Healthy Tips Video: Importance of Water

Video Transcript

Hello, my name is Jason Anderson, and I'm the manager of health and fitness here at the Owensboro Health Healthpark.

Today, I want to talk to you about hydration. And I want to talk to you specifically about the importance of water. Now, if you've been around any time, that is something when it comes to regards to health, we hear a lot about the importance of drinking water.

But do you really know why it's important to drink water, and how much water should we drink? Well, the reason water is important is a number of reasons. When you look at the human body, the human body encompasses about 60% of our bodies are water. When it comes to our muscles in our body, about 3/4 of our muscles is water. A great volume of our blood is water.

Any chemical reaction that happens within our body happens across the medium of water. So that's why it's really important. So when it comes to the question of how much water should I drink, there's a good rule of thumb to follow. And that rule of thumb is this. You should plan on trying to consume about one ounce of water for every two pounds of body weight.

So if you took a person who weighed 140 pounds, they should try to consume about 70 ounces of water a day. Now, I know that sounds like a lot. But when you break it down over the day, it's not that much. So if you thought about trying to drink a bottle of water in the morning, in the afternoon, and the evening with your meal at night time, then you're looking at probably roughly about 50 to 60 ounces of water right there.

One way to help you consume more water is to keep it handy. I know for me, if I don't keep a bottle of water close by, I may not think about drinking it. So I try to keep a bottle of water, a cup of water, something like that handy always.

Now, the next question that comes typically is, is it OK just to drink anything? And the answer to that question is no because some things like sodas can actually make you lose water. A common question that I hear when it comes to exercise is, what about drinking a sports drink? And rule of thumb with that, really, is unless you're working out, doing some type of running, cardiovascular for more than 45 minutes, water is all that you need.

When you start going beyond 45 minutes to an hour, that's when you start depleting your body of a lot of potassium, sodium, and things like that. And at that point, a sports drink may be beneficial to drink.

So if you're not working out for at least 30 to 45 minutes, stick with water. And water is always good to drink, no matter what the situation is. So I hope you'll take these tips that I've shared with you today about drinking water and staying hydrated, and it will make your life healthier. 

For information on this topic or other fitness needs, contact the Healthpark at 270-688-5433.