How much water should you drink on a daily basis?

The amount of hydration depends on your height, muscle mass, fat mass, activity level, activity duration, weather conditions, types of foods consumed, and your health condition. Hydration is very individualized.

Sometime ago someone started saying eight glasses of eight ounces of water daily is sufficient for hydration. But, let's put this into perspective and look at it a bit closer. Does a person of small stature say five feet with a moderate build need more or less water than someone who is six feet in height and very lean? Can you answer that question without seeing either person or knowing their lifestyle? Even I cannot, because there are so many factors to consider such as, what types of foods do they predominantly eat?, how often do they exercise?, do they live in a dry climate?, what kind of work do they do - sit for eight to ten hours a day or walk a huge warehouse sized building from dawn to dusk?, is their build more muscular or do they have excess fatty tissue (and yes a lean(skinny) person can have more fatty tissue then muscle), how well do they sleep?, how aggressively do they sweat?, etc. I can come up with more questions that pertain to living styles affecting fluid balance in the body. Averaging intakes of water or food for that matter for the population really is just a guide line, a place to start. The intake and fluid need are dependent on the individual person and their activity level.

Well, how can you tell if you are drinking enough fluids? Easy!! The best tool to determine whether you are hydrated enough is to use the color of your urine. The water in the small cistern should turn a slight yellowy color. You should be able to tell that you have peed! Having it completely clear with no color could indicate a possibility of over hydration which is called hyponatremia(low Na volume in the blood solution). Having it too dark is definitely a marker that you are fairly dehydrated (meaning not enough fluid in the body for it to function properly so it is not sending much to the kidney's). Remember, if you are taking medications or vitamin/mineral supplements, there are some that can brighten the color or change the hue of urine so take that into account too. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about these medicines and supplements.

My advice to all is to increase or decrease your water intake according to the color of your urine, your activity level, and the environmental conditions. If you plan to be more active add fruits and electrolyte beverages to take along with your water. Gaining hydration from various methods takes away the monotony of just drinking water. Learn YOUR body's response to daily activity. Everyone is unique and though we are all humans - we all react differently to similar situations. Your best bet is to always carry water with you, it really is the elixir of life.

If you would like to have an individual consultation, check out the booking tab on the site or send me a message if you would like to set up a different time.

Georgianna Broadwell, MPH, RD, LD

a1changingdimensions@gmail.com