Recommended Intake of Detox Water – How Much & When to Limit

When considering doing a detox water cleanse, there are a lot of things to think about. Many people look into what ingredients to use and which one to mix together. They might also consider how long they should carry out the cleanse, and what type of physical activity should accompany it for optimum results.

However, one of the most obvious questions about a detox water diet is also one that many people forget to ask: how much detox water should I drink in a day?

This can be a surprisingly tough question to answer and can depend on a number of different factors and considerations. These can include the lifestyle of the individual doing the detox water diet and the detox water ingredients.

Nevertheless, keeping hydrated and getting in sufficient nutrients is key to a healthy lifestyle. (1,2) Below, we lay out a comprehensive guide on just how much detox water you should be drinking to get the most benefit out of your detox water cleanse.

We also look at when you should lower or limit your intake of detox water, and when it might be necessary to take a break from the detox.

Recommended Intake of Detox Water

As mentioned above, it’s impossible to give a single recommendation when looking at how much detox water you should take in each day due to do activity levels, formulas, and preferences. However, for each group of people, a general guideline can be given.

Sedentary adults

For sedentary adults, a lower amount of both nutrients and water intake is needed when compared to more active individuals like athletes. However, this doesn’t mean that a low intake of water or nutrients is good for you.

In fact, nearly all of the recommended daily amounts of the different nutrients you take in each day are based on a relatively sedentary person. (3) So, you should still take care to get in enough detox water each day.

For most sedentary adults, this means taking in roughly 6-8 glasses of detox water each day. Also, the detox water ingredients included in each of the waters should be varied to ensure you’re getting in plenty of nutrients.

Active Individuals

One other issue with general recommendations is that they’re usually divided into two criteria: sedentary people who don’t exercise at all, and high level athletes who can train at high intensities up to twice daily. (4)

This means that those who are only recreationally active, exercising two to three times per week, are often recommended too high of an intake of different nutrients and water.

For those who are active and exercise moderately, they should look at taking in 8-12 glasses of detox water each day. Just like with sedentary people, they should also look at carrying their detox water recipes for a holistic detox water cleanse.

Athletes

Recommendations for athletes are usually part of a different realm compared to that of sedentary, or even moderately active, individuals.

This is because athletes are not always exercising to improve their health, and are usually training to become better at a given skill or activity. So, when making recommendations for athletes, the idea is to help boost performance, speed up recovery, or prevent injury. (5)

This means that the recommendations are highly context-specific, and can change depending on the sport or activity the athlete is training for, or even what part of training camp they’re currently in.

In general, long-distance endurance athletes, such as marathon runners or long distance cyclists or swimmers will need a greater amount of detox water due to increased sweating and nutrient use than strength or power athletes like weightlifters and sprinters. (6)

Mixed athletes, like soccer players or boxers, will be in-between these two groups in terms of recommendations.

Endurance athletes should aim for around 12-15 glasses of detox water each day. Meanwhile, strength and power athletes should look at taking in roughly the same as moderately active people at 10-12 glasses each day.

Mixed athletes can fall between these two recommendations as they feel necessary.

Should You Drink Detox Water Even If You Don’t Sweat?

Yes.

As seen from above, even those who do no physical activity are recommended to take in plenty of water and a range of other nutrients. This is because the body uses water in a wide range of bodily functions, not just sweating to cool the body.

Physical activity of any kind also causes them to speed up or increase many of these processes, thereby increasing the need for water and nutrient intake. So, even if you’re not sweating, drinking detox water can have beneficial effects on your health and fitness.

When To Limit Detox Water

However, as mentioned at the beginning of this article, there are times where you are better off reducing your detox water intake. These are each looked at below.

When Ingredients Include Caffeine

One such case is when your detox recipes contain a significant amount of caffeine, such as with some detox tea recipes.

The reason for this reduction is that excessive caffeine consumption can cause a few issues, including trouble sleeping, increased anxiety and even a higher blood pressure and heart rate. (7)

So, if you’re mixing a lot of tea in with your detox water ingredients, you may want to reduce your intake of detox water, or just reduce the ones in high in caffeine.

2-4 Hours Before Bed

While increasing water intake overall can be beneficial, taking in too much water before bed can cause sleep disturbance through increasing trips to the bathroom throughout the night. (8)

As a general rule, start decreasing your detox water intake 3 to 4 hours before bed and cut it out completely 2 hours before you want to go to sleep.

Conclusion

How much detox water to take in each day is a question that many people overlook when considering a detox water cleanse. However, matching your water and nutrient intake to your lifestyle and detox diet is essential to maximize its benefits and minimize any detrimental effects.

In general, athletes and moderately active people should take in more detox water than sedentary adults.

However, the amount drank each day should be minimized if your detox water recipes have a high caffeine content. You should also taper down this intake a few hours before bed to ensure that it won’t interfere with your sleep duration or sleep quality.