How much water to drink

Kindly let me know if drinking 3 liters of water a day is enough for me. I am a 30-year-old man.

James (by SMS)

If you lead a somewhat sedate lifestyle (office job with a little exercise or something like that), have a varied diet that includes fresh vegetables and/or fruits, don’t live in an excessively hot climate and are generally healthy, 3 liters of water a day should be enough.

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However, when it’s very hot, it can become necessary to drink more water just like some medical conditions, strenuous and prolonged exercise or a physically demanding job (or work environment, like a commercial kitchen or steelworks) can drive the required amount of hydration up way beyond that, though.

Generally, your body will tell you when you should drink more water – but its mechanisms can outsmart themselves, under some circumstances, so keeping an eye on your objective water intake as a safety measure might be a good habit to develop – just in case something does go wrong with your body’s self-regulation system…