How much do you really need? And how can you make
sure you're getting enough?
That rule about drinking eight glasses of water
every day is not actually based on scientific evidence. In 2007, the BMJ
dubbed it
one of the most common medical myths.
As the Mayo Clinic explains, your body loses water every day as
you sweat, pee and breathe. It all needs to be replaced. If it does not, you're
looking at potential dehydration, which can either be annoying or pretty dang
awful: On the less serious end, you might have a headache, dry mouth, and dark
urine without enough water. But, as you become more dehydrated, you can develop
a rapid heart rate, rapid breathing.
So, yeah, it's definitely important to make sure
you're getting enough water. But the exact amount of water that we
each lose and need to replenish isn't as simple to figure out. As it turns out,
that daily requirement is going to be pretty different for everyone depending
on all sorts of factors. For instance, the amount of water you need to drink
every day will go up if you regularly work out, live in a warm or humid city,
have been dealing with a cold, or are pregnant or nursing, says the Mayo Clinic.
As a starting point, the National Institute of
Medicine recommends women consume 91 ounces of water per day (which,
truthfully, isn't that far off from the eight glasses thing). But it's crucial
that you adjust that guideline to take the rest of your lifestyle into account.
And, luckily, nature has gifted us with a few clues about when we need to drink
more or less water: In general, you should be fine as long as you drink when
you're thirsty and keep your urine on the lighter side
That said, it is possible to drink too
much water. you can drink so much water that it throws your body's sodium
levels out of whack. This condition, called hyponatremia,
can be serious and even deadly. So don't force yourself to drink more
water than you really need.
Let's also remember that drinking water doesn't
have to be a lame chore, even if you aren't the biggest fan of plain H2O: You
can get your fix in the form of sparkling water, tea, or even water-filled
foods (e.g. juicy berries and fresh cucumbers).
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