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Thread: You Really Don't Need to Drink Eight Glasses of Water Each Day

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    You Really Don't Need to Drink Eight Glasses of Water Each Day

    Story at-a-glance -

    • The recommendation to drink eight 8-ounce glasses (known as 8x8 for short) of water a day is not scientifically backed
    • The best way to determine how much water you need is to listen to your body and let thirst be your guide
    • It’s a myth that waiting to drink until you’re thirsty is too late, because by then you’re already dehydrated; your body’s physiologic thirst mechanism is triggered before you’re dehydrated



    By Dr. Mercola

    The common mantra that you need to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day to stay healthy and hydrated may be one of the biggest health myths out there.

    While drinking pure water as your primary beverage is undoubtedly one of the most important cornerstones of health, there’s a misconception that you need to be chugging down water all day to stay well. In fact, a report from The National Academy of Sciences concluded that most Americans are not walking around dehydrated on a regular basis. They noted, “The vast majority of healthy people adequately meet their daily hydration needs by letting thirst be their guide.

    The report added that while 80 percent of Americans’ total water intake comes from water and other beverages (including caffeinated beverages like coffee, which do “count” in your total fluid intake, contrary to popular belief), 20 percent comes from the food you eat.

    Is There Scientific Basis for 8x8?

    The recommendation to drink eight 8-ounce glasses (known as 8x8 for short) of water a day is often stated as scientific fact. But is it actually based on science? In a review published in the American Journal of Physiology, Dr. Heinz Valtin of Dartmouth Medical School in Lebanon, New Hampshire, set to answer this question.

    He was unable to find any published literature notating the origin of the rule, but potentially traced it back to an apparently offhand comment made by the late influential nutritionist Fredrick J. Stare, who was said to be an early champion of drinking at least six glasses of water a day. A book by Stare contains this (unreferenced) passage...

    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...ter-myth.aspx?

  2. #2
    Administrator fuego's Avatar
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    I try to drink a gallon a day. I fill up a gallon jug every night with filtered water and then drink a 12oz glass every hour after the 2 12oz glasses I drink when I first get up. Been doing that for years.

    I'm glad Mercola says you don't need to. But I'm going to keep doing it. :)

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    Senior Member Colonel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fuego View Post
    I try to drink a gallon a day. I fill up a gallon jug every night with filtered water and then drink a 12oz glass every hour after the 2 12oz glasses I drink when I first get up. Been doing that for years.

    I'm glad Mercola says you don't need to. But I'm going to keep doing it. :)
    Doesn't that wash salts out of your body ?

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    Administrator fuego's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Colonel View Post
    Doesn't that wash salts out of your body ?
    I have no idea. But I eat salt, so who knows.

    Right now I'm doing strict low carb and OMAD (one meal a day). I do have salt at that meal. I lost 16.4 lbs the first week just to show how much water I retain when eating all the carbs I want. I read the explanation one time of why carbs cause you to retain water, but can't remember now. Of course all 16 lbs wasn't water, but probably a majority of it was. I lost 13.4 lbs the first 3 days. That's a lot of water retention.

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    Senior Member Colonel's Avatar
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    I suppose you will regain those ten pounds of water after finishing the diet so you could as well discount them. The body's store of glycogen binds water but is essential for energy and strength. A general low carb diet might bind less water though, without keeping the glycogen store depleted.

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    Senior Member Cardinal TT's Avatar
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    If I drank that much water I would need a catheter to sleep at night

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    I drink when I'm thirsty which is pretty much all the time. I also get a lot of steps running back and forth to the bathroom.

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    Senior Member Colonel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cardinal TT View Post
    If I drank that much water I would need a catheter to sleep at night
    Fluid requirements depend to a large degree on activity levels and weather. Someone working outside during the warm seasons in Atlanta or Perth would need to drink a gallon of fluids per day. I like to feel hydrated at all times and I seem to need more water than some of my traveling mates do under the same conditions and their weight is roughly similar to mine, 190 pounds. But I don't drink anywhere near that much on a normal day, even when adding up fluids from soups, cereals etc.

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    Administrator fuego's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cardinal TT View Post
    If I drank that much water I would need a catheter to sleep at night
    I deal with that by cutting off all drinking by about 6 or 7pm. Nothing after that so I can get it all out before I go to bed. :)

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    Senior Member Cardinal TT's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fuego View Post
    I deal with that by cutting off all drinking by about 6 or 7pm. Nothing after that so I can get it all out before I go to bed. :)

    So no plastic sheets....phew

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