The benefits of drinking lots of water – better skin, better immunity, less headaches etc etc – have been instilled in most of us from an early age. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve interviewed a celebrity who has preached the benefits of ‘drinking a tonne of water’ and credited this simple health hack for their Benjamin Button-esque ageing process.
Of course, the fact that water is healthy isn’t exactly new information. Nevertheless, studies keep confirming that, yes, staying hydrated is good. Just last week, a new study led by researchers at the University of California San Francisco found that around eight cups of water a day could help with everything from headaches to bloating to kidney stones.
And whilst we all know the plethora of benefits that drinking water has on our health, how many of us can actually say we drink enough every day? In fact, do you even know how much you should be drinking? As it turns out, most of us only get half of the recommended daily amount — and a shocking 15% sometimes go a whole day without a single glass of water.
We’ve asked a roster of experts to talk us through exactly how much water we should be downing a day (spoiler: it’s a lot more than you probably thought), as well as some handy hacks for upping your intake.
So, how much water should we drink each day?
According to Sonia Khan, Community Pharmacist at Medicine Direct, the recommended amount of water each day differs for men and women. Men should aim to drink around 3.7 litres (15.5 cups) of water each day, while women should be drinking around 2.7 litres (11 cups).
“Your body loses a lot of water every day through normal functions such as urinating, bowel movements, breathing and perspiring. For this reason, it is important to top up your fluid supply by drinking water regularly throughout the day,” she said.
Martin MacDonald, MSc PgCert PgDip, Director of Mac-Nutrition & Founder of Mac-Nutrition Uni, adds that the easiest way to know how much to drink is to monitor your own hydration status by checking your urine.
“Your wee should be relatively clear, if it’s a straw/yellow, dark colour with a strong smell, that’s a really good indicator that you need to drink more,” he said. There’s a urine colour chart you can find online if you want to be really fancy.
Do soft drinks, juice, tea, coffee, etc. contribute to this?
Dr Giuseppe Aragona explains that other drinks such as juice and tea can contribute to your daily fluid intake, however drinking water is more beneficial in terms of your overall hydration.
“The water in coffee and tea can help us meet our daily fluid needs, however caffeine does have a diuretic effect which means that it can actually cause us to lose water from the body and may promote dehydration, so it’s best to ensure you are drinking a good amount of water as well as other beverages,” he said.
