Are you drinking enough?

By: Alexis Jetter

If drinking eight glasses of water a day has you wearing a path to the toilet, set down your cup and relaxes. Drinking water can be a good substitute for the higher-kilojoules beverages.

But there is no proof we all need to drink the oft-recommended eight glasses of water a day, according to Dartmouth Medical School physiologist Heinz Valtin.

“Proponents of eight glasses say that every one of us, including couch potatoes, should drink that much,” says Valtin. “And it’s just not true.”

We have finely tuned system for regulating water flow, including an antidiuretic hormone that tells the kidneys when to keep water, and thirst, which normally kicks in well before we dehydrate.

Juice works as well as water, and caffeinated drinks count too. Nearly half the body’s water needs are derived from food.

Some people do need more water, including patients with kidney stones, people who exercise hard and those in hot climates.

For most, drinking more won’t hurt, but trust your body. “If you drink when you’re thirsty,” says Valtin, “you should be safe.”

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