How much water do you need per day?

The healthiest choice to hydrate yourself is to drink water. People consist of a large part of water: 65% of the total body weight, 75% of the brain & muscles and 92% percent of the blood consists of water. You can now see for yourself why maintaining your water consumption is so important.

According to the AWWA (American Water Works Association) consumer water center, a person should consume 2,2 liters of water per day to stay healthy. This includes the water content that you get from food. According to the Dutch Nutrition Center, people need 2,6 liters of water per day (including food). However, it also depends on your weight, age, the outside temperature and physical exercise.

1. Fluid balance

Maintaining the right fluid balance is a complex process. A number of organs and the central nervous system play a role in this. Senses of the mouth and throat also help with this, including signals from the stomach, small intestine, kidney and various areas of the brain. The hormone vasopressin has a major regulating effect on fluid balance. This ensures information transfer when enough has been drunk or not. Information transfer is often less precise when people become old, as a result of the signal being given too early that enough water has been drunk.

2. What happens with too little water intake?

The World Health Organization has mapped the consequences of dehydration. As soon as the body is 1% water short (based on body weight), you start to get thirsty. Once this gets to 5%, your body becomes sleepy and a pain in the head begins to form. At 7% someone can faint and as soon as it comes to 10% death can even be a consequence.

To maintain your moisture balance, you can choose to mix 400ml of water with one of the Jake Shakes. In this way, you get extra moisture from your diet and at the same time ensure that your body gets enough vitamins, minerals, proteins, iron and fibre. All quick and easy in one meal. Want to try Jake? Click here.