The answer you will almost always hear is, "Drink eight glasses of water a day". You'll hear this whether you are male or female, young or older, active or sedentary. In reality there is a formula to figure out how much water you, as an individual, should have.
Where did this number come from? The best way to calculate your fluid needs is in relationship to how many calories you eat per day, as well as your activity level. A truly healthy amount of fluid to take in for adequate hydration is one milliliter of water for each calorie consumed; additional water must be added to replace losses which occur from sweating--either through activity or on particularly hot days. Look at the formula: provide one milliliter of water for each calorie you consume. An average calorie intake is 2000 per day. If we take 2000 milliliters of water per day and divide by 240 milliliters (which is equal to one 8-ounce cup), we'll find the number of cups of water per day to be exactly 8-1/3. Voila! That is how the 'magic' number of eight cups per day came to be!
12 OUNCES EQUALS
How many calories do you take in per day? Depending on how active you are, how much you weigh, your gender, and your age, this number can range easily from 1500 calories per day to over 3000. This means that smaller, older, less active women may in fact remain very well hydrated with only (1500 ml/240 ml per cup) about six glasses of water per day. A large man who is tall, young, and active might eat 3000 calories per day and he would need at least 12 glasses of water each day for adequate hydration.
The other common question is, "What counts as water?" Many professionals insist that pure water is the only way to really meet your fluid needs. But evidence is mounting that practically any fluids you drink can be counted towards your glasses per day as you add them up. Juices, for instance, are not 100% fluid because there are other components present such as fruit sugar and sometimes a small amount of fiber. But technically this shouldn't make the difference of more than one ounce in a glass. Teas, coffees and sodas which contain caffeine were shunned as a hydrating beverage, citing evidence that the caffeine actually increases the rate of urination and can further dehydrate a person; recently there have been several studies refuting this theory. Most health professionals today will encourage you to drink adequate fluid in whatever form works for you: If you like to flavor your water with a little juice, tea, or powdered drink mix, the most important thing is that you are getting water into your body.
Here are a few ways to keep well hydrated every day, no matter how much water is right for you.
1. Drink whenever you are thirsty. By the time you sense thirst you have actually already started to dehydrate. You should drink enough so that you do not get thirsty, but if you do, you definitely need to start drinking right away.
2. When consuming caffeine-containing beverages or alcohol, drink some extra plain water in between to compensate for the diuretic effect these drinks might have.
3. Drink at least one glass of water with every meal, and between every meal. This will have you well on your way to the number of glasses you need in a day.
4. When exercising keep water with you and keep sipping on it to be sure you get in 8-16 ounces per hour, depending on your activity level. Trying to drink eight ounces after an exercise routine is likely to upset your stomach.
Keeping up your fluid intake to meet your needs will assure you remain well-hydrated every day. You may be quite surprised at how much better you'll feel if this isn't something you are used to doing!
How Much Do I Need to Drink and Does it Really Have to Be Water? 12 OUNCES EQUALS
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