Eight glasses a day

I have taken on the generic advice that I need to drink up to eight glasses of water daily. It is a good thing that I like my sparkling water, as this encourages me to drink a lot of water. The consequence is that I have to visit the loo a lot more.

However, it seems that this advice to drink up to eight cups of water is not rooted in scientific fact. It turns out that there is no blanket rule for how much water we should all be drinking — how much we need depends on different factors. Water is essential for survival, and daily water intake depends on several factors, including age, height, weight, general health and environmental factors, such as weather, altitude and humidity.

It is possible that the eight glasses of water per day rule can be traced back to decades-old literature, with the nuance of the original messages lost over the years. However, the guideline is essential to assist people in increasing their water intake without it being too complicated.

The guidelines may be changing, but I might stick with my eight glasses a day rule. It is so much easier to remember.