How do I know I’m drinking enough?
Simply waiting for the sensation of thirst is not a good enough sign of a need to drink – by the time we feel thirsty our body is already dehydrated and potentially suffering some of the effects. Equally, simply drinking to eliminate the feeling of thirst does not fully hydrate the body.

The best indicator of good hydration is urine colour!  You can use this urine chart to gauge your hydration throughout the day. As a general guide, the paler the colour of your urine, the better hydrated you are. The darker the colour of your urine, the more dehydrated you are.

Keep tabs on the colour of your urine throughout the day so that you can correct poor hydration quickly.The earlier you detect that you’re dehydrated, the quicker you will be able to re-hydrate.

What drinks count?
Water from the tap is a great choice, not least because it’s readily available and free. Other drinks count towards our total fluid intake too; milk, fruit juice, tea, coffee and soft drinks are all over 85% water and can be included in total fluid intake.

It’s not only drinks that can help you top-up your fluid levels. Lots of fruit and vegetables are also great sources of water.

For example:
🥒Cucumber (96% water)
🍅Tomatoes (95% water)
🥬Iceberg lettuce (95% water)
🍉Watermelon (93% water)
🍓Strawberries (91% water)
🥛Skim or soy milk (91% water)
🍍Pineapple (86%water)

Good hydration is critical to health and keeps our bodies performing at their best, not only in terms of all the processes that go on but also keeping our levels of concentration up.

The best advice is to keep a bottle of water close by to top up fluid levels regularly and keep thirst away!