Water/hydration

[karen2205]

I'm sure I've rambled about this before, but I've never managed to come up with a good answer to the question of "how much water do I need to drink to stay hydrated?" that's founded on decent science.

Points made include:

'8 glasses of water a day' = 2 pints or so. [More is needed in hot weather, I know]
'coffee + tea + other caffeine containing drinks don't count 'cos they're dehydrating' - how does one make up for this? Do they simply 'not count' or does one drink additional water, on top of the 2 pints, to make for them?
'there's lots of water in some fruit and veg' - can this be deducted from the '8 glasses'?
'thirst isn't a reliable indicator of dehydration, by the time you're thirsty you're already 2% dehydrated'
'urine should be pale & copious'

What points am I missing? How do I coordinate them all into a nice, easy to apply strategy for drinking enough water?

Comments

[yady.livejournal.com]

Hm, I always thought 8 glasses was more like 4 pints (200-250 ml glasses)... Especially since the advice in the Netherlands is 'at least 1.5 liter', which comes down to 3 pints, and is considered to be on the low end (2 liter is also advised by some sources).

I usually don't count coffee towards the total, but do count tea. My tea is rather wealker than what is common in the UK though. I don't count soda either (light might count, but I avoid that for different reasons).

I think you can't just subtract fruit and veg from the water you drink, but it does add a little - maybe a quarter of the volume of the fruit/veg if consumed raw?

When you're getting dehydrated, it's not unusual to feel *hungry* first (as a general sign of 'body needs something, specifics not quite clear yet'). So it may be a good idea to drink some water when you feel hungry - if it goes away, it wasn't food you needed ;)

Usually, after having drank about 2 liters of water during the day, I find myself thirsty oin the afternoon/evening, while I am already over the recommended amount. My guess is that the mechanism behind this is something along the lines of my body noticing that water is available in abundance, so it might as well make use of it to get rid of some junk, or something. This is just a theory though.

I find it hard sometimes to tell the difference between thirst and a beginning throatache.

Don't forget to mention that sweating (hot weather and exercise) will make you require more water. 2 or 3 pints on a hot summer day or when you're going to the gym is not enough.

[yady.livejournal.com]

Oops, you already mentioned hot weather... missed that...

[karen2205]

I think I'm muddling pints and litres!

[yady.livejournal.com]

I usually count a pint as half a liter - I bought some pint glasses when I was in the UK and use them for drinking water when I'm at home. I keep track of what I drink in roughly 250 ml (half pint/quarter liter) units.