Water – the love potion for joints

In adulthood our cartilage generally consists of 75% water so it is important that we keep ourselves hydrated each day, everyday.

Many drinks (eg tea, herbal infusions and chilled water) tend to be diuretic – they make you pee, which is useful for releasing toxins from the body - but they don’t tend to get absorbed by the cells so can leave your body’s cells and tissues thirsty.  Other drinks may be over-stimulating (e.g. fruit juice, canned drinks and coffee).

There are lots of debates about how much water the body needs.  Many people quote the figure ‘8 glasses per day’, but how big is a glass, and is that right anyway?  The answer is that the amount of water depends on the person, how much they exercise and sweat, the weather and many other factors.  We also need to appreciate that the more toxins (traffic fumes, strong chemicals etc) we come into contact with, the more water we need in order to help our bodies to flush them out.

Therefore it is impossible to come up with an absolute figure for the amount of water we need to drink.  In theory our body will tell us when we need to drink (feeling thirsty), but in practice most people live such unbalanced lives that their thirst awareness doesn’t work so well and their bodies no longer tell them what they need. 

As a guide Naturopath Miriam Elkan suggests you drink 1-3 litres of still (not sparkling) water at room temperature or above, per day.

If you find you can drink this easily, great.  However, many people find it really difficult to drink enough water.  If you are one of these people, Miriam, has some specific advice for you. How to drink enough water

Note: that it is possible to drink too much water (although very difficult to do so).  If you feel that you are unusually thirsty no matter how much you drink you should consult your GP. It may indicate an underlining more serious medical condition such as Diabetes that needs further medical investigation.