Drinking the right amount of water every day is vital to maintain a healthy body, both inside and out – but how much is enough?
Well, we do need to be sipping away during the day as the latest thinking from medical research group the Mayo Clinic (www.mayoclinic.org) suggests women should be drinking 2.2 litres of water per day and men 3 litres.
But if you’re taking a lot of exercise then the recommended amount rises to between 3 to 5 litres.
The current thinking for children is that 5 to 8-year-olds should drink I litre of water a day with older ones around 1.5 litres.
Water is best but sugar-free drinks like milk, herbal tea, tea and coffee (in moderation) count too.
Oh! and in case you’re wondering, alcohol does not count towards your daily liquid intake.
Drinking the right amount of water means your body is hydrated and your skin will be moist and elastic – which makes for a younger looking you.
Other benefits include healthy, regular bowel movements and H2O also flushes waste products from your kidneys and liver.
And did you know – drinking water can actually help you lose weight.
An obesity study in 2010 discovered that a group of people who drank two glasses of water before each meal lost about 4 lbs over 12 weeks.
The thinking behind the results are two-fold.
Firstly water fills you up, so you eat less.
Secondly, water can slightly increase your metabolic rate because it burns extra calories warming water up to the right temperate for your body to cope with.
So what’s not to like? Get sipping.
