Hydration and Sport: Fluid intake for performance
The World Health Organisation recommends that a person drinks at least 6 glasses of water a day, which is the equivalent of about 2 litres of fluid daily and extra for any fluid lost as sweat during activity. This figure might be considerably higher for a sports performer, with fluid loss for some high intensity sports in hot climates being as high as 4 litres per hour.
To be effectively hydrated, most daily fluid intake should be in the form of water - many drinks like colas, tea and coffee can act as diuretics which means they can help cause fluid loss. This is because the digestive system needs to use fluid to process the fluid intake.
To avoid this problem, it is recommended that a sports performer should try to drink weaker teas and coffees and replace some caffeinated drinks with other fluids such as water, herbal or fruit teas, squashes and fruit juices. However, recent research has also identified that the effects of diuretics are not as bad as initially thought and so are acceptable in moderation as part of a healthy daily fluid intake.
