Are you drinking enough water this summer? Maybe not, and that can have huge implications for your health.
In general, eight to 10 glasses of water a day is the recommended amount for adults. But that's assuming you aren't doing anything to *speed up* how much water you're losing, and it's not just a hot day that does it.
The average adult naturally loses about 10 cups of water a day. But exercising just 30 minutes in hot, humid weather can leave you seriously dehydrated.
Plan on drinking five to 10 ounces of water every 20 minutes during a summer workout.
Several types of prescription drugs can also sap your body of water -- especially high blood pressure medications. Ask your doctor if that's a risk with any prescriptions you take regularly.
Stress is also a sneaky dehydrator. It produces a hormone that can throw your fluid level out of whack.
Persistent dehydration can cause serious health problems, chronic headaches ... and bad breath.
The water content in coffee is so high it's not dehydrating, in spite of the caffeine.
Alcoholic drinks on the other hand will dehydrate you.
Eating foods with a high water content is a good idea. For example -- an apple is 84-percent water and broccoli is 91-percent. But you only get 20 percent of the water you need from the food you eat.
Humans come with a built-in dehydration gauge. It's called urine.
If you're drinking enough water, it should be lightly colored and you should be going regularly.
If it's getting dark, you're going less often, or it's uncomfortable, that is a definite sign you are dehydrated
Finally, people often ask me if it's possible to drink *too much* water. Technically it is -- it's called "water intoxication." It occurs when you drink *very large amounts in a short period of time, but it's not a risk with normal water consumption.