Water is one of the most important nutrients and is essential in every life stage – infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, breastfeeding, lactation and old age. Every day we lose water through our breath, skin, urine and bowels. Water intake must balance these losses, and an Adequate Intake (AI) for total water is set to prevent dehydration, which includes metabolic and functional abnormalities.
Water needs in the USA (according to the Food and Nutrition Board)
* National Research Council. Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate . Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2005.