CDC guidelines for water 91 oz/day for women, 125 oz/day men. In the Dallas area add 32-64 oz/HOUR while outside. That seems like an awfully wide range. I saw this on the news tonight. We have been in the mid to upper 90's with humidity 45-70% which is very humid for us.

They did offer this suggestion as a way to remember to drink water often. They said you can always carry a water bottle!

Yes, just general boundaries from which to tune. For certain, your specific environment can have huge difference on the minimum intake required. Being in the shade at 65 with a slight cool breeze is very very different than sitting in the sand in the desert when it is 110. Need to stay aware at all times is the message. Thanks

That's about right, Ed, from my prior calculations for myself. it's recommended half your body weight in liquid ounces, plus to increase it for others factors like exercise, elevation, activity level, heat waves, sickness, pregnancy, health to add more. 20% of the liquid ounces can be through food. Caffeine, alcohol, may not count, since these are diuretics, and have to drink more water drinking these due to the frequent urination. With chemo you need more water to flush the toxins out of the kidneys. Excess protein can cause stress on the organs, especially kidneys, and ketones are flushed out in the urine, which can cause dehydration. There are a few water apps on iPad, on the net by searching water calculators.

[quote]Caffeine, alcohol, may not count, since these are diuretics, and have to drink more water drinking these due to the frequent urination. With chemo you need more water to flush the toxins out of the kidneys.[/quote]What is the story on things like tea and coffee, that are considered diuretics? I know they make one pee a lot but is much of the liquid bypassing getting into the body that is good for hydration?

For example, a liter of saline puts a liter of saline into the body. A liter of water consumed orally puts a liter minus x, and it appears a liter of tea puts a liter minus (x+Y) into your system.

I don't know the math, but high amounts of caffeine is a diuretic, beer too, and can cause dehydration. I have heard for every cup of coffee, drink a glass of water to replace the loss. Green tea is higher in caffeine than other types teas, but may have more added health benfits. Coffee also, and I made a poat in "adjuntive treamant" in reagrds to recent study saying that drinkig coffee reduced oral cancer risk by 50%, which was not seen in tea or decaffenated coffee.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/294664-diuretic-effects-of-caffeine/

Right,
So in fact, if you are already struggling with dehydration as so many cancer patients are, then drinking lots of tea and seeing lots of pee, does not make a happy hydrated patient.

I drink mostly coffee. My last treatment, I drank coffee, but not as much as home. I did bring my Nespresso machine not wanting to risk bad coffee lol. I was dehydrated, needed IV infusions. Blood transfusion, even though I have a tube, and was staying at hope lodge by myself, traveled to and from treatments, had to shop, cook, clean, do laundry, get medicines by myself. Not what I invisioned. Most, at least 95% had caretakers with them. Statistics say single men don't fare as well. I agree lol. I knew I was in trouble when I walked a block to get something to eat, could barely walk back, and knew I was in trouble even before I started.

If I drank 125 ozs of water during my normal day I would have to do so in the bathroom.

Drinking iced tea in the summer helps flush out the kidneys but also dehydrates as a diuretic from the tannins but also from the caffeine. I drank a gallon a day back to 1995 when I moved to Dallas since it is sick low humidity and high heat and I spent a lot of time outdoors. I still try to get out but it is such a drain to lug around several bottles of water. I usually leave with 3 24 oz bottles. I use the Hydro Flask. It keeps ice for 24 hours and coffee hot for 12. I also pack in a lot of potassium because of the nerve damage.

When I first amped up to a gallon it did take a lot of bathroom breaks. It levels off as the body flushes things out and adapts. Everyone is different too. Easy checks include color/concentration in urine, lightheaded when standing up, wrinkled skin, etc. I have my potassium checked regularly it can tell when it drops.

For muscle wasting situations with fatigue, it is recommended to drink at least a cup of coffee every morning to get going.

Green tea has more polyphenols/antioxidants.

Maybe you know, they say most of the commercial green tea here is garbage. I have an Asian market that sells at least 40 different types, brands, especially imported Japanese, forget names. If I go to Chinatown in NYC, they have stores that just sell ginseng, teas, some expensive. I have a small cast iron tea server, diffuser, and say the tea should not have boiling water poured over, makes it bitter.