The quantity of water required for the body functions depends on several factors such as age, climate, season, physical activity, type of food consumed, amount of condiments and spices used for cooking, the water content in the food, salt intake, etc. Normally, our daily diet provides about two-thirds of the body's requirement of water. Some health practitioners suggest that you drink about eight to ten glasses of water every day to meet the remaining one-third of the body's requirement. You also need to drink a lot of water when you are tired and or are sweating profusely. One should avoid drinking water while eating food, as digestion of the food is likely to be adversely affected.
Water also dilutes the digestive juices in the stomach, thus leading to indigestion.
It is desirable that you drink water on an empty stomach or three hours after food or one and half-hours before food. Avoid regular use of straws for drinking water and or fluids. It is better to drink pure water to which no minerals are added. However, water from natural sources may contain minerals that can be beneficial to the body in specific conditions due to their reaction and affinity towards the mineral content in the food. Lowers the body temperature.