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The water myth

I've had things on here before questioning the modern myth that we need to drink 8 classes of water a day.

The Guardian had something on this today

"What people don't need to do is take in two extra litres a day," says Goldfarb. "You're going to take in two litres a day based on your diet and thirst sensation. What [bottled water companies] are really asking people to do is take in four or five litres, because they're already taking in two or three as coffee, tea, soft drinks, fruit, alcoholic beverages – that's all water. This notion is a marketing ploy."
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Tom said…
What about the fact that coffee, tea, soft drinks, and alcohol aren't water? They may contain water but those products aren't water and are known to CAUSE dehydration. Give a person dying of thirst coffee or whiskey and see if that quenches their thirst.

Eight Glasses a day may be a stretch for the average joe who sits at his desk all day and doesn't exercise or do anything remotely physical, but what about for active people?

One thing I don't like about this article is that it doesn't say how much you should drink. Just that you shouldn't drink too much. Great advice, just like you shouldn't eat too much, exercise too much, or DO ANYTHING TOO MUCH. Too much implies more than enough and excess. So how much should you drink?

We ARE living in a chronically dehydrated society, most people need that water dilute all the environmental pollutants (internal and external) they expose their body to every week. People would likely need less water if they were exposed to less pollutants. As you may have heard the solution to pollution is dilution.

I always drink when I'm thirsty and I suggest you do the same.
July 23, 2011 at 3:34 PM
Chris said…
Tom

the article says to drink when you are thirsty.
July 23, 2011 at 3:37 PM
Anonymous said…
"What about the fact that coffee, tea, soft drinks, and alcohol aren't water? They may contain water but those products aren't water and are known to CAUSE dehydration."

Tom, please note the date of this article which debunks the myth you are still promoting. Come down off your soapbox and get current with life.

http://advance.uconn.edu/2002/020722/02072207.htm
July 24, 2011 at 3:47 PM
Tom said…
There's plenty of incongruence in the article you posted. To respond to it is beyond the scope of a blog comment.

Instead, can you please share how much water and coffee (or other caffeinated beverages) you drink on an average day?
July 26, 2011 at 9:50 AM
Chris said…
Tom

why does it matter what I drink in a day? Most of the water that we need is contained in food.

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/12/08/the-myth-behind-drinking-8-glasses-of-water-a-day/
July 26, 2011 at 12:34 PM
Tom said…
I want to know if you walk your talk. How much water, coffee and other beverages did you drink today?
July 26, 2011 at 3:47 PM
Anonymous said…
good article that, thanks chris. i'll chuck in my penny's worth here because it is a subject that used to be dear to my heart. i used to be mega-obsessed with getting my 1.5 - 2 litres in a day, swallowing that whole guff about dehydration and subsequent physical and mental degradation if i didn't. at some point i realised i was becoming a bit o.c.d. about it all and decided to cut back to a level where i drank water only when i felt like it or needed it, without counting the volume of water or the number of occasions i drank. my water intake levels now vary throughout the week, subject to my level of activity. i spend most of working day in an office chair and as a result water intake will be minimal. on weekends i am very active and subsequently will drink more water when called for. but the one thing i do not do anymore is a manic daily tally and i have achieved a nice state of mind where i no longer get anxious about my water intake. with regards to tom's comments above about toxins and pollutants, the task of diluting these and flushing them out from our body is not done by water, but by our liver - water is a helpful tool to the liver in all of this, but an excess of water makes absolutely no difference to the liver's effectiveness. it needs a minimum amount of water, subject to what we are absorbing into our bodies and the physical levels at which we perform, but drinking tons of water is neither here nor there. far more important for the liver's effectiveness to handle its job is avoiding alcohol and excessively fatty foods to allow it to operate at optimum levels. too much water will lead to sodium depletion and too little to dehydration, that's correct, but for our bodies to become dehydrated we need to go for a significant period of time without (we're talking days here). how much anyone else drinks is irrelevant, as personal consumption depends purely on your body type and your level of activity. right, now where's my anorak ...
August 4, 2011 at 7:32 AM
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