What do you know about drinking water?
In our daily lives, water is extremely ordinary and common, but perhaps precisely because of this, most people don't understand how much water they should drink, what kind of water to drink, and when to drink it... and this directly impacts our health.
Drinking water on an empty stomach is most effective
Tap water, mineral water, bottled water, purified water... In recent years, there have been different opinions on which type of water to drink. Some say mineral water is best for the human body, as the minerals it contains are beneficial to health; others say that some mineral waters have excessive fluoride which is harmful to the human body; still others say that drinking alkaline water can enhance the body's disease resistance.
However, no matter how varied the water on the market is, "drink more boiled water" is a recommendation strongly endorsed by many food and nutrition experts. Boiled water is simply tap water that has been boiled. Tap water boiled for three minutes is the best; if boiled for too long, the nitrite content in the water will increase. Most bottled and purified water is sourced from tap water or well water, and then undergoes some fine processing.
There is a right way to drink water. When you feel thirsty, it's actually too late. Research results show that it's best to drink 2000-2500 ml, or 8 glasses, of water per day. Furthermore, just like eating, it's recommended to "drink small amounts frequently." Drinking water too quickly and hastily can cause you to swallow a lot of air, easily leading to hiccups or bloating. It's best to have a glass of water in front of you and take sips from time to time. First, hold the water in your mouth, then swallow it slowly to allow your body to absorb it gradually.
In the morning, you should drink an appropriate amount of water to replenish the fluids lost during the night. Drinking water around 10 AM and 3 PM can effectively replenish fluids lost from sweat, urine, and other excretions, and also helps the body expel accumulated waste. Drinking water around 8 PM is also quite suitable, as blood concentration increases during sleep, and drinking water can dilute the blood and accelerate blood circulation.
In addition, the most effective way to drink water is on an empty stomach. This way, the water will flow directly through the digestive tract and be absorbed by the body. Drinking water after a meal is not as beneficial to your health as drinking on an empty stomach.
8 types of water you should not drink
In addition to drinking water correctly, you should also be aware of several types of water that are best avoided.
1. Re-boiled water: This is water that has been boiling on a stove all night or for a very long time, as well as water that is repeatedly boiled in an electric water heater. When water is re-boiled, volatile substances in the water can easily escape, but non-volatile substances such as heavy metals like calcium and magnesium, and nitrates, will accumulate. Drinking this type of water for a long time can interfere with gastrointestinal function, causing temporary diarrhea and bloating, and may even lead to cancer.
2. Re-boiled water: Re-boiling boiled water will cause the nitrate content in the water to exceed safe levels. Excessive and超标 nitrates in the water can cause varying degrees of physical fatigue, listlessness, drowsiness, coma, cyanosis, decreased blood pressure, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. Long-term consumption can also lead to malignant diseases. Therefore, re-boiling and reusing boiled water must be strictly avoided.
3. Raw water: The harm of drinking raw water is great. Chlorine in tap water can interact with residual organic matter in unboiled water, easily leading to bladder cancer and rectal cancer. Raw water from the wild contains harmful bacteria, viruses, and parasites. After people drink it, they are prone to acute gastroenteritis, hepatitis, typhoid, dysentery, and parasitic infections. Especially in rivers, reservoirs, and wells, water is often polluted by industrial waste, domestic wastewater, and pesticide residues, making it even easier to get sick from drinking raw water.
4. Unboiled water: Drinking water that has not been boiled increases the risk of bladder cancer and rectal cancer by 21%-38%. When the water temperature reaches 100°C, harmful substances will greatly reduce with the evaporation of steam. If it continues to boil for another 3 minutes, it is much safer to drink.
5. Water left in the air for a long time: Boiled water contains active substances like oxygen. If boiled water is exposed to the air for too long, these active substances will evaporate. Without active substances like oxygen, the water's solubility will decrease. As active substances evaporate, the relative content of harmful substances like nitrates in the water increases.
6. Overnight water: This refers to boiled water from the previous day that is stored in a thermos, similar to water left in the air for a long time.
7. Stagnant water: Commonly known as "dead water," this is water that has been stored for a long time without moving. Drinking this type of water frequently can significantly slow down the metabolism of cells in minors, affecting growth and development; it accelerates aging in middle-aged and elderly people; and it can lead to a daily increase in the incidence rate of esophageal and stomach cancer. The toxic substances in stagnant water also increase with the length of storage time.
8. Steamer water: This is the leftover water at the bottom of a pot used for steaming food like steamed buns and dishes. Especially when repeatedly used, the nitrate concentration in steamer water is very high. Drinking this water frequently or using it to cook porridge can cause nitrite poisoning. The scale in the water can also enter the human body, causing digestive, nervous, urinary, and hematopoietic system diseases, and even premature aging.
Warm water is actually more thirst-quenching
When the weather gets hot, many people like to drink iced water. However, experts point out that drinking a large amount of ice water can easily cause digestive system diseases. Moreover, because the molecules of ice water are larger, these molecules clump together and are not easily absorbed by the body, thus failing to solve the problem of rehydrating.
The best water to drink is warm water at 20°C. Warm water is less irritating to the body, and the body can complete a better biological feedback response to the thirst center without needing an extra reaction, so it is more conducive to the body's absorption and utilization, and is more thirst-quenching.
Getting water from food
By choosing more water-rich foods, you can intake an additional 20% of water daily.
First, staple foods contain plenty of water. The starch in noodles, rice, and other grains fully absorbs water during the cooking process—this is why rice and noodles expand and become sweet when cooked.
Vegetables and fruits contain even more than 80% water, and the water in them also dissolves various vitamins and minerals. According to the "Chinese Residents' Dietary Guidelines," adults need to consume 300-500 grams of vegetables and 200-400 grams of fruit per day. By eating this amount of vegetables and fruits, we intake more than 500 ml of water daily, which is basically equivalent to a bottle of mineral water.
For "eating water," soup is also an essential component. You should drink a bowl of soup for each meal, especially light soup with little or no salt, such as tomato soup or corn soup. This not only replenishes fluids but can also dilute the excess salt in the main meal.