8 Glasses of Water Myth

Options
chivalryder
chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I know this has been posted about a month ago, but that thread was dead empty.

The 8 glasses of water theory has been debunked. There are no studies and no evidence that shows that you need to drink 8 glasses of water a day to stay healthy.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/06/08/water-eight-glasses-myth.html

That being said, I am unaware of any studies that has any evidence stating that you shouldn't drink that much.

I personally drink a lot more than 8 glasses/day, but that's because I come from a heavy cycling background. What I do know is that, if you are exerting your body, you need to drink a minimum of 1 L (4 glasses) every hour, to replenish what you lose in sweat. If you lose even 2% of your body's weight in water (which could be done in 1-2 hours of working out, your body's efficiency drops by over 20%. It could take up to a day to recover from that too.

I believe the whole "you don't need 8 glasses of water/day" is for inactive people. As the article states, you should go by what your body is telling you. If you're thirsty, you will naturally grab a glass of liquid and down it. However, if you get to the point where your body is telling you, you need to drink something, and you're working out, you're too late.

Now, before anyone responds and completely smashes this post, please do some research and post a credible link to back up your point. We don't need any useless garbage in here. After all, opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance. We need knowledge, not ignorance.

edit: glasses = 1 cup. 1 cup = 250mL. 4 cups = 1L, 8 cups = 2L
«134567

Replies

  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    Options
    Yeah. I said this about 3 months ago and got shouted at hysterically. Good luck.
  • katejkelley
    katejkelley Posts: 841 Member
    Options
    MFP recommends 8 CUPs of water a day, not 8 glasses. 8 cups is easy to do. I always exceed that.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    Options
    MFP recommends 8 CUPs of water a day, not 8 glasses. 8 cups is easy to do. I always exceed that.

    A glass is about 1 cup, give or take. I have some at home that are about 2 cups, others that are less than a cup. Most are pretty much 1 cup.
  • MadCheernGurl09
    MadCheernGurl09 Posts: 35 Member
    Options
    Just so you know you can drown yourself by drinking too much water.
  • lisaslim1976
    lisaslim1976 Posts: 145
    Options
    i drink around 3ltr of water a day...im still alive and havnt nearly drowned either :-) !!!
  • ctooch99
    ctooch99 Posts: 459 Member
    Options
    Thanks for this post. I am not really sure what I should be doing on this. I exercise every day and I play in an A level inline hockey league, so I regularly sweat my *kitten* off. But I don't think I drink nearly as much as (all the studies) say I should, I probably realistically drink 3 -5, 8oz. glasses of water per day and most of that is when I am working out.

    I never really feel thirsty and I am the type to listen to my body, so if my body is thirsty then I drink water - but it never comes near 8 glasses a day.

    Should I be forcing myself to drink this much?
  • FuneralDiner
    FuneralDiner Posts: 438 Member
    Options
    What the hell's the difference between a cup and a glass? And what size is this cup? And how much are we filling this cup or glass? These are questions that need to be answered! NOW!
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    Options
    I've heard of people "drowning" from drinking too much water. Some girl in Aus. drank a couple of gallons in a few minutes for some high school contest. Her body became over saturated and stopped functioning. I couldn't even drink that much in a day if I tried.
  • katejkelley
    katejkelley Posts: 841 Member
    Options
    MFP recommends 8 CUPs of water a day, not 8 glasses. 8 cups is easy to do. I always exceed that.

    A glass is about 1 cup, give or take. I have some at home that are about 2 cups, others that are less than a cup. Most are pretty much 1 cup.

    Most of my water glasses are actually 10-16 oz. (I measured.) The point being, it's not really that much water to drink.
  • caroleslaststand
    caroleslaststand Posts: 178 Member
    Options
    My water glasses and water bottles are 16oz., making it much easier to get enough. I find that I need to drink a lot more when I work outside and my work is not particularly strenuous (just mentally taxing because I work with kids). If I drink that much before I go on a long walk, I'm going to have to pee and there's no polite way to pee on or off a path in a public park. Stretches on for miles without any rest stops....
  • kasebrad
    kasebrad Posts: 61 Member
    Options
    What the hell's the difference between a cup and a glass? And what size is this cup? And how much are we filling this cup or glass? These are questions that need to be answered! NOW!

    A cup is a cup, as in 8 oz
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    Options
    What the hell's the difference between a cup and a glass? And what size is this cup? And how much are we filling this cup or glass? These are questions that need to be answered! NOW!

    edited to make note of this
  • spartangirl79
    spartangirl79 Posts: 277 Member
    Options
    A lot of times people mistake thirst for hunger which can lead to bingeing.

    FYI.
  • loadsandloads
    loadsandloads Posts: 353 Member
    Options
    I've read so much on this. I personally go by what my body tells me. If I'm truly thirsty water is the only thing that will quench my thirst. I rarely drink sodas anymore and drink ice tea 2-3 times a week. At my weight and current activity level I'm aiming for minimum of a gallon a day. I typically exceed that. This is based on what I've done in the past, some supplements I take, I'm doing treadmill/elliptical usually 90 minutes a day (5-6 days a week) and the fact that I sweat even I'm not exerting myself. I've also notice that if I don't drink enough water my body kind of just aches and until I drink water I don't get rid of the ache.

    This may not work for everyone but for me, it's working.
  • MelMena
    MelMena Posts: 152 Member
    Options
    I drink well over 64 ounces of water a day (8 "glasses" cups whatever) If I don't I feel like crap and my pee is very dark yellow. I've been told that really you should monitor the color of your urine to see if you are hydrated enough not the number of ounces of water.

    http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water_health/health3/dehydration-urine-color.htm
  • MooMooooo
    MooMooooo Posts: 306 Member
    Options
    Thanks for posting this.

    This myth persists and won't go away. So annoying.

    People prefer to be ignorant.

    It has been debunked soo many times now - including on Dr OZ, he proved that extra water intake (drinking when not thirsty) has no bearing on your health/ weight loss etc.
  • vjrose
    vjrose Posts: 809 Member
    Options
    I'm going out on a limb here and I know the 4 cups a day people will say the Mayo Clinic is full of it but here goes, please note at the bottom, they DO NOT say that it is 8 cups of plain water, but 2.2 - 3 liters of fluid.

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283/
  • raerae514
    raerae514 Posts: 171 Member
    Options
    Maybe I'm wrong, but what I understand is that if you don't get enough water, you will get dehydrated and retain water and gain that "water weight". Maybe it's not true of someone who does no exercise and does not sweat. But recently I had a really sweaty day and only had about 5 cups of water (I don't know why. i think i was too lazy to refill my bottle lol) and then the next day suddenly I was up 2 lbs!

    This has happened to be a few times now and then I will drink a lot of water the next morning my weight is back to normal again. That is why I personally like to get lots of water.

    And sorry but I don't have any credible links, just experiences!
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    Options
    Thanks for this post. I am not really sure what I should be doing on this. I exercise every day and I play in an A level inline hockey league, so I regularly sweat my *kitten* off. But I don't think I drink nearly as much as (all the studies) say I should, I probably realistically drink 3 -5, 8oz. glasses of water per day and most of that is when I am working out.

    I never really feel thirsty and I am the type to listen to my body, so if my body is thirsty then I drink water - but it never comes near 8 glasses a day.

    Should I be forcing myself to drink this much?

    I would suggest, for regular daily activities, just keep doing what you're doing. However, when you're doing inline skating, try to drink a large bottle of water for every hour you're busting you butt, regardless of how thirsty you feel. If you go for more than an hour, make it a sports drink (like gatorade). Drink at least another half a bottle when you're finished playing, as your body is still sweating until you've cooled down.
  • skinnylove00
    skinnylove00 Posts: 662 Member
    Options
    seeing that your muscles are 80% water, and you as a human are about 70% of water, 8 cups of water is probably just bare minimum. i drink about a gallon a day. its doing wonders for my skin and i feel radiant 8) not to mention it curbs the appetite too when i want to binge^.^

    so thanks, but no thanks i`ll stay drinking my 8+ glasses of water a day

Categories