6 mistakes you can make when you drink water

Although not all experts agree on what your water needs are, the most sensible advice is to drink between 1.5 and 2 liters of water a day, but this is not all you need to know. In fact, there are quite a few things you can go wrong at drinking time.

The 6 mistakes you should avoid when drinking water

1. Drink very cold water

Especially on hot days and some people year-round, we like to keep our water in the fridge or even put a few ice cubes in the glass we just poured ourselves. But doing this does not help to refresh us beyond the mouth, because the effect is the opposite of what is desired: The body must maintain a stable internal temperature and to correct this entry of cold it has to generate heat. In winter it only forces the body to increase its metabolic effort.

We must learn from the example of the nomadic peoples of the desert, who drink hot drinks to survive hot days. You do not need to heat the water or drink only infusions, it is enough to drink the water at room temperature.

2. Drinking too much water at once

You can’t drink too much water, can you? The color of the urine shows very clearly if we are drinking often and enough.

If the color of your urine is closer to orange or the color of beer, it indicates that you have not consumed enough water. However, if the urine is almost colorless, it is a sign that you are drinking too much water. A light yellow color it would be perfect.

If you suddenly drink too much water it can cause what is known as water intoxication in the body. Excess water is not eliminated because the kidneys are not enough, the water remains in the body and dilutes the blood, which can have life-threatening consequences. But don’t worry, problems can appear if you go over 5 liters per day.

If you’re thirsty, you’re drinking too late. This maxim circulates strongly through society. Apparently, according to this phrase, the body would already be suffering from dehydration as soon as the sensation of thirst appeared. So you have to drink continuously to avoid it. But this does not have much scientific basis. The correct thing is to listen to the signals of the body and drink when you are thirsty. What happens to many people is that they confuse thirst with other sensations, such as hunger or anxiety.

4. Drinking too fast

When it is very hot in summer or when we have just finished an intense workout, the temptation to empty the water bottle at once is great. But be careful: if you ingest so much water, your saliva is very diluted. This is an important factor for digestion, since it stimulates the digestive juices of the stomach. If you dilute your saliva that much, there is relatively little in your digestive system.

This prevents the body from absorbing the fluid properly. Your bladder fills up quickly and you will urinate most of that water. Your body will barely have the enough time to store water and absorb nutrients important.

5. Drink any water

Not all water is the same. There is one with more or less minerals. In summer or after sports, water containing minerals is recommended. Moderate amounts of magnesium, calcium, potassium, sodium, and chloride They are ideal for replenishing losses that occur through urine and sweat. Athletes can drink drinks rich in salts to replenish them after doing intense exercise. Weakly mineralized water is more suitable for calm days.

6. Drinking too little

Spread out over the day, the body must receive between 1.5 and 2 liters of water to function optimally. Although it would be more correct to say that you should drink what you need depending on your body constitution, the ambient temperature, humidity and the amount of exercise you do.

If you are physically active or sweat a lot, you should drink more. However, many people fail to drink enough on a daily basis. This can have a negative effect on mental concentration, skin, the color of urine and blood circulation in the body.

7. Drinking from plastic bottles

It is not a good idea because plastic containers leave micro and nanoparticles in water that our body does not need, of course. They can also contaminate it with plasticizing additives. Glass and steel are the best materials to contain water.