I rarely recommend "drinking more water" in any of my articles.

A small percentage of people probably do need more water but...

Too many fitness sites, in my opinion, are pushing the idea of getting 8-13 glasses of water per day.

Many also say that coffee doesn't count, etc.

Here's what the research says.

A review, summarizing 36 years worth of caffeine studies, came to this conclusion:

"The most ecologically valid of the published studies offers no support for the suggestion that consumption of caffeine-containing beverages as part of a normal lifestyle leads to fluid loss in excess of the volume ingested or is associated with poor hydration status."

Drinking coffee does NOT cause a net fluid loss.

You are still more hydrated than if you didn't drink that cup of coffee or tea.

There is a slight diuretic effect, but that does not offset the fluid in the coffee.

How about beer?

Beer is similar to coffee.

It has a diuretic effect because of the alcohol but...

It doesn't offset the fluid in the beer.

You are still getting some hydration benefits from it.

When I was in college on camping trips I'm guessing 90% of the fluid we drank was keg beer.

(Kegs were $30 back then and you would get about 120 beers per keg. At 25 cents per Red Solo Cup it was cheaper than water.)

Beer is decent for hydration.

There's a study that created a "Beverage Hydration Index".

The difference between beer, coffee, tea, and water was not statistically significant.

The majority of typical drinks count toward your daily fluid requirements.

I bet most of us knew this deep down...

Despite mainstream fitness sites saying that we should drink 2 cups of water for every cup of coffee, etc.

How about dehydration?

Most of us are PROBABLY getting enough fluids each day.

It's kind of a non-issue in my opinion.

Here's the best way to judge hydration levels.

• If your pee is a pale yellow color like lemonade: Good
• If your pee is dark yellow or darker: Dehydrated
• If your pee is clear: Overhydrated

*Note: some vitamins can cause bright yellow pee.

I bet people are more likely to have CLEAR pee (overhydration) than dark pee (dehydration).

For me personally, this is the case.

So why are fitness sites so focused on getting us to drink MORE water.

Who knows?

P.S.

What about water as a weight loss aid?

Some people recommend drinking glasses of water to get full and eat fewer calories per day.

Here's the thing...

Research has found that foods containing water result in more weight loss than simply drinking more water.