No, You Do Not Have to Drink 8 Glasses of Water a Day
Orphia
Posts: 7,097 Member
Read this, or read my Cliff Quotes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/25/upshot/no-you-do-not-have-to-drink-8-glasses-of-water-a-day.html
Quotes:
"If there is one health myth that will not die, it is this: You should drink eight glasses of water a day.
It’s just not true. There is no science behind it.
Many people believe that the source of this myth was a 1945 Food and Nutrition Board recommendation that said people need about 2.5 liters of water a day. But they ignored the sentence that followed closely behind. It read, “Most of this quantity is contained in prepared foods.”
Water is present in fruits and vegetables. It’s in juice, it’s in beer, it’s even in tea and coffee. Before anyone writes me to tell me that coffee is going to dehydrate you, research shows that’s not true either.
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. You also don’t need to worry so much about never feeling thirsty. The human body is finely tuned to signal you to drink long before you are actually dehydrated.
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.
[A]s people in this country live longer than ever before, and have arguably freer access to beverages than at almost any time in human history, it’s just not true that we’re all dehydrated."
==
Water is not a magic weight loss elixir.
Drink if you're thirsty.
Or if your urine is the wrong colour:
But basically, you will feel thirsty if you're over the borderline, so Just Drink When You're Thirsty.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/25/upshot/no-you-do-not-have-to-drink-8-glasses-of-water-a-day.html
Quotes:
"If there is one health myth that will not die, it is this: You should drink eight glasses of water a day.
It’s just not true. There is no science behind it.
Many people believe that the source of this myth was a 1945 Food and Nutrition Board recommendation that said people need about 2.5 liters of water a day. But they ignored the sentence that followed closely behind. It read, “Most of this quantity is contained in prepared foods.”
Water is present in fruits and vegetables. It’s in juice, it’s in beer, it’s even in tea and coffee. Before anyone writes me to tell me that coffee is going to dehydrate you, research shows that’s not true either.
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. You also don’t need to worry so much about never feeling thirsty. The human body is finely tuned to signal you to drink long before you are actually dehydrated.
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.
[A]s people in this country live longer than ever before, and have arguably freer access to beverages than at almost any time in human history, it’s just not true that we’re all dehydrated."
==
Water is not a magic weight loss elixir.
Drink if you're thirsty.
Or if your urine is the wrong colour:
But basically, you will feel thirsty if you're over the borderline, so Just Drink When You're Thirsty.
0
Replies
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Yep, i do the urine test.
I don't drink a lot of water at all (maybe 1 litre a day, even less during Winter), but my urine is normally between 1 and 3 in the diagram above.
I notice that when i drink alcohol though, my urine is much darker - obviously due to dehydration. That's when i ensure to drink more Water.
But there are plenty of Foods that naturally contain water, so yes i agree...drinking 8 glasses a day isn't necessary.0 -
Yes, but all the magazines say this in their articles on getting toned and spot reducing stomachs so it must be twue0
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it's not the key to weight loss by any stretch but it's still good for you. I bloat a little bit less and my skin is clearer when I'm drinking lots of water over other liquids. Not sure why there's so much water controversy lately lol.0
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it's not the key to weight loss by any stretch but it's still good for you. I bloat a little bit less and my skin is clearer when I'm drinking lots of water over other liquids. Not sure why there's so much water controversy lately lol.
See. It gives you clear skin. That's proof you should be drinking lots
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I don't set myself a goal of drinking X amount of water a day - but I do like to stay hydrated. For some reason, I am prone to dehydration and cystitis and when I get thirsty, my head pounds. I probably drink MORE than 8 glasses a day - my skin likes me for it, not sure my bladder does!0
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it's not the key to weight loss by any stretch but it's still good for you. I bloat a little bit less and my skin is clearer when I'm drinking lots of water over other liquids. Not sure why there's so much water controversy lately lol.
People can also die from water poisoning. Too much of anything/everything positive, is always negative & MFP is just as guilty of promoting this myth; in the food diary.0 -
That's good as I don't think I ever drink 8 glasses of water a day!0
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HappyCampr1 wrote: »I try to drink 8, but I consider 6 cups my minimum When I drink 6, I tend to fall around color 3. Mostly I try for eight because my fiber goal is 30g and I think everything works better if I'm drinking enough.
Before I started tracking and trying, I was drinking maybe 3-4 cups of water a day. Sometimes I was color 5, and yet I never felt thirsty. Can someone's thirst meter break? (Honest question)
Sometimes thirst is confused with hunger but this can also be like when you aren't hungry, even though you're under your healthy daily Calorie goal.0 -
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it's not the key to weight loss by any stretch but it's still good for you. I bloat a little bit less and my skin is clearer when I'm drinking lots of water over other liquids. Not sure why there's so much water controversy lately lol.
See. It gives you clear skin. That's proof you should be drinking lots
MY skin. Mine. I'm not making a blanket statement. Liking water doesn't make me a sheep, i never said it was magical.0 -
I drink 6-8 glasses of water a day because it gives me clearer skin, my dry skin goes from dry to normal and my urine colour tells me I need this water. This is why I drink the water, a nice side effect is that it keeps me fuller for longer and makes it easier for me to stick to my eating plan. As long as this works for Me I take no notice of what the research says as my body seems happy with my water intake.0
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MondayJune22nd2015 wrote: »it's not the key to weight loss by any stretch but it's still good for you. I bloat a little bit less and my skin is clearer when I'm drinking lots of water over other liquids. Not sure why there's so much water controversy lately lol.
People can also die from water poisoning. Too much of anything/everything positive, is always negative & MFP is just as guilty of promoting this myth; in the food diary.
its just a thing you can track if you want to. If people are drinking two gallons a day because they think they'll eat less and lose faster that's indicative of a worse disorder than that article will fix. Mfp didn't make them do it.0 -
Mine is color 50
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More than one doctor has told me that the rule about drinking 8 glasses of water is a myth and to drink when I feel thirsty. My current doctor asked me why I'm not forcing water on my dog and why humans are the only animals who can't tell when they're dehydrated. My dog seems to know when she's hungry and when she's thirsty and doesn't seem to confuse the two and doesn't appear to be unhealthy because she can't figure it out. I don't know how I'd force feed her water anyway. Nothing about drinking until it makes you feel sick and not knowing when you're thirsty makes any sense.
Now if you want to try to fight off hunger by filling up with water, that's a tool, not a biological need. Same goes for personal preference (you really love drinking water the same as other people love tea or coffee).
And I agree that MFP's water nag is dumb.0 -
Yaaay. Now can we tackle the idea that when you think you're hungry you might actually be thirsty? Its my second most annoying diet myth. Or is it the strange idea that water that contains caffeine/bubbles/anything else suddenly stops counting as water? hmmmm....0
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Good thing. I typically drink 0 cups of water per day and my pee runs clear (#1). I thought for a second that I might be a magical unicorn snowflake and didn't want to have to live with all those expectations and pressure.0
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I aim for 72 oz a day.
My personal goal is what I need to drink to hit the "acceptable urine color" on the chart. If I don't have a number goal and track it, then I don't drink enough. I've always naturally had less thirst than others and my urine used to always be too dark. I just don't remember to drink and so I have to track in order to no be dehydrated. If I were to just "drink when thirsty", I would always be at a 7 or 8 like I have been in the past.
Also, I feel better when I'm hydrated.0 -
HappyCampr1 wrote: »starling01 wrote: »And I agree that MFP's water nag is dumb.
MFP nags you about drinking water? I've never seen this.
The app nags/praises about weird things. I prefer to log on the computer anyway, but when I noticed this it became another reason not to log on the app.0 -
I drink 8-12 glasses per day so I can go to the bathroom for some alone time. It's a habit I learned when I had toddlers and it works with husbands and annoying coworkers too.
For real,
the pee chart. 0 -
I don't believe it's some "magic weight loss trick" but I do drink 12-16 glasses of water everyday, I don't force myself I just usually feel like gulping down a few of glasses before every meal and if I don't do it I feel like I'm dying of thirst the whole meal lol everyone's different, I feel better when I drink lots of water and I'll continue but if you don't like it then don't do it lol
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I like drinking lots of water too, but I don't see the point of tracking it or drinking a specific number of glasses. That's what people are saying.0
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hmm cool. But I drink about 1 gallon of water a day.0
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lemurcat12 wrote: »HappyCampr1 wrote: »starling01 wrote: »And I agree that MFP's water nag is dumb.
MFP nags you about drinking water? I've never seen this.
The app nags/praises about weird things. I prefer to log on the computer anyway, but when I noticed this it became another reason not to log on the app.
If you don't want to the App to recommend things, just go to the settings tab and turn it off. It isn't hard.
The app is vastly superior to the web interface due to the quick search feature alone.0 -
I just find it easier to do most MFP things, including logging, on-line, not on the app. If I wanted to use the app, I'd turn it off, though.0
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It always makes me sad when I see people come in the forums and ask how to force themselves to drink water or if they'll ever get used to peeing all the time.
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If one is taking B vitamins, the urine can be dark.0
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I went a year+ drinking nothing but Sprite Zero and some tea, and I never got dehydrated. It didn't affect my weight, my skin, or even my teeth. (Hint: Sprite Zero is also water)
I drink water now because I like it, but I don't track it or carry around a Pinterest-style gallon jug of it.0 -
Read this, or read my Cliff Quotes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/25/upshot/no-you-do-not-have-to-drink-8-glasses-of-water-a-day.html
Quotes:
"If there is one health myth that will not die, it is this: You should drink eight glasses of water a day.
It’s just not true. There is no science behind it.
Many people believe that the source of this myth was a 1945 Food and Nutrition Board recommendation that said people need about 2.5 liters of water a day. But they ignored the sentence that followed closely behind. It read, “Most of this quantity is contained in prepared foods.”
Water is present in fruits and vegetables. It’s in juice, it’s in beer, it’s even in tea and coffee. Before anyone writes me to tell me that coffee is going to dehydrate you, research shows that’s not true either.
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. You also don’t need to worry so much about never feeling thirsty. The human body is finely tuned to signal you to drink long before you are actually dehydrated.
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.
[A]s people in this country live longer than ever before, and have arguably freer access to beverages than at almost any time in human history, it’s just not true that we’re all dehydrated."
==
Water is not a magic weight loss elixir.
Drink if you're thirsty.
Or if your urine is the wrong colour:
But basically, you will feel thirsty if you're over the borderline, so Just Drink When You're Thirsty.
What? Not 8 glasses a day?
Thanks for posting this.0 -
I have drink too much water before (2-3L), and I get dizzy and light headed because of that. I guess too much water can cause your body to not absorb much nutrients from the food. Now, I just drink when I'm thirsty and I don't have that problem anymore.0
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I have drink too much water before (2-3L), and I get dizzy and light headed because of that. I guess too much water can cause your body to not absorb much nutrients from the food. Now, I just drink when I'm thirsty and I don't have that problem anymore.
Too much water swells your brain.0
This discussion has been closed.
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