How much water should we drink?

This is a big subject that constantly goes through TV, magazines, newspaper, doctors and people.

How much water should we drink then?

When I was a teenager I found lots of articles about water. These articles suggested that people need to drink at least 2,5 L a day no matter what your size, age or gender. It was supposed to be especially good for weight loss.

Up to 60% of our body is water, therefore water is a very important element of the human design. It's important for keeping the body and mind functioning correctly and hydrated

For most teenagers body weight is a daily issue.

Just one of the so many examples out there, this example is based on my personal experience.

As a teenager this is what happened when I decided to follow official daily recommended water intake of 2-3 L of water. I do not even remember that time so well and not only because I hated what was happening, but because my mind got so foggy and slow. Some information about me during this time comes from my family members and dear friends who stayed near me

After being super dizzy all the time, “drunk-with-water”, I had to see the doctor. What came out was that I was intoxicated by water. This is what my family doctor explained. At that time I did not understand what that actually meant but now it’s clear as a crystal. It was simply TOO much water to take in and my kidneys were overworked. My body got actually DE-hydrated. Yes, as bizarre as it may seem the water can actually take moisture out of you as well.

The more you drink, the more you want to drink, does this sound familiar to you? Your mouth, skin and eyes feel drier and drier. Your hair start to lose its natural shine and become something like a Babrie's hair which has been suffering under very young girls hand for a long time. It does not sound anything like what they say on TV or magazines!

We have to have everything in proportion. It does not matter what it is, too much of everything is bad! When you drink too much water, your kidneys overwork, the sodium levels may drop drastically and this might even lead to death- this is the western way to explain.

Ayurvedically it's been explained that whatever you eat or drink, the body takes the elements of the food/drink into its tissues. As you might know already we have 7 tissues which are plasma, blood, muscle, fat, bone marrow, bone and seminal fluid and there are 5 elements- earth, fire, water, air and ether. All these tissues need their own elements. For example fat tissue consist of water+earth+fire and when you drink water, the fat tissue benefits from that etc. If you constantly put food or drink into your body which benefits only 1-2 tissues then the rest of the tissues will be malnourished.

If you drink too much water which goes to your kidneys and then out, it will dry your body out and may even leave you with problems in bones, joints etc.

I remember walking on the street feeling completely drunk and sleepy. In this situation people might think that you actually are just drunk with alcohol and they would not care to ask even what is happening. But the next step would be losing conscious followed by death.

Water is something we all need, clean water! Water carries energy and life and so much power we wouldn't even believe if we were told the truth. But water is not to lose weight or detox yourself. If you want to lose weight, first thing is to think if you really need to lose weight!? Is it just because of the photoshopped skinny women on magazine covers? Or is there an actual reason for all this fuss around your weight? If you have decided that for the sake of your health you need this then change your diet! And then do some exercise!

It is most likely that Kapha type of people are the ones who need a weight loss program and Vata types are the ones who want to lose weight.

Kaphas have usually sluggish digestion. They like to eat fattening and sweet foods but too lazy to exercise. This normally leads to weight gain.

Vata types are active, nervous people and thin who are not so confident and for that reason they want to be skinny. But that’s not always the best idea, as if you lose too much weight, you also compromise your health. Your body needs some fat to keep your organs protected and functioning. Losing too much weight causes dryness and wrinkles.

What water does is that is hydrates and cools your body a bit and then comes out. This is why the more water you drink the more you have to run to the bathroom and usually the clearer your urine becomes. It will not help you to detox your body i'm afraid!

Kapha and Vata people usually need less water in their diet. Vatas because they are naturally drier and their body just does not need so much of it and Kaphas because they have a lot of water in them already. But Pitta types need more because the fire in them makes them sweat which means they lose more fluid

I think there is no one amount of water what suits everybody but you just have to judge it yourself. If you area healthy then you eat vegetables already which are full of water! Your body is very intelligent and tells you each time if something is needed more or less. Your Ego has to be intelligent enough to listen to it. Forget about the articles and all this nonsense. Water companies want to earn some money as well ;)