Are you drinking too little or too much water? You can easily check that.

If you think that by limiting water consumption, you will visit the toilet less frequently, you may be surprised. Or perhaps you think you drink too much of it? Experts have no doubt, proper hydration of the body is equally important in autumn and winter as it is in summer. This simple method will help you determine whether you drink enough water during the day.

Too much or too little? What about eight glasses and how much water should you really drink in a day? There are quite a few questions and myths about hydration, but there is one simple way to check it. And it’s not about how often you go to the bathroom!

Although many people believe that drinking smaller amounts of fluids will prevent frequent visits to the bathroom, it is not a good way to make life easier. Furthermore, the frequency of urination is not a good indicator of hydration. In many cases, frequent trips to the bathroom with little result, when you actually urinate very little, may indicate that you are not drinking enough water. However, the color of your urine is an excellent indicator of your hydration.

It is assumed that for every kilogram of body weight, you should drink about 0.02 liters of water. However, the water requirement actually depends on many factors. A healthy adult should drink from 1.5 to 2 liters of water – depending on gender, ambient temperature, and physical activity. And during intense exercise and hot weather, even up to 4-5 liters per day.

Remember that this amount refers to fluids from water, other beverages, and food. About 20 percent of the fluids consumed daily are found in food. However, the amount of water we really need also depends on other factors, such as weather or intensity of sweating. One of the best hydration measurement tools, which is readily available to everyone, is assessing the color of one’s urine.

If you don’t urinate too much during a visit to the toilet, it means that your body does not have enough to produce it. In such a case, its color will also change. You will observe the opposite change when you drink too much water. The first signals you will feel and see precisely during urination.

Both dehydration and excess water in the body are not beneficial to your health and can have serious consequences. Concentrated urine can irritate the bladder lining. The color of urine can also indicate a disease, infection, or change depending on what you have eaten (for example, after eating beets, urine may turn pinkish-red). What does the color of your urine mean?

Regardless of the color of urine, remember that urine should be clear, meaning transparent. If the fluid becomes cloudy or has an unpleasant odor, it is usually a symptom of an infection, such as a urinary tract infection. If you haven’t consumed beets and your urine has turned pink, it is also time to visit a doctor as there may be blood in the urine. Another signal that should raise your awareness is foaming urine. It’s as if you added some soap to it – this symptom can indicate problems with the kidneys and proteinuria. This can also occur during a high-protein diet or excessive physical exertion.

Sources: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, healthline.com, health.clevelandclinic.org, mayoclinic.org, pacjent.gov.pl, express.co.uk