Pinch the skin on the back of your hand. Does it spring straight back into place, like a piece of elastic?

If not, it could be a sign that you need to drink more water. It is said we should all be drinking at least eight glasses of water a day. However, a Gallup poll last summer revealed that the majority of us drink less than half the recommended amount and 1 in 25 young people aged 16 to 24 showed signs of dehydration when they did the pinch test. By drinking too little we are putting ourselves at risk of everyday health problems, including constipation, headaches, lethargy, mood swings and indigestion. Long term, we risk problems with our kidneys, heart and even our brain.

Chronic dehydration can also contribute to asthma, high blood pressure, backache and joint pains. Waiting until you feel thirsty is not enough. As we get older our sense of thirst tends to become less acute, even though we still need to drink the same amount of fluid. Our workplaces are often so dry that only drinking during our tea break is woefully inadequate. The majority of sufferers of workplace dehydration only experience symptoms such as headaches and lethargy between the hours of nine tand five, while they're at work. We tend to catch up on our fluids when we get back home in the evening. If we didn't we'd be seriously ill. Even so, it is not good for the body to go through periods of dehydration. It is a much better idea to drink on a regular basis throughout the day. You will then find, you will not get those lulls when everything seems like too much effort.

Drinking tea and coffee has long been thought to make dehydration worse by stimulating urination, but the latest research shows that there is far less of a diuretic effect if you regularly drink a lot of tea and coffee. Your body comes to rely on these as its usual sources of water, and uses them up happily. People who never drink tea or coffee need to be more careful, however. For them, a one-off cup of tea or coffee could be a diuretic.

Alcohol is never recommended to replace water. For each glass of booze you drink, you lose the
equivalent amount in water from your body. However, your daily source of fluids need not be just plain water. Squash, fruit juice, fresh fruit, milk, soup and tea and coffee, if you don't drink a lot of them, are also good sources.
Of those who happily drink plain water, one in four refuse to drink tap water. This is usually, on the grounds that it is either unclean or unpalatable. Many people can only drink tap water though, while others can only drink bottled or filtered water. So, its always a matter of sticking with what suits you.

In terms of slimming, drinking water will always be advantageous. It keeps us nice and full and staves off false hunger pangs. When we know we are dieting, all we can think about is what we can eat! A large glass of water before a meal
will always ensure you feel very satisfied after you have eaten.