More than half of your body is water. It carries nutrients around, keeps your temperature steady when you sweat and helps every part of you do its job. You lose some all day, by breathing, sweating and going to the bathroom, so you need to keep putting it back.
How much?
The European Food Safety Authority suggests about 2.0 litres of water a day for women and 2.5 litres for men, from all drinks and food together. About a fifth usually comes from food, especially fruit and vegetables. In heat, or when you exercise, you need more.
The easy signs
Feeling thirsty, a dry mouth, feeling tired or dizzy, and peeing less often can all mean you need to drink, says the NHS. The simplest check is the colour of your pee: pale yellow usually means you are drinking enough, and dark yellow means drink more.
Sweat is not only water
When you sweat a lot, in Da Nang's heat or after a run, you also lose salts such as sodium and potassium. Plain water is still the best everyday drink, but after a long sweat many people like a drink that also has some natural salts.
Natural options
Coconut water naturally contains potassium. Fruit like watermelon is mostly water. Basil seeds, the tiny black seeds in many Vietnamese drinks, soak up water, turn soft and add fibre.
Tips for a hot day
Carry a bottle, drink before you feel very thirsty, add fruit to your water if plain water is boring, and drink a little extra before and after exercise.
Juicy Pops
That idea is behind Juicy Pops, our hydration drinks for runners, people who play sports and anyone out in the heat. Each one is coconut water and basil seeds with fruit or flowers, and they use natural colouring, like the blue spirulina in Juicy Pops Blue. The calories and sugar of each are on getjuicy.vn/nutri.
Sources: European Food Safety Authority, Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for water (2010); NHS, Dehydration.
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