Water: sip, don't chug

People who say "I drink loads of water" usually mean, when pressed, a glass with their tablets and the ice in a gin. It's said with total conviction, like "I'm a very good driver" and "I'd be great on Mastermind". Most of us have no idea how much we drink. So let's have an actual number, and then you can decide whether "loads" was a lie or just optimism.

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The NHS Eatwell Guide suggests 6 to 8 cups or glasses of fluid a day. Water, lower-fat milk, tea, coffee and sugar-free drinks all count. Fruit juice and smoothies count too, but keep them to 150ml a day in total because of the sugar.¹

You'll need more on hot days and when you sweat. A simple check: drink enough that your pee is a pale colour. Dark yellow, strong-smelling pee means you need more.²

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You'll see him in every gym in Britain. A grown man at the water fountain, head tipped back, downs a litre in one go like he's just crawled out of the Sahara after three weeks with the Foreign Legion. In fact he's done one set on the leg press and spent the rest of the session on his phone. He'll then spend forty minutes walking very briskly to the toilets, and back, and to the toilets again, which in fairness is the most cardio he'll do all session.

Your body isn't a camel and it isn't a petrol tank. You can't brim it on Monday and drive it till Thursday. Sipping through the day and drinking when you're thirsty is what the experts recommend.³

Next: Too much is a thingBack to the contents

It's rare, but people can drink so much during long exercise that the salt in their blood gets dangerously diluted. It's called hyponatraemia (hy-po-nat-REE-mee-uh), and it's mostly seen in marathons and long endurance events, where people drink far more than they sweat out. The expert advice is to drink to thirst rather than forcing fluids down.³

Next: What about sports drinks?Back to the contents

For a walk or a 30-minute home session, water is plenty. Sports drinks are made for long, hard, sweaty efforts, and plenty of them come with a good dollop of sugar and a colour not found in nature. Check the label. If it glows, ask yourself why.

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