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Fluid balance
Facts and figures
- Approximately 60% of an individual’s body weight is water.
- Fluid is vital for the body to function properly. It is involved in:
- removing waste, toxins and excess nutrients from the body
- preserving the skin’s elasticity, softness and colouring
- regulating temperature through sweating
- memory processing and concentration
- normalising blood pressure
- aiding digestion of food
- cushioning joints and keeping muscles working properly.
- According to the European Food Safety Authority, under moderate activity and environmental conditions, the amount of water we should consume (from a combination of beverages and foods) is about 2.5 litres per day for adult males and 2.0 litres per day for adult females1.
- Black coffee contains more than 95% water. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently concluded that a cause and effect relationship has been established between the dietary intake of water and the maintenance of normal and physical cognitive function 2.
Fluid choices
- In a Consensus Statement3 issued in 2006, the International Life Sciences Institute recommends consuming a variety of caffeinated and non-caffeinated beverages, including water, milk, tea, coffee, juice, soft drinks and sports drinks to meet the body’s fluid requirements.
- The Institute of Medicine4 in the US (2) states that when it comes to meeting daily hydration needs, all beverages, including those with caffeine, are hydrating.
- Advice to abstain from drinking moderate amounts of caffeinated coffee, in order to maintain adequate fluid balance, is unfounded. The Beverage Guidance Panel in the U.S. undertook a systematic review of the scientific evidence on coffee and hydration, and concludes that caffeine consumption of up to 500mg/day (the equivalent of approximately 5 regular cups of coffee) does not cause dehydration5.
