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.".........
I live in the desert. People I know suffer from dehydration constantly. You think they’d learn...
Be careful for kidney stones with green teas. One of the lovely things they don’t warn you about.
Great move on the sodas. And yes, water before a meal is fine to reduce some appetite and get your system prepared for ingestion.
Water will dilute the digestive juices in the stomach and make them less effective.
Thanks. I hadn’t heard that.
I read an article (Web MD?) where it stated that the most effective way to prevent recurrence of kidney stone is to drink water - iirc it was 8 cups. There were also warning against eating too much - whatever too much is - spinach and rhubarb.
Hmmmm....
Green Tea May Prevent Kidney Stones
Study Shows Compound in Green Tea Extract May Block Formation of Kidney Stones
http://www.webmd.com/kidney-stones/news/20091120/green-tea-may-prevent-kidney-stones
I did recently hear that you should drink some water just before bed so as not to dehydrate during the night.
That’s probably true. You’ll be waking up in the middle of the night by the urge to get rid of that bedtime water you drank and while you’re up, hey, get a drink!
LOL!
K-cups are recyclable, all you have to do is to take off the aluminum foil at the top, put the coffee grounds with the compost and take the plastic bottom ... . Easy to do in several minutes. All it takes is time, time, time ...
Also you can keep some water beside your bed, in case you need some in the middle of the night.
Water helps your system clean itself as it goes through the system.
It dilutes the blood stream and gives the liver and kidneys a chance to clean the blood stream.
Caffeine(a part of coffee and soft drinks) drinks and beer do no such thing.
If you get too dehydrated the system gets uncomfortable
and starts drawing water from the sacs around the nerves and other locations.
Any “doctor” or “scientist” who says water is equal to caffeine drinks and beer is a fraud.
How do you like that? What a surprise. Just listen to your body as it'll tell you what you need. Hungry? Then eat. Thirsty? Have some water. Urge to relieve yourself? Head to the throne. Sleepy? Go to bed. Feeling frisky? Well...you're on your own, there.
Coffee is good for you, no, coffee is bad, no, more than 3 cups of coffee (3cc) is bad, no, 2 cc is good, no, 4cc is ... . Settled science is just the last peer or semi-purred paper that the Journalism-major editor thought he understood (but didn't).
People on a waiting list for a kidney transplant have to get their blood tested once a week.
If any alcohol, residue from cigarettes, or any detection of having SOFT DRINKS is found
the person is BOOTED OUT of the program and their name taken off the list.
Soft drinks put a terrible strain on the kidneys.
A great trick to limit food consumption during meals is to eat some fruit first...sugar in the fruit will raise glucose levels in the blood quicker, which should drive down hunger pangs.
The same medical industry that demands you be filled up with drugs
spits at the idea of drinking water.
A great trick to limit food consumption during meals
is to eat smaller portions.
The clams and oysters are really pissed...they want some acid, too.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.