Water facts

1. At birth, water accounts for approximately 80 percent of an infant’s body weight.
2. A healthy person can drink about three gallons (48 cups) of water per day.
3. Drinking too much water too quickly can lead to water intoxication. Water intoxication occurs when water dilutes the sodium level in the bloodstream and causes an imbalance of water in the brain.
4. While the daily recommended amount of water is eight cups per day, not all of this water must be consumed in the liquid form. Nearly every food or drink item provides some water to the body.
5. Soft drinks, coffee, and tea, while made up almost entirely of water, also contain caffeine. Caffeine can act as a mild diuretic, preventing water from traveling to necessary locations in the body.
6. Approximately 85 percent of U.S. residents receive their water from public water facilities. The remaining 15 percent supply their own water from private wells or other sources.
7. By the time a person feels thirsty, his or her body has lost over 1 percent of its total water amount.
8. The weight a person loses directly after intense physical activity is weight from water, not fat.
9. The earth is a closed system, similar to a terrarium, meaning that it rarely loses or gains extra matter. The same water that existed on the earth millions of years ago is still present today.
10. The total amount of water on the earth is about 326 million cubic miles of water.