Here we go – its Day 3 Nutrition and Hydration Week and today we raise the question: Do you think you drink enough every day?  Do you know how much enough is? And perhaps: Do you know someone else that may need their fluid intake monitoring or encouragement to drink more? 

Lets think about that for a minute – there are lots of factors that can influence how much you should be drinking for optimum hydration – your age, gender, activity levels for a start.  What about the weather, illness/recovery, the foods you’re eating, are you training/exercising regularly…..?  Taking these factors on board, here are recommendations for average fluid intake (UK):

The European Food Safety Authority recommend: 2.5 litres of water for men and 2.0 litres of water for women per day, via food and drink consumption

The British Nutrition Foundation recommend: 1.6L of fluid per day for women (about 8 200ml glasses) and 2L of fluid per day for men (about 10 200ml glasses) This is in fluid alone, so using the 80/20 rule we talked about yesterday (ie 80% fluid intake from drinks and 20% from foods) this works out the same as the EFSA.

Here at no nonsense, we like the following recommendation from the UK NHS best: “Studies have tried to establish a recommended daily fluid intake, but it can vary depending on the individual and factors such as age, climate and physical activity. A good rule is to drink enough fluid so that you’re not thirsty for long periods, and to steadily increase your fluid intake when exercising and during hot weather. Passing clear urine (wee) is a good sign that you’re well hydrated”.

So – Day 3 Nutrition and Hydration Week check yourself, check your family, check your friends your colleagues, your class and anyone else you know is getting enough.  And do me a favour – if you find anyone who’s not getting enough, GRADUALLY increase fluid intake.  I don’t want the blame for the inconvenience of too many trips to the loo!

• Remember to check out Nutrition and Hydration Week here: www.nutritionandhydrationweek.co.uk
• Remember to follow @NHWeek on Twitter and Tweet us @nononsensenita with any tips, info, events you are taking part in.
• Remember to sign up on the right for our newsletter so all this info and more can find its way conveniently to your inbox without you having to do anything further…..
• And contact me on info@nitakothari.com for further details or consultation on personal nutrition and hydration.  This week we are offering discounts on all consultations booked when mentioning Nutrition and Hydration Week 2016.
• And finally remember we are also on Facebook / Instagram / Google+ sharing news, info, pics on Nutrition and Hydration all this week so come and share too

(sources for info as above will all be in this weeks blog to be published tomorrow – Thursday 17.03.16 – please sign up for the newsletter on the right for sources and for the blog – you can of course unsubscribe at any time and its all free)