Written by: Dr. Tamara Kung, ND
We all hear that we should be drinking 8 glasses of water a day, but this standard advice is actually not supported by any evidence. You may have witnessed that water intake can vary dramatically between individuals.
Here are two ways to help you narrow in on what your individual body needs depending on your size, sex, and activity levels.
- Divide your weight in pounds by 2.2
- Multiply your result by the number below associated with your age range:
- <30 years, multiply by 40
- 30-55 years, multiply by 35
- >55 years, multiply by 30
- Divide your result by 28.3 to achieve the amount of water you require each day in ounces (divide this by 33 to get your answer in litres).
Alternately, you can plug in your metrics on this hydration calculator which also factors in activity level, sex, and country. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include Canada yet, but you can put Spain or the UK as that shares our same latitude.
Another simple indicator is to look at the colour of your urine. We’re aiming for pale yellow or straw coloured. Anything darker tells us that we are dehydrated.
What about using thirst to help you determine hydration. The saying goes “if you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated.” This also hasn’t been substantiated by any evidence, but research does show that athletes who report being thirsty perceive higher levels of exertion.
Know that 20% of your water intake comes from food, especially high sources of your unprocessed foods. Your favourite fruits and veggies do the job nicely!
While caffeine is a mild diuretic, the net gain in fluid intake is larger than the loss. This can’t be said for alcohol, however, where there is a net loss.
Most of us are busy throughout the day, and staying hydrated can easily slip our minds. Here are some tips to help you build up the habit.
- Visualize a river, a full flowing river in your body helps deliver nutrients that nourish and heal every cell, and organ in your body. If the river is dried up, it doesn’t matter how healthy you eat, none of the nutrients can get to where they need to be, they just sit on dry river bed. A dried river also cannot remove the waste, so toxins start building up in our bodies. This is why we need to keep our rivers flowing full and strong. To deliver nutrients to every inch of us, and to carry away the garbage so it doesn’t pile up and cause chronic inflammation.
- Get a water bottle that’s at least 750 mL and have it with you throughout your day.
- Set two alarms on your phone, pick a time that makes sense for your schedule. Make sure it’s a sound that is pleasant to you! Ex:
- Alarm 1 = 12pm, finish your first bottle
- Alarm 2 = 7pm, finish your second bottle
- If your bottle is smaller, you may have your goals to finish two bottles by 12pm as an example.
Staying hydrated is the most accessible and extremely effective way to boost your health. It contributes to not just looking younger, but also keeping your immune system strong, supporting mental health, and reducing obesity.
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