While you go to work, run errands, exercise and go about life, your body loses about eight to 10 glasses of water throughout the day. So how much should you drink to keep hydrated?
While Mom may have taught you to drink six to eight glasses of water a day, Randy Hemann, a family medical practitioner at Olmsted Medical Center in Rochester, said that it isn't scientifically supported and that it might be outdated.
"Nobody really knew why anybody said eight in the first place," Hemann said. "It kind of sprang up over the years and over the decades without any scientific proof."
He said people take in about four or more glasses of water on average through their food, especially when eating foods that are high in water content, such as watermelon and tomatoes. To make up for the eight to 10 glasses lost throughout the day by sweating, breathing, digesting and urinating, he recommends paying attention to your body.
If you are edging on dehydration, you might start to feel lightheaded or have decreased urination.
"Your brain is really good at telling you when you're thirsty," Hemann said. "You probably just need another four glasses of water, coffee, juice or something like that to even everything out."
Contrary to popular belief, coffee and carbonated drinks do not need to be canceled out with a glass of water. Hemann said the human body will take those drinks as part of the daily fluid intake.
That doesn't apply to alcohol.
