Posted on 09/26/2015 10:50:05 AM PDT by JoeProBono
Most of us have spent our lives feeling pressured by the notion that we need to drink at least eight glasses of water a day in order to avoid dehydration and stay healthy. But according to American paediatrician Aaron E. Caroll from Indiana University, there's absolutely no science to back this up, and there never was.
Caroll has already co-written a widely cited research paper and book debunking common health myths - primarily the idea that all humans need to drink eight 8-ounce (237 mL) glasses of water a day - but the rumour just won't go away, with an onslaught of media this year alleging that dehydration is on the rise due to children not drinking enough water. So Caroll took to The New York Times this week to clear things up once and (hopefully) for all.
"Contrary to many stories you may hear, there’s no real scientific proof that, for otherwise healthy people, drinking extra water has any health benefits," he writes. "For instance, reviews have failed to find that there’s any evidence that drinking more water keeps skin hydrated and makes it look healthier or wrinkle free."
So where did the great water myth come from? It's generally believed that the source is a 1945 Food and Nutrition Board Recommendation that declared, "a suitable allowance of water for adults is 2.5 litres daily in most instances. An ordinary standard for diverse persons is 1 millilitre for each calorie of food". As you might have guessed, 2.5 litres more or less works out to be around eight glasses. But what's usually ignored from that report is the crucial next sentence: "Most of this quantity is contained in prepared foods."
In fact, depending on your diet, there may be no reason to drink excess water at all. "Water is present in fruits and vegetables. It’s in juice, it’s in beer, it’s even in tea and coffee," writes Caroll. "Although I recommended water as the best beverage to consume, it’s certainly not your only source of hydration. You don’t have to consume all the water you need through drinks."
Before you object and tell us that coffee, tea, and alcohol dehydrate us, and therefore can't count towards our daily water intake, science has debunked that myth too.
A 2002 review by physician Heinz Valtin from Dartmouth University in the US found that not only was there no peer-reviewed evidence to support the eight glasses a day rule, there was also no research to suggest that other drinks couldn't be used to adequately hydrate us.
"This conclusion is supported by published studies showing that caffeinated drinks (and, to a lesser extent, mild alcoholic beverages like beer in moderation) may indeed be counted toward the daily total, as well as by the large body of published experiments that attest to the precision and effectiveness of the osmoregulatory system for maintaining water balance," Valtin concludes.
In the same study, he also broke down the myth that by the time we feel thirsty it's 'too late'. In reality, we feel thirsty exactly when we're supposed to: "when the concentration of blood (an accurate indicator of our state of hydration) has risen by less than 2 percent," he says, "whereas most experts would define dehydration as beginning when that concentration has risen by at least 5 percent.".........
You left out
Every little boy needs Schedule Two drug Ritalin.
Every little girl needs Merck’s Gardasil.
Most people need psychiatric drugs. FILL THEM UP with prozac.
Take lots of Tylenol. So what if it destroys your kidneys.
Well, the science is in the article. One ml in water for each ml of food. The detail is that the mood contains water absorbed by the body.
So, the title is not really accurate.
Sure, many people don’t need to force down a bunch of “extra” water each day. BUT if those people are drinking alcohol, soda, coffee...or eating fast food or preservative laden garbage then they DO need “extra” water because their diet is full of diuretics.
In the end, drink enough to keep you from pissing yellow, or going crazy. Especially the elderly...a little dehydration messes them up.
I thought that looked funny ... wish I was still able to go to the beach and dig a mess of manila clams to steam and get a dozen or so Pacific oysters to bake. MAybe a dungness crab or two from a friend ... yumm. But that’s all thousands of miles away now.
I think it had more to do with who invented it, rather than the facility.
Yes. That’s what I meant.
From personal experience, I found the more water I drank did not have a long term affect on my nighttime visits. After a couple of days it was just that when I went, I really went. But no urge to go overnight.
Everyone’s mileage varies.
Oh wow. Fortunately I’m not into the extra sugar/carbs from soft drinks. They are a luxury and only recently did our children stop asking permission to drink one. This continued into their mid-late teens and they do it sparingly.
Either way, I hope you never, never need to worry about it! Glad you checked.
True, but you won’t be eating as much. It’s recommended as a weight loss method that I’ve tried and found very successful.
Yes, spinach, rhubarb, nuts. There are others. The key is to not let the oxalic acid build up but to flush it out before it “turns to stone”. One always has this; you don’t want excess. Drinking beer and wine can actually help keep stones from forming. But not hard alcohol.
Did not know that ? Weird point but I’m better for having learned such.....thank you....:o)
Hmmm...no idea, but that would make sense.
Glad you made it through the DVT. Those are nothing to fool around with.
Bingo!
Coffee, tea, beer and wine are pretty much the only beverages I drink. All of them mostly water. When I'm out on a hot day or otherwise exerting myself, I might have straight water or a sports drink like Gatorade. But I never, ever just drink water for the sake of it.
Somehow I've lived 50+ years living this way with zero health problems and I very rarely get so much as the flu.
I see people all around me toting their huge water bottles around with them and paying upwards of $2 for a bottle of plain water. I think it's crazy.
Well she came back and admitted she erred...sounds like a person with a modicum of integrity!
Be careful, because straight water under those conditions can be harmful. Gatorade or some other form of electrolyte mix should be used instead. The straight water can actually dilute the electrolytes in your system and cause heat exhaustion or even death in extreme cases.
Thank you, Dennis. YOu’re right about that.
No problem. My stepson went through the heat exhaustion thing a few years ago while playing ultimate Frisbee in mid-80s temperature. Was not a fun time for him!
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