Stay hydrated this winter

Madhu Sharma

How often have we heard people say, ‘I don’t feel thirsty in winters’, or ‘I just cannot drink plain water in this cold’? Well, friends you may not feel thirsty enough in winters, but your body can definitely ‘become thirsty’ without you even realising it! And if you wait to ‘feel thirsty’ to drink water, you may have already gone into a state of dehydration, without your even realising it! 

 You might wonder how come our bodies become thirsty, and that too in winters when perhaps according to you the water losses are far less! The fact is that on an average on any given normal day, our total body requirement is based on the total water losses, which of course depends on factors like age, health conditions, weather, environment and activity level. Kids need more water as they dehydrate faster, the elderly need more water due to their physical/health conditions, and also they tend to lose their sense of thirst gradually with age. Heavier people need more water as their bodies require more energy for their normal work, and also in condition like diabetes, renal and skin conditions, the water requirements can fluctuate. Extreme weather conditions also increase the requirements, be it hot or cold weather. Strenuous activities like in sports, the water requirement can spike up also. That is why you would have noticed sportsmen break for drinks at periodic intervals, so that they can avoid fatigue and dehydration effects while in action. An average adult loses around two litres of water daily through breathing, urinating, stools and sweat. This is balanced by equivalent amount of intake through all fluids comprising water, beverages, soups, food, milk and that produced by the oxidation of the nutrients ingested through food. On an average we get almost 20 per cent of our water from food itself. Did you know certain foods like apple are 84 per cent water, banana is 74 per cent water and broccoli is 91 per cent water?

One can calculate one’s water requirement for the day as 1 ml per calorie or in other words, 1 litre for every 1000 calories consumed going up to a minimum of 2.5 – 3 litres per day. So if your calorie intake goes up in winters as usually it does, your requirement for water proportionately will go up for optimum metabolising of the nutrients. But remember, this water should be plain water and not in the form of tea, coffee or soda beverages or alcohol, all of which have a dehydrating effect on the body.

In winters another great reason to keep having water intermittently in small doses is that you can actually help keep the extra calories at bay by suppressing your appetite. Filling up with water at intervals will give you a sense of satiety which can put a tab on unmindful eating. Even better would be cold water if had in winters, will make your body burn more energy, thus utilising more heat to balance the body temperature to the core and thereby burn off some more calories (as per a study conducted by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons). Filling up with water pre meals or through the course of the meal in small sips is also a good idea, since it will make you stop short from over eating or even make you eat a wee bit less than otherwise.

Other good reason for having adequate water in winters is to ward off problems like constipation, dry and scaly or itchy skin, especially the facial dryness, healthy hair, healthy bones and joints and muscle strength. No amount of moisturisers, creams or medicines will work unless the body is internally hydrated!

Lastly, a tip to ensure adequate hydration is to fill up a litre of thermos or flask with water and keep sipping at frequent intervals, even when on the go or at work. Refilling at least twice or thrice in a day over 24 hours can definitely guarantee your day’s requirement of water in turn a healthy and fit body all through the winter season. Don’t be put off by those frequent visits to the loo, because it will ensure your kidneys are functioning adequately too and detoxing all those toxic waste products! For those of you who find drinking cold water ‘a dreary feeling’, there is no harm in pre warming up the water in your flasks and sipping through the day. I bet you will get addicted to your water quota irrespective of the weather!

(Sharma is a Chandigarh-based dietician)