Just how much water we need to drink on a daily basis depends on many factors, including our health, how active we are and where we live.
Although no single formula fits everyone, knowing more about your body’s need for fluids will help you estimate how much water to drink each day.
So, how much should I drink?
To stay healthy, it’s important to replace the fluid we lose when we breathe, sweat or urinate. As mentioned above, the amount a person needs to drink to avoid getting dehydrated will vary depending on a range of factors. Such factors include their size, temperature and how active they are. So, for example, if you’re exercising hard in hot weather you’ll obviously need to drink more.
We get some fluid from our food, but most comes from drinks.
The European Food Safety Authority recommends that women should drink about 1.6 litres of fluid and men should drink about 2 litres of fluid per day. That’s about eight glasses of 200ml each for a woman, and 10 glasses of 200ml each for a man.
For our liquid top-up, the NHS advises that all drinks count, including hot drinks such as tea and coffee, but water, milk and fruit juices are the healthiest. However, it is best to avoid alcoholic drinks.
Combating dehydration
You should be aware of when dehydration is developing. One of the first signs is feeling thirsty. More serious signs of dehydration include:
- An unpleasant feeling of light-headedness
- Headaches
- Lack of energy
- Urine is a darker than normal colour and you are not passing much urine
The answer to these symptoms is below…
Drink more water!
Water is the healthiest choice for quenching your thirst at any time. It has no calories and contains no sugars that can damage teeth. There is now a growing trend for parents to give pre-teen children water rather than sweet fizzy drinks. This may not always be the kids’ favourite choice, but it does save young teeth from early decay problems, and the nil-sugar content of water can only be of benefit in a generally over-weight society.
See also: The Properties of Aloe Vera
