You have probably heard the advice that drinking 8- 8 ounce glasses of water each day will not only keep you hydrated, but help in numerous other ways to keep you healthy, fit and looking great.  While there is plenty of evidence to confirm these results, the truth of the matter, is that you don’t have to gulp down 8 glasses of water each and every day to stop your body from dehydrating, there are several other ways to make sure you are not walking around dehydrated.

Dehydration is when you body loses an excessive amount of water.  There are many ways to become dehydrated.  Obviously, not drinking enough water each day will cause you to become dehydrated, as well as being exposed to the elements (heat, humidity, etc).  Other things that can make you dehydrated are certain types of beverages that include coffee (which contains caffeine) and drinking alcoholic beverages also contributes to the loss of water in our bodies. While dehydration can be a huge problem which can lead to death, it can often be simply corrected just by drinking enough water.

So How Much Water is Enough?
The amount of water for each person varies, while drinking enough water each day ensures that your body optimally functions properly, not enough can cause lots of problems including fatigue, dry skin, the risk of becoming ill and for those that are severely dehydrated the risk of major organs not working properly or shutting down completely.

While 8- 8 ounce glasses of water is a good measure to stick to as an adult, there are many different variables that should be factored in, each on an individual basis.  For instance if you are overweight or larger than an average size adult, you should make sure that you get at least 8-8 ounce glasses of water each day plus a couple of glasses more. 

One simple calculation that can determine the amount of water an adult should drink is to take your body weight and divide by 2.5.  Then drink this amount in ounces.  For instance a person that weighs 200 pounds should drink at least 80 ounces of water each day (10- 8 ounce glasses of water.  It should be noted that for people overweight, water can be extremely beneficial in helping digestion and detoxing the body.  The more water one drinks, the less weight one usually puts on.

Beverages That Influence Dehydration
Water is the most purest and according to many health professionals the healthiest drink one can consume.  However, there are dozens of other alternatives available to consume such as coffee, tea, alcohol, soft drinks, milk, etc.  While many of these drinks help hydrate a person, a few of them can actually hinder hydration.  Two specific drinks that contribute to dehydration include coffee and alcohol.

Consuming Coffee
Coffee contains large amounts of caffeine; besides making one feel alert, coffee is also a diuretic which means that coffee induces one to go to the bathroom.  If you go to the bathroom too often, you can lose a lot of water forcing the body to become dehydrated.  While drinking a cup or two of coffee for most people will not cause severe dehydration, make sure that you drink a cup or two extra glasses of water to make up for any differences of water that you might lose.

Consuming Alcohol
Alcohol on the other hand can extremely dehydrate one’s body.  This not only contributes to the headaches and hangovers one experiences, but can also harm the body if you drink alcohol quite often.  Make sure that for every serving of alcohol you drink (glass of beer, glass of wine and/or shot of liquor), you drink a full glass of water to re-hydrate the bodily fluids you will lose.