Water is the best source of fluid needed by our body. Water is the most efficient "nutrient" used by the body. There is no detoxification or waste products generate by consuming water whereas other fluids such as colas, coffee, tea, etc. require alteration to change the chemical make-up of the substance to extract the "water" from it.

Function

Water is used in the blood to transport glucose, oxygen and fat to those muscles that are working hard to get you through each day, each workout and even each night's sleep. Water also carries away the waste that your muscles produce when they are exercising (such as lactic acid and carbon dioxide) even if your level of exercise is walking from the car to your desk or vigorously engaging in your sport of choice.  Your heart and lungs need water to function properly.  The way your body regulates its temperature is largely affected by the appropriate amount of fluids being stored and utilized in your body.

Importance for Athletes

Often we regulate our fluid intake based on our thirst mechanism. The thirst mechanism does not always function properly and early enough. Athletes should consider the following guidelines to prevent dehydration:

To learn more on fluid recommendations for exercise, download this article.

There are two good indicators that you can monitor for yourself to determine if you are dehydrated: (1) loss of body weight and (2) color of urine. Your body weight before exercise versus after exercise (difference between the two measurements) is a good indicator for determining dehydration. For every pound lost, an athlete should drink 2 cups of fluid. If you don't have a scale to measure weight loss, consider drinking one liter of water for every 1000 calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight. Your urine should be pale in color. Urine eliminates body wastes from the blood/organs/muscles. The darker the color of the urine, the more concentrated the waste (the more dehydrated you are!). On average, you should be making one trip to the bathroom to urinate every 2-4 hours.

Recommended Intake

Adults need approximately 10 cups of water per day, 8 of which you need to provide. 4 cups from fluids that we drink, 4 cups from water in the food we eat and our body generates about 2 cups of water as part natural metabolism.

Best Food Sources

The 4 cups of fluids that we drink can come from numerous sources, such as fruit juice, coffee, tea, soft drinks and water. The water in our food is found in many fruits and vegetables such as lettuce, milk, oranges, potatoes, etc. Nearly all foods we eat have some fluid content. Researchers indicated that adults need approximately 1 milliliter of water per kcal expended. Therefore, for a 2400 calorie diet about 10 cups of water (2.4 liters) is needed of which 6-8 need to be provided as a dietary supplement. Increase the energy requirement above 2400 calories and the fluid volume should increase at the same mathematical ratio.