How much water should I be drinking?

2 litres or 8 glasses of water a day is the common mantra, which is based on the assumption that generally speaking, the body uses between 1 to 1.5 litres of water each day. Given our body is made up of 50-75% water, it’s vital to drink enough to ensure good digestion, regular bowel movements, carry nutrients around the body, cushion our organs and remove waste. However, how much water we need depends on a myriad of things including activity levels, body size, the weather and metabolism. Sweat from exercise, temperature and humidity results in a loss of body fluid, which obviously needs to be replenished to avoid dehydration. It’s important to know your body’s signs of dehydration and understand that by the time you’re thirsty, your body already needs water. Other tell-tale signs of dehydration are: 

• Fatigue

• Dry mouth

• Headaches

• Constipation

• Dizziness

• Dark coloured urine

8 glasses of water may seem excessive if you’re sitting at your computer all day in cooler weather. However, the recommended daily water intake does include other drinks such as tea, coffee, milk and juice and some foods particularly fruit and vegetables and wet foods such as soups. Here are a few tips to make water more interesting:

• Add refreshing ingredients such as mint, ginger, citrus fruits or cucumber

• Make it bubbly

• Drink herbal tea – your body will thank you for the added health benefits

• Change up your ice cubes – add in frozen berries for extra flavour

• Warm up in winter with a vegetable or chicken broth, or a light soup

 Just avoid buying bottled water. Show the environment some love, buy a reusable bottle and appreciate good old H2O from the tap.