BENGALURU: The adequate daily water intake recommended by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, USA is close to 3.7 litres for men and 2.7 litres for women. This amount includes the water intake from consuming food as well. About 20 per cent of the daily requirement of water is from the food that we eat.
It is a general recommendation to drink eight to 10 glasses (250ml) of water every day. This amounts to nearly 2 to 2.5 litres of water. In summer, it is important to drink even more water as we are constantly losing water via sweat. A way of knowing whether you are hydrated enough is from two simple things – one, avoid feeling thirsty during the majority part of the day, another is to make sure the urine is most of the time clear or light yellow. It is important to drink clean filtered or bottled water as impure water can make sick from germs. Water borne diseases such as hepatitis and gastro-enteritis are common in summer.
Eat light, nutritious and non-fatty meals
During summer, it is best to have light meals throughout the day. Eat small quantity frequent meals, as it is important to eat light but at the same time maintain energy levels because of increase in calorie requirements during summer. Curd and yoghurt are good for improving gut immunity and also to cool you during the summer heat.Eat lots of fruits and vegetables in the form of salads, fresh juices, and smoothies without sugar, in your diet. Vegetables and fruits with high water content such as, cucumbers, carrots, beet root, tomatoes, water melons, musk melon, and green leafy vegetables.Drink healthy quantities of easy-to-make beverages such as, lemon juice, coconut water, and buttermilk. These drinks help you in staying hydrated as well as replenish electrolytes, especially potassium, which is lost in sweat.
(The writer is the Consultant Medical, Interventional Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist, Sparsh Hospital)