I have again recently had various conversations with friends regarding the amount of water that one should drink on a daily basis because when I tell them that their headache or fatigue may be due to dehydration they always say, “But I do drink water!â€
The fact that I know that the one friend who always complains of a headache may drink one glass of water per day, at a stretch notwithstanding, there is no “one amount for all†when it comes to how much water we should be drinking on a daily basis; it all depends on various factors that are unique to each of us.
What it really comes down to, is how much water leaves your body in any given day – one must always maintain the same balance of water in your body, so it makes sense that what goes out must be replaced. This will depend on various factors, as stated above, including age, gender, general health, weight, physical activity, and environmental conditions.
There are two main methods of losing water, or of the body getting rid of it; urination and sweating. Just how much water your body gets rid of will depend on factors such as the weather, how active you are, your diet, your fluid intake, and even how you are dressed. If it is hot and you are playing volleyball on the beach for instance, you will be sweating and probably drinking a lot of cold liquids so will be losing a lot of fluid, therefore will need to drink more than if you are sitting watching television on a nice cool afternoon.
As you can see, the old adage of everyone must drink eight glasses of water per day is completely wrong; you need to drink as much as your circumstances dictate. The best way to ensure that you are drinking enough water is to start and end your day with a nice large glass of water and drink a few more in-between; if you are urinating a lot for any reason, drink more; if you are sweating because it is hot, drink more; and if you are doing something physical, drink more.
A very quick and accurate way to check whether you are sufficient hydrated or not is by checking the colour of your urine; if it is the colour of straw/a pale yellow, you are sufficiently hydrated – the darker it is the more dehydrated you are and the more you need to drink water to rehydrate.
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