Do you still remember the Ten Guidelines for a Balanced Nutrition? These Ten Balanced Nutrition Guidelines contain 10 guidelines for achieving a healthy life as stated in the General Guidelines for Balanced Nutrition (PUGS) released by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia. One of the ten guidelines is “Get used to drinking enough and safe water”. This shows that the habit of drinking water is one of the important keys to a healthy life.
Drinking water is water that has been processed or without processing that meets health requirements and can be drunk directly. Water is the healthiest and most harmless drink because it is needed by our bodies to maintain health. The requirements for drinking water are tasteless, odourless and colourless, does not contain harmful microorganisms and does not contain heavy metals.
The water content in the human body is about 2/3 or about 60% – 70% of body weight. Lack of water consumption can make us dehydrated or dehydrated. Each person’s fluid needs are different. For adults, the recommended consumption of water is about eight 230 ml glasses per day or a total of 2 litres. Apart from drinks, food can also provide fluid intake to the body, which is about 20%. Liquids from food are mainly obtained from fruits and vegetables, for example spinach and watermelon which contain 90% water.
There are so many benefits that you can get from regularly drinking 8 glasses of water every day, including maintaining kidney function, avoiding dehydration, reducing the risk of bladder cancer, improving digestion, treating skin and being able to control calories. There are special times when drinking water has many benefits, for example drinking water at night before bed is useful for keeping the body well hydrated, helping smooth the process of cell regeneration, helping the process of cleaning toxins and helping to maintain weight.
Actually, the best time to start meeting our water needs is the morning after we wake up. Because in the morning our bodies wake up from rest and the restoration process overnight. However, during that time we lose a lot of fluids. The following other benefits are the skin so shiny, rejuvenating muscles and blood cells, balancing the lymph system, balancing the spleen system, slimming, cleansing the intestines, increasing blood, healthier kidneys and facilitating bowel movements.
But drinking too much water also has a negative impact, namely excess water in the body. This condition is commonly called overhydration or water intoxication, which is a condition in which the body consumes too much water (> 4 litres) in a short time, causing disturbances in brain function. Some of the symptoms that the body will feel when overhydrated, such as nausea and vomiting, dizziness, and mental changes such as confusion or disorientation.
There are many benefits you can get from drinking water regularly. Try to make ends meet with 8 glasses per day and not too much. Therefore, let’s make it a habit to drink 1 glass before bed and one glass after waking up and feel the benefits.
Contributor: Afina Khoirunnisa Hidayat 4th semester student of Bachelor of Nutrition, FKM UI
Reference: Apki.or.id. 2020. BAHAYA OVERHIDRASI | Indonesia Fitness Trainer Association. [online] Available at: <https://www.apki.or.id/bahaya-overhidrasi/> [Accessed 14 May 2020].
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