For most of my adult life, friends and family have been telling me to “drink more”. They are not referring to wine, but H2O. I guess they fear I will dehydrate and turn two-dimensional or simply evaporate.
Their concern is gratifying, but I’ve never been able to drink my 8 daily glasses. I’ve tried, but do not like to feel like a water balloon ready to burst. So I rely on thirst as my signal to sip and am happy that science is now on my side.
Scientists have completely debunked the 8 glasses of water myth. Unless you are sick, sufficient water consumption can be achieved with one guideline, “drink when you’re thirsty.” To the chagrin of scientists, the 8 glasses rule will linger for a long time…myths don’t just instantly dry up.
So how did this popular dictum get started? Research brought me to this explanation from the doctors at McGill University:
“The actual notion of 8 glasses a day originates from a 1945 U.S. Food and Nutrition Board which recommended 2.5 litres of daily water intake. But what is generally forgotten from this recommendation is, firstly, that it was not based on research and that, secondly, the recommendation stated that most water intake could come from food sources.”
Another myth that won’t die is that all our American children are suffering from dehydration. Teachers will know exactly what I am talking about. A “scientific” study came out about ten years ago which purportedly showed that the majority of American kids weren’t getting enough water. Teachers began requiring water bottles on all desks and urged children to keep drinking. “Hydrate” became the most spoken word in classrooms. This situation naturally resulted in constant traffic to the bathrooms and constant spills all over the desks. I’ve witnessed many great art projects drowned by wayward water bottles.
The studies about the water needs of children were funded by Nestle Waters. Need I say more?
In conclusion, here are three more ideas about water consumption that are all wet.
- Coffee doesn’t count as water. Wrong, it is a slight diuretic, but that doesn’t cancel out its value for water intake.
- Drinking lots of water keeps the skin smooth. Wrong, you can’t drink your way out of wrinkles; skin has to be hydrated from the outside in.
- Drinking lots of water helps you lose weight. Wrong, scientific studies prove that “drinking water and waiting for the pounds to melt away does not work.”
Science is a wonderful thing. Too bad more people don’t believe in it.
Interesting. I’ve read similar info on this.
evie
ps: too bad they no longer have those old-fashioned, empty inkwells in school desks.
they would’ve held the bottles, perhaps.
Evie….my experience with kids makes me believe that an inkwell would be somehow subverted and the spills would still happen. Kids, lots of water and small desks are just a bad combination.
Haha!! I am vindicated. I have always said that is “nonsense”. Mind you, I usually used a different word 😉
Yes, it feels so good to know that your own body lets you know when something is wrong. But, of course, we do have to heed the messages. I also think that “Sports Medicine” is an oxymoron. Real sports and exercise should not be tearing up your body and causing pain you “work through”. This opinion puts me in a minority in America.