Hydrating your body properly with sufficient healthy drinks is crucial for effective organ functioning, including human reproductive system.
Why is water so important?
Up to 80% of the human body is water. Every cell, tissue, and organ needs water to function the right way. For examples, the human circulatory system depends on blood to transport nutrients, wastes, oxygen, carbon dioxide and hormones; The liver and the kidneys use water to help excrete toxins and harmful compounds that we consume or produce; Water helps joints to maintain proper lubrication; When more sodium is consumed than necessary ( that is common for most American), water is used to help remove extra sodium from the body; Water also helps to regulate body temperature.
Human reproductive system needs water to function properly.
- Hormonal imbalance is an important cause of infertility. Water stimulates blood flow which helps hormone transportation.
- The healthy egg needs sufficient blood supply.
- Sperms swim in cervical fluid/mucus to reach the egg. Cervical factor causes 5-10% of women infertility. Overall body hydration maintains healthy cervical fluid level.
- 98% of semen is water. Dehydration may cause lower semen production.
- Women body weight increases about 12 kg during an average pregnancy. Most of this added weight is water. Sufficient water intake is needed for healthy fetus development and growth.
- Pregnancy hormone deficiency has linked to childhood diseases, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, pervasive developmental problems, externalising behavior, in addition to epilepsy and seizure
How much water do we need to drink daily?
Dehydration has linked to some chronic diseases. The Institute of Medicine has recommended adequate intake (AI) values for total water at levels to prevent deleterious, primarily acute, effects of dehydration, which include metabolic and functional abnormalities The AI for total water (from a combination of drinking water, beverages, and food) is set based on the median total water intake from U.S. survey data. The AI for total water intake for young men and women (ages 19 to 30 years) is 3.7 L and 2.7 L per day, respectively. For women in pregnancy is 3.0 L per day, and for women during lactation is 3.8 L per day. Detailed AI for each group is cited from “Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate”
| AI for Women | |
| 19–50 years | 2.7 L/day of total water. This includes approximately 2.2 L (≈ 9 cups) as total beverages, including drinking water. |
| AI for Men | |
| 19–50 years | 3.7 L/day of total water. This includes approximately 3.0 L (≈ 13 cups) as total beverages, including drinking water. |
| AI for Children | |
| 1–3 years | 1.3 L/day of total water. This includes approximately 0.9 L (≈ 4 cups) as total beverages, including drinking water. |
| 4–8 years | 1.7 L/day of total water. This includes approximately 1.2 L (≈ 5 cups) as total beverages, including drinking water. |
| AI for Boys | |
| 9–13 years | 2.4 L/day of total water. This includes approximately 1.8 L (≈ 8 cups) as total beverages, including drinking water. |
| 14–18 years | 3.3 L/day of total water. This includes approximately 2.6 L (≈ 11 cups) as total beverages, including drinking water. |
| AI for Girls | |
| 9–13 years | 2.1 L/day of total water. This includes approximately 1.6 L (≈ 7 cups) as total beverages, including drinking water. |
| AI for Infants | |
| 0–6 months | 0.7 L/day of water, assumed to be from human milk. |
| 7–12 months | 0.8 L/day of total water, assumed to be from human milk, complementary foods and beverages. This includes approximately 0.6 L (≈ 3 cups) as total fluid, including formula or human milk, juices, and drinking water. |
Water sources
Total water intake includes drinking water, water in beverages, and water that is part of the food. Among which, drinking water should count the most of our everyday water intake.
Drinking water
Drinking water comes from a variety of sources including public water systems (tap water), private wells, or bottled water. Safe and healthy drinking water intake is important for optimal health.
Knowing the contaminants of tap water
Tap water is the most important drinking water source of American. The tap water American are consuming every day, even if in compliance with EPA standards, contains many contaminants above a healthy level. Currently, 10 cyanotoxins and 20 additional contaminants that are not regulated by EPA are under EPA monitoring, and there are more that are not monitored. The complete current Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) can be found on EPA website. CCL lists water contaminants that are known or anticipated to occur in tap. One way for homeowners to find out what kind of contamination may be present in their water supply is to obtain a copy of their water quality report or consumer confidence report. There is a handy tool from Environmental Working Group that helps to identify contaminants in your water supply.
Health concerns of contaminants in tap water
Environmental Working Group (EWG) analyzed the data collected from EPA and state agencies. Based on the drinking water tests conducted from 2010 to 2015 in 50 states, 267 contaminants are detected among 500 tested contaminants. According to the analysis of EWG, contaminants detected included:
- 93 linked to an increased risk of cancer.
- 78 associated with brain and nervous system damage.
- 63 connected to developmental harm to children or fetuses.
- 38 that may cause fertility problems.
- 45 linked to hormonal disruption. Hormonal disorder may cause infertility issues.
Filtrate tap water before consume
Some of the contaminants found in the public water system are under regulation and the others are not. Even if the contaminants level meets EPA standards, it might exceed scientific safe level. When the facilities of the public water system have issues occur, contaminants level may raise unexpectedly, e.g. 2015 lead scandal.
How can we make sure the tap water we consume is clean and safe? An in-home water purification system can dramatically reduce the presence of many contaminants.
Types of in-home filtration system
There are different types of filtration system available on the market.
- Mechanical Filtration does not have effectiveness in removing chemicals
- Reverse Osmosis Systems will remove microorganism, common chemical contaminants and reduce most of the others, including organic and inorganic. May waste 2/3 of water.
- Distillation Systems will remove microorganism, common chemical contaminants and reduce most of the others, including organic and inorganic.
- UV Treatment does not remove chemicals.
- Softeners do not remove microorganisms.
Choose your filtration system
Reverse osmosis and distillation system are the winners for in-home water purification.
- Reverse osmosis systems are available as plumb-in and countertop; the plumb-in type needs installation, but the water comes out of the faucet just like tap water; the countertop one works out of the box but needs manual operation every time.
- Distillation units work almost out of the box, but the boiling process is energy consuming and needs manual operation every time.
Which type to choose depends on your preference. We picked the plumb-in reverse osmosis for in-home purification because of the convenience of operation.
Reverse osmosis systems come with different after reverse osmosis filters. An alkaline and/or mineral filter might be useful since water after reverse osmosis filtration is acidic (PH 4 - 5) and carries almost no mineral. Alkaline and mineral filter adjusts the PH to a slightly alkaline level and adds beneficial minerals to the final water flow. Acidic water may lead to tooth erosion and cause sensitivity. Plus, reducing acid load and drinking alkaline water may bring health benefits. Although the benefits are still in debate, there is no known harmful effect of consuming slight alkaline water (PH 8- 10).
We recommend selecting a system that meets NSF standards. A water tester is necessary to examine the working condition of your filtration system.
Following are some filtration systems and testers available on the market.
Reverse osmosis system:
Upbabyup.com is not affiliated with the above brands.