We’ve talked about water before, but how much water you drink is one of the biggest factors in your health. The average person needs 8 glasses of water per day to keep their body hydrated.
That sounds like a lot, but most people are drinking far less than that! According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), nearly half of all adults over age 18 do not ingest enough fluid to meet their daily nutritional requirements.1
By now, most people know that we need several cups of liquid every day to stay healthy. Unfortunately, many people don’t seem to be aware of just how little they actually consume.
Many people believe that because they “think” they drank their recommended 2-3 cups at lunch, then they can go without another cup for the rest of the afternoon.
However, this isn’t always the case. Even if you start off with a couple drinks during the morning or noon meal, it’s very possible that you won’t have any more until later in the day. This can easily add up to avoidable water deficits.
If you want to achieve optimal health, then making sure you are meeting your water intake goals is important. Luckily, there are ways to track your water consumption so that you know exactly what you should be doing.
Conversion of volume to weight
When talking about grams, you will often come across two different definitions for what constitutes a one ounce (30 ml) container. One says it is 0.01 ounces, while another says 0.015 ounces. This can get confusing!
The easiest way to avoid this confusion is by using the word “cup” as we know it in everyday life. A cup contains eight fluidounces, or 70 mL of liquid. An ounce equals 28% of a cup, so one ounce equals 21/70 or 30mL of liquid.
That means that if a bottle claims to have only 15ml of product in 1 oz., then it actually has 2oz. of product in 1 cup! The rest comes down to how much liquid they include with the product in the bottle. Some bottles are very specific and measure their content in % measurements which also contribute to the discrepancy.
This article will focus on liquid products such as oils, gels, lotions, and creams. Most of these liquids need to be mixed together to create the finished product, so they are not a solid ingredient listed separately. That means that when estimating how many mgs of active ingredient you receive in a serving, you must account for the alcohol or water used to make the solution.
Conversion of weight to volume
Weighing material is one important way to determine how many grams are in a specific amount of water or other liquids. When calculating this, you must first know what liquid you use to measure your substance in!
You can use either water as our standard measurement or another common fluid such as milk, broth, or sugar syrup to define where zero points come for conversion. For example, if we were trying to find how many grams are in 2 cups (500 ml) of plain white distilled water, then our final calculation would be 2x 500 = 1 000 g.
By using these standards as measurements, we make sure that our calculations are consistent and accurate. Make sure to check out our article about some math tricks related to weights and measures!
Another very important factor when converting between weight and volume is the density value of the substance. Density determines how much space a given amount of matter takes up. A denser item will take up more room than something less dense.
For instance, a glass has a higher density than most fluids so it takes up more space within the container it is placed in. This means there is less empty space inside the container which makes it easier to accurately calculate the total volume of the water.
Densities vary greatly depending on the type of material they represent, so checking the average density of a similar product is helpful! Thankfully, we have some great tools that help us do this easily.
Calculating the amount of water in a recipe
When recipes call for liquid ingredients, such as milk or broth, they usually indicate how much to use in the ingredient list.
However, it is tricky to know exactly how much liquid you should use in your finished product without having a scale in your home.
A standard cup does not always mean the same thing across brands and types of liquids. Some cups are larger than others!
To make sure you have enough fluid for your recipe, we recommend using our helpful tool — dry measure tools.
Dry measuring spoons and cups that are labeled “DRY” contain their own weight of moisture content, so you can easily subtract this value to find the exact amount of liquid needed for the recipe.
For example, if a recipe calls for one cup of milk, you could simply look up what a cup of milk equals in grams in your calculator and then divide that number by the individual drink size to determine how many ounces of milk you need.
Water is important for health
We need water to survive, and studying how much water we have can tell us if we are drinking enough. Most people know that our bodies require about one pound (500 grams) of food per day to stay alive, but they may not know what part of that weight is made up of water.
We usually assume that two thirds of our body weight is composed of water, so one third is missing! If you want to be sure you’re eating enough, check your blood by drawing some blood with a syringe or lancet. Then, measure the amount with a test strip or litmus paper.
If you notice dry red skin, try rubbing more moisture into the area to see if this helps. The more often you do this, the better it will work. This can be done every day, even daily stressors like working, traveling, or doing things such as exercising or swimming.
Another way to determine whether you are ingesting enough water is to compare your urine color between drinks. The darker the color, the less empty space there is in the liquid. A light yellow color means there is not very much water moving through the kidneys and bladder.
As mentioned before, age can affect how well your organs function. As you get older, bones and muscles break down and waste away, which requires fluid to repair. In fact, most adults should aim for at least eight glasses of water per day to keep this balance.
Water helps keep you cool
We are constantly drinking water to stay hydrated, but did you know that how much water you drink can have some significant impacts? The amount of water you consume can affect your weight.
Did you know that just by consuming one ounce (about 1/2 cup) of plain water every day, you could potentially lose up to two pounds per month? That’s what happened to actress Jaclyn Smith!
She noticed she was loosing weight even though she wasn’t changing her diet or workout routine. Her body seemed to be using the water she consumes for things other than physical activity.
A few years later, she discovered that drinking eight glasses of water each night helped reduce her hunger. She now recommends our population aim to drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily.
That’s half a gallon! I know, hard to achieve, but it’s a good start.
Water helps keep you hydrated
We all know that we should drink our water, but how much is enough? The average person needs 10-12 cups of fluid per day to stay hydrated.
That sounds like a lot, but most people are not drinking enough! According to the National Health Service (NHS) we spend around half an hour washing ourselves and eating food uses up another quarter hour’s worth of time. That leaves just over one hour every day for work, family, and hobbies.
If you want to feel your best then try to consume at least eight 8oz glasses of water per day. This equals two litres which is about six times the amount of water you would need if you were going through dry season or even normal winter conditions.
Water does a lot of things for your body
Drinking enough water is important to maintain health and help yourself feel more energized. It also helps keep your blood fluid so that you can function properly.
Most people know that at least eight glasses of plain old H2O are needed each day, but few know how much water some common foods contain!
Finding out how many grams of water per serving of these foods will tell you just how much water those snacks include. This information is very helpful as it reminds you to drink your water before every meal!
Some examples of foods with high water content are:
Broccoli – one cup (100 g) contains 9% water
Carrots – 1/2 cup (75 g) has 6.
Too much or too little can be harmful
Due to the fact that we are constantly exposed to water, it is important to know how many grams of this essential element we have in our body.
Too much water can contribute to weight gain due to fluid retention. This happens when your body holds onto excess water and also loses heat very efficiently.
This is often called “fluid insulation” because you feel warm even though there is enough moisture in your skin to let some heat escape.
On the other hand, people who suffer from hypothyroidism may require reduced levels of iodine, which means they can become deficient in this mineral.
Iodine is needed for proper functioning of the thyroid gland, so if someone with hypothyroidism does not get enough of it, their metabolism will slow down.
This can lead to obesity since the body uses energy to maintain its normal temperature.
There are several ways to determine how much water you have in your body. The best way is to weigh yourself daily and calculate average weights over a week.
You can also measure your urine color, but only do this once a month as every person has different colors depending on genetics and diet.
Never worry about having too much water! Only drink more than what your body needs to function properly.
