Drink Properly: How, When and How Much? – The Most Important Tips and Mistakes

Since the human body consists largely of water, it is vital to drink regularly and properly. In order to hydrate your body sufficiently, it is not always advisable to rely solely on your gut feeling, as the feeling of thirst is often no longer noticed in everyday stress.

Drink properly – why you should drink a lot

The adult human body consists of more than 50 to 60 percent water, which is required for vital processes. Among other things, water is a large component of our cells or blood and transports nutrients in the body. The kidneys are responsible for excreting water and metabolic products.

• According to the official recommendations of the German Society for Nutrition eV (DGE), adults should drink about 1.5 liters of water a day for the body to function properly.
• If you drink less than 1 liter of water per day, there is a lack of water in which the body is no longer sufficiently supplied with liquid.
• A rule of thumb provides you with an initial guide to how much you should drink per day: According to this, you should drink 0.03 liters of water per kilo of body weight per day. With a body weight of 70 kg, this corresponds to 2.1 liters of liquid. However, this rule only offers a rough guideline, as it only includes body weight and ignores other factors.
• Therefore, in very warm or extremely cold temperatures, if you play sports or engage in physical activity in everyday life or at work, you should significantly increase your fluid intake. The same applies if you are ill and suffer from fever, diarrhea or vomiting. Then you should also calculate 0.5 -1.0 liters of water per hour.
• Drink enough, not only improve your performance and ability to concentrate. The skin’s metabolism is also boosted, resulting in a smoother and fresher complexion.
• Drinking a lot can also help you lose weight. Because the brain areas that regulate hunger and thirst are so close together, we can sometimes confuse hunger with thirst. Therefore, first drink a glass of water before you eat anything. In addition, with sufficient fluid intake, you support a healthy metabolism, which is essential for health.

This is how you ensure adequate fluid intake

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, many people tend to forget to drink. With a few tips that you constantly follow, you can avoid a lack of water.

• Drink regularly throughout the day and it is best to always have a bottle next to you if you tend to forget to drink. Also drink a glass of water with meals.
• If your urine is very dark, you should take this as a warning sign and pay more attention to your fluid intake. You can also use the skin turgor test on the back of your hand to see whether you are drinking enough or not.
• If you are unsure whether you are drinking enough, keep a kind of diary for a few days of how much you are actually drinking. This will help you better estimate your fluid intake.
• There are now also drinking apps that remind you to drink something.
• Water, diluted juice spritzers (ratio 1:3 or 1:4) as well as fruit and herbal teas are best suited to sufficiently hydrate the body. On the other hand, you should avoid sugary drinks, and it is best to drink your tea without sugar. In this way you actively reduce the risk of becoming overweight or diabetic.
• Drinks containing caffeine and theobromine such as coffee, mate and black or green tea should be consumed in moderation. Although they also hydrate your body, their consumption should be limited to 3 to 4 cups per day due to the stimulating ingredients.
• Last but not least, you are doing something good for yourself if you eat water-rich fruits and vegetables such as watermelons, cucumbers or tomatoes. You can also supply a few hundred milliliters of liquid with it.

Water intake: Dehydration and “too much” water

According to the DGE, in extreme cases, a person can only do without liquid for between two and four days. However, if you tend to drink too little in everyday life, you should counteract this at the latest when you notice one or more of the following symptoms.

• A lack of fluids is primarily noticeable through tiredness, headaches, poor concentration and an increased heart rate.
• This is because blood and tissues essentially thicken when they are underhydrated.
• Constipation is also a common result of not drinking enough water. Older people in particular also suffer more quickly from confusion.
• If you drink far too little for a few days, this leads to circulatory and kidney failure. Therefore, especially in summer, make sure that older people drink enough, because dehydration can be life-threatening.
• On the other hand, you usually don’t have to worry about drinking too much. Healthy organisms excrete excess fluid through the kidneys. However, people with kidney problems should be careful. In this case, your doctor will discuss with you how much liquid you should drink.
• In extremely rare cases, however, hyponatremia, water intoxication, can occur. This can affect (inexperienced) extreme athletes, for example, whose bodies demineralize more quickly under high physical stress. If you drink too much at the same time, this endangers the electrolyte balance, which can lead to dizziness, cramps and, in the worst case, death – but you would have to drink a few liters of water within a short period of time.

Five misconceptions about drinking water

There are a number of misconceptions and myths surrounding the vital commodity of water. If you are aware of this, you can optimally regulate your required liquid intake.

• ” At least two liters of water per day “: The statement that one should drink at least two liters of water per day is not true. The amount of 1.5 liters of liquid per day is necessary – but if you eat large amounts of water-containing food, for example, you also have to drink less water. Your age, weight, activity, health and external factors such as the weather also play an important role.
• ” Don’t drink anything while eating “: That’s also a myth: feel free to drink during meals, because the metabolism and the utilization of nutrients require liquid.
• ” Coffee dries out the body “: This assumption has now also been refuted. Since coffee consists almost entirely of water, it also supplies your body with liquid and does not deprive it of water.
• “ Still water is healthier than carbonated water ”: It is important that you drink water – whether it is carbonated or still water is up to you. However, still water has the advantage that you do not have to burp and do not get hiccups. It can also be more pleasant for the stomach to drink still water during sport, as the carbonic acid exerts a slight stretching stimulus on the stomach.
• ” Fruit juices are healthy “: Jain – as described above, it depends on the mixture. It is best to press fruit juice yourself to preserve the important nutrients. On the other hand, do without nectars, concentrates and syrups, as they contain a lot of sugar but almost no nutrients and vitamins.