Transcription:
How Much Water Should You Drink

Scott Webb (Host): There are many benefits to drinking water every day, including the nutrients that water provides. And joining me today to discuss the many benefits is Dr. Milan Petrovic. He's a Primary Care Doctor with WakeMed Health. This is WakeMed Voices, a podcast from WakeMed Health and Hospitals in Raleigh, North Carolina.

I'm Scott Webb. Doctor, thanks so much for your time today. This is kind of a fun topic. We're talking about water and why it's good for us and how much we should drink and whether it's possible to drink too much water. But before we get to all that, let's just start here. Why is water so good for us?

Milan Petrovic, MD (Guest): So, water is good for multiple reasons. You know, the main benefits of drinking water would be water carries nutrients to your cells. It helps with digestion. It prevents constipation, helps to flush bacteria from your bladder, helps with blood pressure control and heartbeats cushions joints. And very importantly, helps to maintain sodium and potassium balance. Those are two main electrolytes in our body. So, water is very important for that. It's also effective in keeping skin wrinkle free and it lowers your risk for tooth decay. So these are just the main advantages of drinking water.

Host: Yeah. And so a lot of you know, great advantages and I know there's a, you know, a lot of information, misinformation. My wife tells me I should drink more water, but from an expert here, how much water should we drink every day?

Dr. Petrovic: Oh, that's an excellent question. And a very complex answer. There is really no one size fits all answer, you know. For most healthy adults with an average level of physical activity, it is safe to say, follow your thirst. You know, if you're thirsty, drink water, and if you're not, don't bother. Well to translate that further, you know, to give you the exact recommendation, you will probably not go wrong with four to six, 8 ounce glasses of water or 32 to 48 ounces of water a day. But that will, of course change with the level of physical activity, with the local climate to including temperature and humidity. Or if A person is taking certain medications. it will also change if you have a chronic disease like diabetes, heart condition, kidney disease, or liver disease.

Host: I like that as just a general rule of thumb though, follow your thirst. If you're thirsty, drink some water. If you're not thirsty, maybe don't force yourself to drink, unless as you say, you have other conditions or other needs and you just kind of have to have the water to take medications or whatever it might be.

And I want to ask you, I heard or read this somewhere along the way in my life, that we should start our mornings with a glass of water because it wakes up our organs. And I've always wanted to ask an expert, ask a doctor. Is that true? Is that a thing? Does water wake up our organs if we have a nice big glass in the morning?

Dr. Petrovic: I'm not sure about that. But probably is a good idea, mainly because we do concentrate urine during the night. And, as you know, the first urine in the morning will likely be yellow to dark yellow, which is fine. But later throughout the day, that should clear up and it should be closer to the color of water. So, starting the day with a glass of water certainly is a good idea. You will not go wrong with that.

Host: Yeah, it couldn't hurt for sure. Now I think the all important question, you know, you talked about following your thirst, is it possible to drink too much water?

Dr. Petrovic: Yes it is. And unfortunately, people who are exercising are frequently getting into that problem. Of course, they're worried about dehydration, but they can easily get to overhydration. This is particularly true for people who are doing some extreme physical activity, like a marathon runner or triathalon. Or even any, any type of endurance training. So, it is true that we are losing some electrolytes, particularly, sodium with the exercise, but we can actually overhydrate by drinking too much water, dilute that sodium that we already lost from our body and get to a condition that is called hyponatremia, which is dangerous in acute setting. And unfortunately, when you look at the history of marathon races, you know, you will find that it's not, once that's happened that some people were really sick from overhydrating and unfortunately some of them died as well.

Host: Yeah, it does seem like there's a balance there between, you know, the proper amount of hydration, but overhydrating, and as you say, it can be some serious consequences from overhydration. And you've mentioned electrolytes a couple of times. So, that made me think about sport drinks. I don't want to mention any particular names, but we all know the drinks out there. So I wanted to find out is water better for us then those sports drinks after sports or after a workout. And if so, why?

Dr. Petrovic: I would say yes, the water is better before, during and after exercising, than any other drinks. The main reason is for people to drink sport drinks is to replenish the electrolytes, but actually the amount of electrolytes in those drinks is low, particularly sodium level. They can not add more sodium to those drinks because it will not taste good.

We don't want to drink salty water. And, so the amount of sodium that is there is not enough to help with the loss of electrolytes during the physical activity. Generally, if you're doing your daily, regular physical activity and not one of those extreme physical activity, you should be fine again, following your thirst and drinking water. The electrolytes, you will get them through your food and your body will be able to regulate that couple of hours, or physical activity with no problem.

Host: You know, I have a couple of kids and they played sports and of course, you know, those sports drinks, they taste good. They're flavored, the grape and cherry and orange and so on. And so it can be tricky with kids because we know there's some benefits to those sports drinks. But as you say, water is better before, during and after. So, maybe it's just really about finding a balance, especially with our kids right?

Dr. Petrovic: That is correct, especially for kids. The other problem that we have with them, they do have a higher percentage of water in their body, so it's easier for them to get dehydrated. When they get dehydrated, they lose the certain amount of fluid or water from their body. But it contributes to more percentage of their total weight. And generally the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children and teens should not drink energy drinks at all. One of the reasons is caffeine as well, and then sweets as you mentioned, the caffeine can cause the higher blood pressure, can cause insomnia and sweets and the sugars, carbohydrates there can increase weight and also lead to inflammation.

So generally again, for children. The recommendation is to drink water.

Host: Yeah, to drink water. And I've also mentioned earlier questions, I've always wanted to ask. I've wanted to ask this one. Do we still get the same benefits from water if it's in our coffee or our tea, you know, there's some debate about that. Especially with my wife, you know, I'm like, well, I'm using water and it's in my coffee. So, there must be some benefits, but from an expert here, do we still get the same benefits from water if it's mixed with coffee and tea and those sorts of drinks?

Dr. Petrovic: We do. Definitely we do. All of that should count as a total amount of fluid that we took during the day. The only difference is that caffeinated beverage is tea and coffee a day will make you urinate a little bit more than with the same amount of water. Because of the active substances, that will stimulate your kidneys to produce more urine. So, overall you may be urinating a little bit more, but you're still taking more fluid to your body during the day.

So yes. They, they're good. And they, they're fine. I must tell you that sweet tea doesn't count. That's not good, but herbal teas and the teas that you're preparing by yourself is excellent.

Host: That's great to hear. And, this is a really fun conversation and it's so great to have the time of an expert here to sort of pick your brain a little bit, and I'm sure this is beneficial to listeners as well. As we wrap up here, anything else you want listeners to know about the many benefits of drinking water every day, how much we should drink and why we should maybe opt for water over sports drinks and the similar type of drinks?

Dr. Petrovic: So, again for anyone with a normal level of physical activity, water is the best drink. You don't need to worry about your electrolytes. You will get them through your food and the best drink before, during and after physical activity, again will be water. The best advice I can give you is follow your thirst. When you're thirsty, drink water, and you're not, do not bother.

Host: That's great, great way to finish. And I really appreciate your time today. That's going to be my takeaway. I'm going to, I'm going to tell my entire family about that as I'm sure listeners will as well. When you're thirsty, you drink and you should drink water. If you're not thirsty, don't force yourself to drink water, unless there's some reason why you need again, as you taking medications or something like that. So, doctor, thank you so much for your time today. You stay hydrated, not over hydrated, but stay hydrated and stay well.

Dr. Petrovic: Excellent. Thank you very much. I'm glad you got the point. Don't stay overhydrated.

Host: That's Dr. Milan Petrovic. And for more information, please visit wakemedorg. And if you find this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and check out the full podcast library for additional topics of interest.

This is WakeMed Voices a podcast brought to you by WakeMed Health and Hospitals in Raleigh, North Carolina. Thanks for listening.