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Water/hydration
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?
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?
no subject
I find that I will notice my lips getting dry before I notice I am thirsty - I don't always notice thirst, or may mistake it for hunger.
The simplest thing, for me, seems to be to keep some water around all the time - if it's there on my desk/beside my chair/in my bag I'll probably drink it, and if it isn't I may not think to get up and get some. If there isn't filtered water available I usually put a small quantity of squash in it, because I don't like the taste of London water, or just make some non-diuretic herbal tea (some of which is quite drinkable cold). It's somewhat difficult to have too much water if you're sipping regularly and not taking drugs/doing things that mess with electrolyte balance - I've treated UTIs by drinking loads of water and I really start to feel a bit like a fish and that I do not want any more water when I've had more than a few litres in a few hours (so, um, I stop then, and make sure I'm also eating).
Caffeine will make you pee more; I suspect that whether coffee/tea/etc cancels itself out probably depends on how strong it is - strong coffee is a stronger diuretic than weak tea. If you're thirsty, strong coffee is probably not your best option, but I don't think there's much harm in having the odd cup of coffee or tea if you have lots of water available to drink.