Make America SWEAT Again!
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.".........
Cool but those are before my time. I recall the ones that opened a can on one end and popped open a bottle cap on the other. A simple but effective and necessary tool to carry in your pocket..
.
Can’t ignore the variables.
Climate
Body size
Activity level
One size never fits all.
.
Pissing out all those vitamins and minerals ain’t good. I get cramps in my calves following that 8 per day regimen.
I think the problem is using the word Glasses. 8oz. Is a cup. If you say 8 cups of water a day it isn’t so much. I easily drink that much water.
Shards of glass in my beer,
Shards of glass in my beer -
I’m very upset -
About that glass in my beer!
Five bottles are wasted,
Five bottles are wasted,
Oooooooooooooooooooooooh!
Not even yet tasted!
Ooooooooooooooooooooooh!
Ooooooooooooooooooooooh!
Ooooooooooooooooooooooh!
Ooooooooooooooooooooooh!
Twinkie - Copyright 2015
You're right. I think that everyone is confused by "glass" of water. Eight ounces is a cup - the size of those little white styrofoam coffee cups that few people voluntarily use because they are too small. It's really not that much fluid spread over a 24 hour period.
It’s a strawman to bring up the idea that some of the water is already contained in foods so you don’t need to actually drink that much. Every time I’ve heard the suggestion, it ALWAYS included the caveat that water contained in foods counts towards the total.
Drinking water is better than drinking a lot of other drinks like soda, sweetened drinks and alcohol for obvious reasons. You get less calories and less unhealthy content.
Patients of bladder cancer will know that the advice is to drink more water to help keep the bladder flushed clean of any cancer-causing agents.
When I was in school (a long time ago) we only had a sip from the drinking fountain after recesses (morning and afternoon). I survived. I know I didn’t drink that much while growing up. And we did not have ac in the classrooms. Heaven forbid if you got caught with food or gum.
Kids today all bring water bottles to class, probably because of myths like this.
He sweated out eight glasses’ worth during the last debate.
I’ll go ahead drinking plenty of water anyway...I had a DVT (clot) in my leg last year. With none of the risk factors, not drinking enough water was a possible reason.
Also, if alcohol isn’t dehydrating, what about hangovers? Isn’t a hangover just dehydration?
Lets see..... 1 beer in the evening, 3 fingers of Buffalo Trace bourbon neat before bed, at least two big glasses of sun tea, a Dr Pepper & crushed ice filled Yeti mug for work and commute, then theres a water glass full of orange juice with breakfast....about six glasses of hydration for me on average.....
During my military career I was stationed in the middle east /gulf region many times and saw folks drink to much and to little water in the extreme conditions. Individual limits are based on exertion and environment IMO. To set a healthy amount as standard for the average person is silly.
Ya get thirsty or doing hard work ......just drink.
Stay Safe !!
You sure did...water with a plant substance full of antioxidants.
Yes, modern “science.”
Just keep filling the little boys up with Ritalin.
And soak the little girls in Merck’s Gardasil.
The halfwit “scientists” don’t know that caffeinated drinks
DEHYDRATE you.
You’re absolutely right about that. If you’re perspiring a lot, you should probably also be taking in some additional electrolytes (Gatorade, or similar — just as needed). Under normal conditions, most people’s kidneys regulate the electrolytes quite well. When you perspire, the electrolytes are expelled, rather than being recycled (if needed). You can easily become electrolyte deficient.
Your body will let you know if you need the supplementary electrolytes. I find that “sports drinks” (Gatorade, etc.) taste like the elixir of life, when I need the electrolytes. If I have enough electrolytes, they taste like the cloying salt-and-sugar-water concoctions they are.
Maybe church key is an ironic statement. Like saying that drinking is a religious experience.
Sounds like Heinz Valtin from Dartmouth University is on the take from the caffeinated drink and mild alcoholic beverages industries.
LOL!
The original report said 64 ounces of fluid (including tea, coffee, milk, etc.), And that was back in the 40’s I believe, when people did much more manual labor.
If you’re sitting at a desk all day, you do not need to drink that much.
People have gone absolutely crazy with hydration. I see people going for a slow one-mile run carrying a huge water bottle.
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