Where does this water drinking myth/fact come from ?

castlerobber

Why you would say there is no science behind why you need to drink water is beyond me.

No, what he said was that there is no science behind the "8 glasses a day" amount. And he's right.

nickyfm

Well I certainly don't go #2 if I haven't drunk gallons of water...
Also my skin is a lot clearer, and I'm a lot more awake.
Also, if I haven't been drinking heaps of water, I probably won't lose much on the scale, because my body is retaining so much of the little water it's getting.

Whether or not there is a 'science' behind it, it seems to work for me!!

3foldchord

Lots of people saying the boys is 70% water... Which is a good reason, but, don't forget the brain is about 80-90% water. Not enough water is not only a common reason for headaches,but not enough hydration also can cause 'brain fog' and lowered cognitive abilities.

I drink water more for my 85% brain than my 70% body.

But I don't know why specifically the number 8, maybe some ratio with the average person's weight or muscle weight.

I'll check that link that was posted.

(I now see someone did post the brain water info)

Robin_Bin

My blog entry about water (and hydration) has some information about the original study. As you suspected, they were looking at the liquid that an average person in a temperate climate needs - and they were even considering liquid in solid food.
blog: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Robin_Bin/view/water-265761
At the end there multiple links to this myth but also other links about the health benefits of water.
That said... there are benefits to drinking water (also in the blog) especially if one is trying to lose weight. Thirst is sometimes misinterpreted as hunger. Dehydration can exacerbate the side effects of losing weight too quickly. Water has no calories, and when you have a source of safe drinking water, it also has no other ingredients (e.g., artificial sweeteners and dyes) which can trigger health issues for some. Drinking water can make it easier to eat less.

dayone987

For example: http://www.watercure.com/

And you body recognizes if it's plain water or unhealthy energy drinks - it's a different water structure. Water also has the ability to "remember": http://drmukhtarahmad.wordpress.com/2008/09/20/can-water-remember/

please explain how it's a different water structure?

socomary

The "8 glasses of water per day" is something that hasn't been "true" for a while now, but trying to get that message out is difficult considering the extremely loud volume of bottled water advertising...

A person's daily fluids intake can depend on their activity level, ambient temperature, ambient humidity, and is different for everyone. The rule of thumb is to pay attention to your urine - too pale, and you should probably back off the fluids. Too dark, and you should probably increase your fluids intake. As for what types of fluids to consume, almost anything counts, be it the milk or soy in your coffee or cereal, the fruit juice in your raw fruit, the juice that you drink, the broth in your soup, that baked potato you might have during a meal, the water contained in the leafy greens of your salad, etc., etc. Water, of course, should be a part of that intake. Even caffeinated tea or coffee counts (caffeine is not "dehydrating" - another myth. Caffeine is a mild diuretic, however). Soda might qualify, but it's a bad choice, as the level of solute (sugar) contained in most sodas pretty much negates the amount of fluid you actually get from it (don't know about diet sodas with sugar substitutes, however). Alcohol is the one liquid that you should consider as dehydrating, plus it makes your liver and kidneys work extra hard to detoxify - in this case, you should drink plenty of fluid alongside to help get those toxins out and minimize the hangover symptoms!

Staying hydrated keeps your body's metabolism functioning correctly, your cells working, your nerves and brain cells communicating properly, your skin plump, your eyes clear - all kinds of good stuff!