For ages, we have believed in the 8 glasses of water. 

Healtline.com one of my favourite sites says:

"Health experts commonly recommend eight 8-ounce glasses, which equals about 2 liters, or half a gallon a day."

Most doctors recommend between 2-4 litres of water per day.  I think, Dr Nene, in one of his videos says we need to drink 4 litres of water. 

The trouble is that most of them do not specify whether this is additional water to drink or total water that should go in our bodies. 

We eat fruits and vegetables. Let us say we eat 500 - 1000 g of vegetables and fruits. 

FAO says on its website: Vegetables contain generally 90-96% water while for fruit normal water content is between 80 and 90%.

That means, we EAT about 400-700 ml of water.

We have tea, coffee, butter milk, milk, juices, etc. All these contain plenty of water. So that would add another 500 ml or so. 

Plus let us say we drink 1000-1200 ml (1 litre) of plain water.  So our total is about 2 litres (700 ml + 500 ml + 1200 ml).

My Maths may be difficult to understand. But bhavnaon ko samjo! (Try to understand what I am saying.)

Based on this I personally try to drink at least 1 litre of water....assuming that I am getting another litre from fruits, vegetables, beverages, and drinks. 

Doctors keep harping on 3-4 litres of water. 

If your doctor says so and you are able to drink it, sure. It may do you good. 

But if you are drinking gallons/litres of water based on Whatsapp forwards be CAREFUL.  Good part...not too many people die from water intoxication (drinking too much of water). Bad part...it is a very painful death. 

No, I was not trying to scare you.  Reading so much bull-shit on the Internet and Whatsapp, we are immune to it. We will do anything that purports to make us healthy.

There is so much of scare about not drinking enough water that there are apps which you can download on your cell phone. The app will then track your water intake and also remind you if you are not drinking enough. 

Can I tell you a little secret? You already have an inbuilt app called Thirst manufactured by the greatest developer of all times -- God (in your language if you call it Nature or any other name, fine!) This works unless you have damaged it by overloading it, messing up your eating, and confusing your signals.  Do not eat for enough time, you will be hungry.  The Hunger app in most of us is DEAD. Many of us have not experience (use this app) for decades, for life! We eat like we are famine stricken. Super sizing and unlimited thalis is the norm.  If we sweat, we urinate -- water goes down in our system....and the thirst app gives indications that you are thirsty. Bro/Sis...you need to drink water. Drink enough water and you are good to go. 

We pay attention to our cell phones, but not to messages and ringtones sent by our body.  So when the body ringtone keeps beeping THIRST THIRST THIRST THIRST (🔔ring 🔔ring, 🔔ring 🔔ring -- hope that rings a 🛎 bell ). We put it on silent mode, we ignore it. This may actually shut your Thirst app. 

Basically, I feel, drink while you are thirsty is a good rule to follow.  Listen to your body, listen to your thirst. 

It is perfectly all right to drink about 8 glasses of water too. Say about 1 glass per hour.  That's about a cup (250 ml) of water every hour = 2 litres. Do not force yourself. Listen to your body. 

A few years back, drinking water first thing in the morning was very popular. Perhaps, most of us read a lot of such messages on Whatsapp, Facebook and Internet and started drinking water first thing in the morning.

It makes sense to drink water when you wake up. The entire night of 8 hours, your body has been working while you are sleeping! It is breathing, repairing, restoring, building (and God alone knows what else). For all this water is part of the fuel that it is burning up. So in the morning you are dehydrated. Most of the water has been processed into urine or has disappeared via sweat or breath. 

How much water did you use up in the night? Maybe how much you urinated is part of the answer. Say about 1-2 cups (250-500 ml) [8-16 ounces]. Ergo, you should drink about 1-2 cups early in the morning to refill what you have lost.

I follow this theory during the daytime too. I try to drink as much water as I urinate.  Yes, it is useful to take a measuring cup while urinating. You urinated 250 ml. Good. Throw that. Now, go and drink 250 ml of water. Silly! I am just joking! I suppose we urinate about 1 cup (250 ml) of water, so each time, it is a good idea to drink one cup of water. 

Many people swear on drinking hot/warm water. They feel it is good for digestion. Again, this recommended early in the morning on an empty stomach. 

Not sure where this idea/theory emanates from.  (Don't tell me about some Japanese University or some Professor -- that you read in the Whatsapp forward. I checked it and did not find it to be true.)

It is an Ayurvedic concept.  Not really sure about it. Even though I am a "believer" of Ayurved -- I do not buy all their theories.  I am always looking for scientific evidence behind any phenomenon.  I have not done a thorough research but have not found any evidence that it is useful.

If if is helpful to you, go ahead. Avoid blindly following a practice just because it is supposed to be good. 

For decades I have not drunk water with meals...with the idea that it will dilute the acids. It will hamper the digestion. The new theory is that drinking a LITTLE water before, during, and after the meals is helpful. 

I still avoid drinking water during meals.

At the Yoga Institute, Santa Cruz, at a workshop, Yog Guru, Smt. Hansaji Jayadeva Yogendra taught us that it is important to have some liquid in each meal as it helps in the movement and digestion. We have tea/coffee/beverages with our breakfast and snacks, so that is taken care of. During lunch and dinner we have buttermilk. So  again, it is taken care of. 

There is no real need to drink additional water. 

According to Yoga (Ayurved?), 1/2 the stomach should be filled with solids and 1/4 by liquids and 1/4 should be left vacant.

Our stomach can hold between 2-4 litres of food. (er -- this does not apply to beer/hard drinkers and those who eat unlimited thalis -- sorry -- this is just a joke. But fact remains, our capacity is 2-4 litres!) Typically, after 1 litre of food, we will feel full. So our 1/4th would mean we can drink about 250 ml of beverage for breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks. 

Avoid bottled, packaged, water. Plastics damage our environment. Always carry your own water bottle. 

Plastic bottles are not ideal for drinking water. Avoid.

Earthenware, Matkas (Gul-gulos are awesome!) are ideal.  They keep the water cool and "earthy" flavour.  They are refreshing. 

Avoid cold water. Bad for your throat and, perhaps, bad for your digestion. (This is my belief...no evidence.)

Hot water -- unadvisable. People have destroyed their throats drinking hot kadhas and water. 

Warm water. Yes, it is a good idea. It keeps your throat clear. Gives you a nice sensation.

Plain water. The best. 

I store my water in a steel jar of 2 litres. So it gives me a clue that I have finished 2 litres of water. 

When you have cold, cough and other such respiratory symptoms -- warm water is advisable. Using a flask is inevitable. 

Packaged bottles are not refillable. Not advisable to use them for more than a day or two.

Plastic bottles (PET) too are not very healthy. Not to forget...bad for the environment.

I did not mention glass bottles. Glass bottles are good...except that they are breakable.

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