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Nutrition How much water should I drink per day to be healthy?

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Nobody (and I really mean NOBODY) can tell you.
The "recommended" 2l per day (or any other prescribed figure) is totaly arbitrary.
It depends on your activity lever, how salty you eat (don't hesitate to generously salt you food, just another myth), how much you sweat ...

The easy way: drink as you are thirsty and don't bother hitting x amount.
 
@Marc, can you point me to the research?

To give friends who bothers me about my salt use, which is very moderate.

Sodium Misinformation

There is an abundance of misinformation on sodium intake, as well as other diet and nutrition information. The irony is the much of it has and continues to be perpetuated by medical physicians who have virtually no education in nutrition (6 hours of college classes) from decades ago.

Physician don't have time time or inclination to keep up with information on tops like this; yet they have no problem "Educating" (misinforming) other, like your friend on this.

With that said, sodium intake is rarely an issue for the majority of healthy individuals; it only a health factor for individual with certain health conditions.

The fact is, sodium is an important mineral that we need, especially when training. As per...

Sodium, Your Secret Weapon | T Nation

Studies in Canada at McGill and McMaster Universities have concluded that unless one has a specific and serious condition that would preclude him from taking in salt, then salt intake will produce no negative health problems, and could actually be health promoting. As a matter of fact, only 10% of hypertension cases have a known cause, and in almost all of these cases, the cause was either genetic or stress related.

...High-performance athletes should not avoid sodium. They should, in fact, ensure that they get adequate amounts of sodium every day to prevent negative metabolic consequences, and to promote maximum performance.

The article above go into greater depth in explaining the importance of sodium for athletes.

..."Can you point me to the research?"

There is plenty of research that you can find on this if you are willing to invest some time in googling it.

Kenny Croxdale
 
Just my uneducated opinion but I think people worry about it too much. For most of life, drink water when you're thirsty. If your pee is darker than a light yellow, drink more water.

There's times when this might be less accurate but, as far as I know, I've been fine doing it this way.
 
It is best information for how much water we should have to drink atleast 3-5 ltr water

"Drinking At Least 3 - 5 liters"???

This is an incredulous poor recommendation. No one needs to drink that amount of water per day unless you are in the Death Valley in the middle of summer.

Someone who is consuming that much water will be living in the bathroom.

Common Sense

the hansenator, post #8, provides some good common sense. As does...

Marc, post # 3, "...Drink as you are thirsty and don't bother hitting x amount."

Kenny Croxdale
 
"Drinking At Least 3 - 5 liters"???

This is an incredulous poor recommendation. No one needs to drink that amount of water per day unless you are in the Death Valley in the middle of summer.

Someone who is consuming that much water will be living in the bathroom.

Common Sense

the hansenator, post #8, provides some good common sense. As does...

Marc, post # 3, "...Drink as you are thirsty and don't bother hitting x amount."

Kenny Croxdale

It depends upon what you are doing and how you want to perform... 3 liters would be woefully short (and dangerous) on a long high altitude climb, as it would also be on a six hour bike race...

(A rider in a Tour de France stage could consume upwards of 10 liters of liquid per day.... I agree not typical for most of us but perfectly non-incredulous in this context)
 
The original question is much too vague and this is really better Googled.

I drink when I’m thirsty.

-S-
Good advice.... under more or less normal circumstances, but dehydration can sneak up on a person really quickly. Drinking before one feels thirsty is one way to combat this. This is especially so at altitude or in the cold, when one is engaged in endurance activities.

You can't rely on thirst alone, and doing so is why many people find themselves in dangerous situations.
 
Sodium Misinformation

There is an abundance of misinformation on sodium intake, as well as other diet and nutrition information. The irony is the much of it has and continues to be perpetuated by medical physicians who have virtually no education in nutrition (6 hours of college classes) from decades ago.

Physician don't have time time or inclination to keep up with information on tops like this; yet they have no problem "Educating" (misinforming) other, like your friend on this.

With that said, sodium intake is rarely an issue for the majority of healthy individuals; it only a health factor for individual with certain health conditions.

The fact is, sodium is an important mineral that we need, especially when training. As per...

Sodium, Your Secret Weapon | T Nation

Studies in Canada at McGill and McMaster Universities have concluded that unless one has a specific and serious condition that would preclude him from taking in salt, then salt intake will produce no negative health problems, and could actually be health promoting. As a matter of fact, only 10% of hypertension cases have a known cause, and in almost all of these cases, the cause was either genetic or stress related.

...High-performance athletes should not avoid sodium. They should, in fact, ensure that they get adequate amounts of sodium every day to prevent negative metabolic consequences, and to promote maximum performance.

The article above go into greater depth in explaining the importance of sodium for athletes.

..."Can you point me to the research?"

There is plenty of research that you can find on this if you are willing to invest some time in googling it.

Kenny Croxdale
Absolutely! Salt is necessary for life. So is water. I enjoy both.
 
I guess the optimal amount of water really depends on your tendency to sweat, your daily physical activity level, as well as weather conditions (humidity, temperature).
Obviously, If you're thristy, drink. I once read in some army manual "if it's a strong yellow and stinks, drink more", which I think is a good rule of thumb, and you don't really need to far beyond that.

Of course if you have a medical condition like kidney stone, ask your MD.

When I get too engrossed with my work or gaming and I get thirsty, I often find myself procrastinating the trip to the water fountain.
Solution: Always have a 1.5-2L bottle of water on your desk, take a sip every now and then until empty at the end of the work-day. If you feel you need more than that, just fill it up once more and repeat the process. I generally feel best with a total of 2-3L a day.
 
8 cups a day, plus whatever water is in milk & almond milk. My urine is pretty clear except for that first wiz of the day, I'm good.
 
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