Prize question: What do you do with a drinking bottle? Exactly: you drink from it. And that would be the end of our today's article. After all, no further instructions are needed, are they?
That's what I thought until I started to deal with the subject of drinking. When it comes to fluid intake, there are some misleading assumptions that we overheard somewhere.
Besides, we tend to stop listening to our own bodies. And so you can also go wrong with something as simple as drinking. That's why you will find a little manual here.
Your body shows you what it needs - mostly
Much better than any chart, schedule or drinking app is your very own body feeling. If the organism needs water, it sends a thirst signal that is hard to ignore. But even before this clear sign, you notice that you can concentrate less and possibly get a headache. A dry throat after exercise is also a clear indication.
If you have drunk enough, it becomes harder and harder to swallow. The body slows down its fluid intake and signals that it is "full". If you are not quite sure, a look in the toilet can also help: light urine and a regular urge to urinate are a sign of a good fluid supply. If you don't have to pee for a suspiciously long time, for example when hiking, that's a bad sign. So is dark urine. Then it's time to "hit the bottle".
However, there are exceptions to this rule. Caution is advised especially at an advanced age. The nerves in the mouth and stomach also age and no longer reliably report thirst to the brain. Stress and other burdens can also affect the sensation of thirst. In such cases, a drinking plan makes sense. For example, you can plan to empty your FLSK 1000 ml drinking bottle at least twice a day.
How much fluid you need changes from day to day
There is no general answer to whether these two liters are the right amount for you. Roughly, the rule of thumb is 0.3 liters per 10 kilograms of body weight. However, your needs depend on many factors: How do you eat? How much do you move around? What is the ambient temperature? Is your body healthy? Fever, breastfeeding, sweating, sports, dry air and salty food increase your water requirements. For one, two liters are wonderful, the other one might need six. So what to do? See above: listen to the signs of the body and choose the size of your drinking bottle accordingly.
It doesn't always have to be water.
The body loves still water. This is correct so far, because it can process this water well and without effort. But even carbonated water is great if your stomach can handle it. Water in these two pure forms should be your main source of liquid. But there is also water in food, for example in fruit and vegetables (juices). You can also eat water, for example with a snack from the muki snack pot.
This is how much water food contains.
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Cucumber: water content of 96 % - 100 g contain 96 ml of water
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Celery: water content of 92 % - 100 g contain 92 ml of water
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Strawberries: water content of 90 % - 100 g contain 90 ml of water
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Yoghurt: water content of 82 % - 100 g contain 82 ml of water
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Hard cheese: water content of 56 % - 100 g contain 56 ml of water
By the way, you may also add your daily coffee or tea to this. The thesis that these hot drinks dehydrate has long been invalidated. Only for alcohol there is no all-clear. It actually removes water from the body and also ensures that it can reabsorb water late after sweating.
Our recommendation is therefore: always carry a large bottle of water with you and treat yourself to a little change from a smaller FLSK. For coffee or juices, for example, the smallest FLSK with 350 ml is ideal. Also stick to the old trick: a glass of water with every alcoholic drink.
