Should you drink less water when you get older? Don’t be fooled again. Lack of water is very harmful to your body. Drinking water this way is healthier!

Myth: "As you age, you should drink less water."

There is a saying circulating on the Internet: the kidney function of the elderly gradually declines, and the body's ability to metabolize water weakens. Drinking too much water will increase the burden on the body and cause water poisoning, so the elderly should drink less water.

Rumor analysis: Not true.

The elderly should not drink less water, but should drink scientifically. Drinking water properly will not harm kidney health or increase the burden on the body.

As people age, their kidney function gradually declines, and they are less sensitive to water shortages. They often don’t realize they are already dehydrated. However, drinking water in moderation is essential to maintaining good health, so the elderly should pay more attention to replenishing water. It is recommended to drink 1500~1700 ml per day.

Drinking water may seem like a trivial matter, but many people don’t do it well. Inadequate drinking of water is very common in life, especially for the elderly. Some elderly people even deliberately drink less water because they heard that drinking too much water will increase the burden on the body and cause water poisoning. However, the older you are, the more you should drink water!

Should the elderly drink less water?

It is said that the elderly have reduced kidney function and must drink less water, otherwise the body will not be able to bear it; if they drink too much water, it will increase the metabolic burden and even cause water poisoning.

This is not true. Water plays an important role in life activities, and even the elderly cannot do without the "nourishment" of water.

First of all, the elderly are prone to dehydration.

Water is the most abundant component in the human body. As we age, the total water content in the human body gradually decreases. The water content of adult males and females is generally 59% and 50%; while the water content of males and females over 50 is 56% and 47%; the water content of elderly people over 65 is even lower, with males having only 47% and females having as low as 39%.

In addition, the renal function of the elderly declines, and the kidney's ability to concentrate urine will also decrease. There may also be mild to moderate damage to cognitive abilities, which seriously reduces the body's ability to perceive water shortage and increases the risk of dehydration.

That is to say, compared with young people, the elderly are slower to react to water loss and dehydration. In many cases, the body is clearly dehydrated, but there is no feeling of thirst. Most research results also show that the phenomenon of insufficient water intake is more common among the elderly.

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Secondly, drinking water properly will not harm the health of the kidneys, nor will it increase the burden on the body, nor will it cause water poisoning. Instead, it is beneficial to the health of the elderly. However, for the elderly with special physical conditions, they need to follow the doctor's advice to limit their water intake, such as those with severe renal insufficiency, liver disease, and congestive heart failure.

Therefore, the elderly should pay more attention to replenishing water. Good drinking behavior is very important for maintaining the health of the elderly. The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" and the Chinese Elderly Balanced Diet Pagoda both emphasize that the elderly need to drink 1500~1700 ml of water every day. And boiled water is the first choice. If you really can't drink tasteless water, you can choose light tea or lemonade.

Figure: Chinese Nutrition Society official website

There are these dangers if the elderly do not drink enough water

Water is not only a basic component of food, but also an important substance in the human body. It plays an important role in the nutritional metabolism and life activities of the elderly. Even the elderly need to drink enough water every day. If they do not drink enough water, it will seriously harm their health.

1. Skin deterioration

Drinking enough water is very important to keep the skin hydrated. The loss of skin protein and water in the elderly is high. If you don't pay attention to replenishing, the skin condition will get worse and worse, with reduced elasticity and more wrinkles. Especially in autumn and winter, if you don't drink enough water, your skin will easily dry and peel, accelerating aging.

2. Increase urinary system diseases

If the elderly do not drink enough water, the risk of urinary tract infection may increase. Drinking more water can play a preventive role and also reduce the risk of kidney stones in the elderly.

3. Prone to constipation

The gastrointestinal motility of the elderly slows down, and they are prone to constipation. Water is the "lubricant" of stool. Drinking more water can soften the stool, avoid dry and hard stool, and help prevent constipation.

4. Reduced cognitive ability

Inadequate water intake in the elderly can damage brain health and reduce cognitive ability. Studies have mentioned that chronic dehydration is a common feature of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

On the one hand, the elderly have a reduced sense of "thirst" and often neglect to drink water, which leads to chronic dehydration. Dehydration causes an increase and accumulation of cytotoxic metabolites in the brain, such as endogenous formaldehyde, aggravating cognitive damage and forming a vicious cycle of "dehydration-cognitive damage-dehydration".

On the other hand, with the increase of age (>65 years old), the formaldehyde concentration in the body gradually increases, and the formaldehyde content in the brain of Alzheimer's patients also increases significantly (chronic damage to the central nervous system caused by formaldehyde metabolism disorders is considered to be one of the causes of cognitive impairment in the elderly).

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If the elderly do not drink enough water and are often in a state of chronic dehydration, they will increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Proper drinking water can not only improve the chronic dehydration of the elderly, but also significantly reduce the formaldehyde concentration in the body, remove cytotoxic metabolites in the brain, and prevent damage to the central nervous system.

In addition, long-term lack of water intake in the elderly is related to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, electrolyte metabolism disorders, etc. Studies have shown that drinking more than 1660 ml of water a day can significantly reduce the mortality rate of all-cause death and heart disease death.

Elderly people need to pay attention to these 3 points when drinking water

Drinking more water can improve the health of the elderly, but there are also precautions.

1. Take the initiative to drink water

Elderly people have a reduced ability to sense thirst, so it is too late to drink water when they feel thirsty. You should take the initiative to drink water, not wait until you feel thirsty. You can drink water at any time of the day, and drink 1500~1700 ml every day. If you often forget to drink water, set a time to drink water.

A glass of warm water in the morning: It can reduce blood viscosity, increase blood volume, and help prevent cardiovascular diseases.

Drink a glass of water after a meal: helps clean the mouth, reduce food debris, reduce the growth of oral bacteria, and protect oral health.

Drink a glass of water after taking a bath: When taking a bath, the human body may lose a certain amount of water due to evaporation of skin moisture, and may even feel thirsty. At this time, you should replenish water in time.

Drink a glass of water after exercise: Exercise will cause water loss through evaporation of sweat from the skin, so it is necessary to replenish water appropriately after exercise. If you exercise for a long time, such as square dancing, jogging, cycling, etc., you should also replenish water appropriately during exercise.

Drink a glass of water 1 to 2 hours before going to bed: It can prevent the blood viscosity from increasing during sleep at night.

In addition, when sweating profusely, having diarrhea, fever, etc., you must increase your water intake as appropriate.

2. Drink slowly in small sips and multiple times

Elderly people should drink water in small amounts, multiple times, and slowly in small sips, 50 to 100 ml each time. This helps the body absorb water and has a better hydration effect. Drinking too much at one time will increase the metabolic burden.

3. Don’t drink water that is too hot

The water temperature should be controlled at no more than 40℃, because the esophagus is very fragile, and 10~40℃ is the most suitable temperature. Too high a temperature will burn the esophageal mucosa. Drinking too hot water frequently is a chronic irritation to the mucosa and will increase the risk of cancer.

Summarize:

Although the body functions of the elderly gradually decline, their demand for water does not decrease, and they still need to drink water. Healthy elderly people need to drink 1500~1700 ml of boiled water every day. There is no need to worry about increasing metabolic burden or water poisoning. Instead, it helps maintain health and prevent a variety of elderly diseases.

Looking in the mirror of rumors

Such rumors usually prey on the elderly's concerns about health issues and use one-sided facts to create misunderstandings, such as "decreased kidney function" and "reduced burden". They seem reasonable on the surface, but often exaggerate the consequences of certain problems, ignore scientific basis and individual differences, and provide seemingly simple but extreme solutions (such as drinking less water), which can easily lead the public to adopt inappropriate or even harmful health behaviors.

References

[1] Chinese Nutrition Society. Dietary Reference Intakes of Nutrients for Chinese Residents (2023 Edition) [M]. People's Medical Publishing House. 2023.8

[2] Li Ting, Qiang Min, He Rongqiao. Chronic dehydration and cognitive impairment in the elderly and water drinking intervention[J]. Acta Neuropharmacologica Sinica, 2012, 0(3): 43-51

[3] Zhang Na, Ma Guansheng. Current status and prospects of research on drinking water for the elderly[J]. Journal of Nutrition, 2023, 45(1): 21-26

[4] Chen Zhigang, Zhang Qianru, Huang Lianjie, Guan Dongwei, Li Yuzheng, Zhao Feihong, Feng Rennan. Study on the relationship between water intake and chronic disease mortality and all-cause mortality[J]. Journal of Harbin Medical University, 2023, 57(6): 684-689

[5] Yang Yuexin, Ge Keyou. Chinese Nutrition Science Encyclopedia 2nd Edition (Volume 2)[M]. People's Medical Publishing House, 2019

Author: Xue Qingxin, registered nutritionist

Reviewer: Tang Qin, Director of the Science Popularization Department of the Chinese Medical Association, National Health Science Popularization Expert