Carola Felchner is a freelance writer for NetDoktor's medical editorial team and a certified exercise and nutrition consultant. She worked at various trade magazines and online portals before setting up her own business as a journalist in 2015. Before her traineeship, she studied translation and interpreting in Kempten and Munich.
Drinking water is vital! A person survives only a few days without the clear liquid. If we drink less than the recommended 1.5 liters per day, we deprive the organism of an important basic building block. Read here how water deficiency affects skin, brain and weight, and which water is best to reach for.
Which water to drink?
Not all water is the same. At least this is the impression conveyed by the long rows of shelves in the supermarket, densely packed with the most diverse types of water: non-carbonated, with vitamins, sparkling, medium, mineral, table or medicinal water, in plastic or glass bottles. Overwhelming, but no reason to avoid drinking water altogether out of confusion.
Basically, there are only the following types:
Mineral water
With this water, thirsty people drink particularly healthily – or so you would think. After all, it contains valuable minerals such as calcium, magnesium, sodium and iron. This is also true. But in very different concentrations depending on the variety. Since 1980, the EU overturned the requirement that a mineral water 1.000 milligrams of dissolved minerals per liter, even waters that contain only slightly more minerals than the cool water from the tap can be called natural mineral water.
If you consciously pay attention to the mineral content, athletes in particular can compensate for minerals lost through sweating, lactose-intolerant people who drink this water can secure their calcium supply, and varieties with a high sulfate content can relieve constipation.
Depending on how much carbon dioxide has been added, mineral water is labeled "still," "medium" or "sparkling," or "carbonated" or "non-carbonated. By the way, how the mineral water tastes depends on the composition of the mineral substances.
Natural mineral water
Natural mineral water is so called because it is not allowed to be treated by the well companies. It is produced from underground sources, which are protected from contamination by layers that are hardly permeable to water. The water is supposed to remain "naturally pure. The mineral content is usually correspondingly low.
Table water
If you want to drink this water, you often don't get it from a bottle in a restaurant, but from a tap. Unlike mineral water, this is allowed with table water. It does not necessarily come from a spring, but may be made from drinking water, mineral water or even seawater. The addition of sodium chloride. Other additives are allowed.
Medicinal water
Drinking this water means that it has a proven and officially confirmed health effect. It comes from underground water sources and is rich in minerals and trace elements.
Vitamin water
Some (synthetic) vitamins are added to these mostly brightly colored water variants – but above all, sugar and flavors are often added. Better, if you want to drink such water: mix it yourself, from mineral or tap water and fruit pieces, herbs and/or vegetable slices.
Tap water
It does not necessarily have to be store-bought water. In Germany, drinking water from the tap is also of very good quality. Why the water from the tap can even be superior to the purchased water, you can read in the article tap water.
Drinking water: glass or plastic bottle?
When in doubt, glass bottles are the better choice when buying water. It is suspected that harmful substances such as plasticizers and hormone-like substances can dissolve from plastic and get into the water.
Drinking water: Healthy for skin and body
But why should we drink water at all and not soda pop, soft drinks or juice? On the one hand simply for health and weight reasons. For those who meet their fluid requirements via cola and co. If you try to cover your calorie intake with water, you will consume calories that you are often not even aware of – up to 400 calories per day (excluding light versions).
There are studies that suggest that drinking plenty of water can prevent and reduce obesity. Subjects who drank half a liter of water before each of their main meals lost an average of 1.3 kilograms each in 12 weeks. Probably because water fills the stomach, but not the calorie account.
In addition, water activates circulation and metabolism. In a study of normal-weight people, drinking half a liter of room-temperature liquid before breakfast increased caloric expenditure by about 50 calories. Calories were burned to heat the water and boost the body's own heat production. Even on the blood sugar-lowering hormone insulin -. and thus on the risk of diabetes – regular water drinking could have a positive effect. However, this has not yet been scientifically proven.
But drinking water could benefit the skin and blood circulation. Because our largest organ consists for the most part of the liquid element. Stores almost one third of the liquid present in the human body. Drinking water increases blood flow to the skin, red blood cells flow faster. In addition, sufficient hydration improves the oxygen supply to the skin.
Drinking water: How much per day is enough?
Drinking plenty of water is therefore healthy in several respects. How much water per day is sufficient depends on age as well as physical activity. Athletes should drink a little more water because of the sweaty additional movement, seniors are usually less thirsty. As a guideline, the German Nutrition Society (DGE) recommends about 1.5 to two liters per day for adults.
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What happens if you don't drink enough water??
The human body is sensitive when it comes to its fluid balance. Drinking too little water can result in headaches, concentration and circulation problems as well as dry skin, dark-colored urine, hard stools or constipation.
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Can you drink too much water?
Yes, you can – and it is just as dangerous as drinking too little water. If you drink too much water, your blood salts will be strongly diluted, a so-called hyponatremia can develop and lead to a life-threatening swelling of the brain. According to experts, endurance athletes in particular, as well as people with water retention in the ties and severe kidney disease, high blood prere or heart problems, should tend to hold back on drinking and determine the optimum amount for the individual with their doctor. Water is a recommended. Healthy fluid dispenser. It has many positive effects on the body and contains no calories, which is why it is also suitable as a diet drink. Which drink water The question of whether it makes sense to drink water depends on personal preferences (taste, carbon dioxide content, etc.).) and individual needs (higher mineral content z.B.