soy Milk

How You Can Make Sure You Get Enough Fluid? Fill pitcher or water bottle daily Replace coffee breaks with water breaks Buy bottled water from vending machines Add soup to meals Serve water, milk or juice with meals Always drink when pass water fountain Have sparkling water instead of alcohol

Is Bottled Water Better? Not necessarily better than tap water Make sure flavored waters are sugar free If gets you to drink, then it is worth it

Don’t Forget Milk! 30% of Daily Value for Calcium 25% of Daily Value of Vitamin D 10% of Daily Value for Vitamin A 16% of Daily Value for Protein 10-23% of Daily Values for B vitamins

Cut the Sodas Soft drinks have 9 –10 teaspoons of sugar per can Large 32 ounce soda has 400 calories Sipping slowly exposes teeth to more danger for decay Empty calories

What about Tea? Evidence that provides beneficial antioxidants unclear May need 4 cups or more per day Contains stimulants

Caffeine Acts like diuretic May affect sleep Make jumpy, anxious, nervous

Ways to Cut Caffeine Gradually drink less Drink ½ decaf ½ regular Use caffeine free sodas Brew tea for shorter time Use caffeine free tea Keep water nearby Check medications

Be Careful About Alcohol Alcohol also dehydrates Benefits to heart not enough to start drinking Disturbs sleep Limit – 1 to 2 per day

In Summary Most of your fluids should be water Other good choices are milk, juice and fortified soy milk Limit drinks that contain sugar and caffeine Drink about 8 cups of fluid per day