Drink enough water....
It's nothing new to you that you should make sure you drink enough every day. Some people have no problem with it at all, while others find it a real struggle. Furthermore, it's not just important to drink enough, but also to choose the right drinks.
It may sound complicated to you, but with the right tips and tricks, you can manage your fluid intake effortlessly. In this article, we'd like to tell you more about your daily water needs and reveal some secrets for getting your fluid balance under control.
You will also learn about the health benefits of drinking enough and which alternatives to water are also optimal for your body.
How to calculate your daily fluid needs
We all know that we need to drink enough to keep our bodies healthy. But do you really know how much you should drink daily? The rule of thumb is that you should drink 1.5 liters daily, and that you can cover the remaining fluid needs through food.
To do this, you need to know exactly how much fluid you need. This is easy to calculate. The formula is that you need 35 ml of fluid per kilogram of body weight. If you weigh 65 kg, the calculation would be 65 x 35. The result is 2275 ml, or 2.275 liters per day.
This guideline applies to healthy, moderately physically active people. If you suffer from kidney disease or a heart defect, you should definitely discuss this with your doctor. In this case, it might be advisable to drink less water to avoid placing additional strain on your body.
If you exercise a lot, sweat a lot, or regularly visit the sauna, your daily water requirement will increase accordingly. But don't let the amount of water scare you; there are great ways to meet your needs in a delicious way.
The daily water requirement, but does it always have to be just water?
Of course, water is best for your health. But freshly squeezed juices and smoothies are just as good. These have several additional benefits. One of them is certainly that homemade slow juices taste simply wonderful.
They also provide you with valuable minerals, vitamins, trace elements, and plant substances. Smoothies are also rich in fiber and really filling. If you drink a slow juice or smoothie for breakfast, for example, you'll meet some of your water needs, provide your body with essential nutrients, and help control your weight. So, you're killing two birds with one stone.
But there are also drinks that are absolutely not suitable for meeting your daily fluid needs. These include soft drinks like Coke, Fanta, and the like, but even supposedly healthy store-bought fruit juices are actually bad for your body. If you buy store-bought fruit juice, it's usually loaded with sugar. Furthermore, fruit juices often contain added colorings and artificial flavors.
So, if you're craving truly healthy, fresh, and delicious juices, fire up your slow juicer and prepare your own concoctions. It's fun to experiment with different fruits and vegetables, and you'll be amazed at how unusual and delicious these freshly squeezed juices are.
You shouldn't count alcoholic beverages in your total drinks either. Alcohol can dehydrate your body and is a recreational drug, not a beverage. The claim that coffee has a dehydrating effect belongs in the realm of myth and legend. Study results¹ show that while coffee can have a mild diuretic effect, it doesn't result in more fluid being excreted overall than with other beverages. Therefore, coffee doesn't have a dehydrating effect and contributes to your hydration just as much as water.
5 tips to help you not forget to drink

You shouldn't wait until you feel thirsty. As soon as you feel thirsty, it's a sign that your body is already suffering from dehydration. A dry mouth or persistently dry and flaky skin are signs that you're not drinking enough. Use the following tricks to remind yourself to always drink enough.
1. Put a glass of water on your bedside table in the evening
Of course, you shouldn't just put the glass of water down, but also drink it first thing in the morning, before you get up. A small 0.2-liter glass of water is enough. If you stick to this consistently, you'll notice a lot more energy after just a few days.
2. Make slow juicing a ritual
It's pure luxury to start the day with a glass of freshly squeezed juice. If you don't have the time or inclination to do so in the morning, you can prepare the juice the night before and store it in the refrigerator. Make a liter of juice in your slow juicer the night before. This way, you'll have a delicious drink for breakfast, and you can drink the rest throughout the day. You can also take the juice with you to work, school, university, or the gym. Simply try a new juice blend every day. This way, you'll not only supply your body with all the essential vitamins—variety is also fun.
3. Reach for infused water
Drinking pure water is healthy, but it can get boring over time. Simply make a pitcher of infused water and keep the carafe within sight. This will remind you to drink. Infused water is incredibly easy. All you have to do is add a few berries, a slice of melon, a few slices of lemon, fresh herbs, or other fruits and vegetables you like. This will give the water a delicate aroma and guarantee that it won't taste boring anymore.
4. Prepare tea and fruit juice spritzers
Here, it's all about variety. There are endless herbal and fruit teas. You can drink them hot or cold as iced tea. Spritzers are excellent thirst quenchers, low in calories, yet sweet and full of flavor.
5. Keep a drinking diary for a week
To track your daily water intake, you should keep a journal. There are great apps for this. You can also record your drinking habits in a notebook. After documenting your drinking habits for a week, you'll get a feel for it and quickly notice if you fall back into your old routine.
Take in fluids with food

Simply replace a meal with a smoothie every now and then. This will ensure you stay hydrated, provide your body with essential nutrients, and even help you lose weight.
You can also count soups as liquids. The same applies to fruits and vegetables. Many fruits and vegetables have a high water content. So, grab an apple or another piece of fruit every now and then, or nibble on a carrot if you get hungry while watching TV.
CONCLUSION
As you can see, it can be so easy to provide your body with sufficient fluids. You'll do your body a lot of good by doing so, and you'll notice the results quickly.
Your skin will become more elastic and your complexion rosier. Your skin will suddenly no longer be rough and flaky.
You may find that your headaches suddenly disappear, your puffy eyes suddenly become smooth and firm again, and you feel more focused and alert.
If you drink enough, you may find that your weight suddenly drops as if by magic. This is because your cravings disappear when you consistently drink enough.
We often confuse thirst with hunger. If you always drink enough, you'll hardly experience cravings, which negatively impact your weight. Furthermore, your body retains less water when it gets enough, which also helps you lose weight.
Sources:
1: No Evidence of Dehydration with Moderate Daily Coffee Intake: A Counterbalanced Cross-Over Study in a Free-Living Population (Link (accessed on February 2nd, 2021): https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0084154)