Drs. debunk 7 medical myths

[DSTCHAOS]

Too little water is a problem and too much water is a problem.

That may be why they picked 8.

There are a lot of people who don't drink any water and have to rely on their foods for water. And their foods are so processed and fattening, anyway. They only drink sugary drinks or coffee. It's really gross thinking about some people's food and beverage diets.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

Too little water is a problem and too much water is a problem.

That may be why they picked 8.

There are a lot of people who don't drink any water and have to rely on their foods for water. And their foods are so processed and fattening, anyway. They only drink sugary drinks or coffee. It's really gross thinking about some people's food and beverage diets.

Except that doctors are saying that even your soda or your food counts as water intake. 8 has no basis in fact, so saying that someone picked it as a balance between too much and too little is trying to create justification for something that doesn't exist. With the water that people get from other sources 2.2 liters may be too much.

[JonoBN41]

It's only in the past few years that bottled water became available, and now everyone has to have water with them all the time. It didn't used to be that way, and we got along perfectly fine.

I went to college in Florida, where the tap water was warm, over-chlorinated (so it wasn't brown), and stunk from the hydrogen sulphide.

We drank lots of beer and scotch for sure, and I recall making up jugs of cherry Kool-Aid, but I'm guessing I didn't drink even one glass of plain water the whole 4+ years I was in school. I'll bet no one else there did either.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by JonoBN41

It's only in the past few years that bottled water became available, and now everyone has to have water with them all the time. It didn't used to be that way, and we got along perfectly fine.

Before bottled water, many people put faucet or filtered water in cups and lug mugs so they could have water throughout the day. Or they drank water with meals or in one sitting to get rid of thirst and the possiblity of dehydration.

I've been hearing about the importance of drinking water since I was little. And it wasn't a new idea. Now it's just more available and convenient.

[JonoBN41]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

Before bottled water, many people put faucet or filtered water in cups and lug mugs so they could have water throughout the day.

Not really. As a kid I had a thermos in my lunch box (usually soup) and would buy a 1/2 pint of milk for lunch. Maybe a sip from the water fountain down the hall (after asking permission), and that's all I had for the day in grade school. I don't recall being particularly thirsty when I got home.

People don't need nearly as much water as they seem to think they do.

It's as simple as this: If you're thirsty, have a drink. If not, don't worry about it. I'm 54 and doing fine.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by JonoBN41

Not really.

Yeah, really.

It may not have been what you or people you knew did but this is a big world.

It's something I grew up around and my parents got that info from doctors and health and fitness experts of the 1960s-1980s.

Originally Posted by JonoBN41

It's as simple as this: If you're thirsty, have a drink. If not, don't worry about it.

Many people don't drink water when they are thirsty. "Quinch your thirst" isn't in reference to water. And they wonder why they are always thirsty and/or don't know that not being "thirsty" doesn't mean they aren't dehydrated.

Originally Posted by JonoBN41

I'm 54 and doing fine.

Good for you.

There are people who have smoked for 30 years and don't have lung cancer yet. I still don't recommend smoking.

[UGAalum94]

DSTCHAOS,

Why are you so much more likely to assume that because it was your experience, it was a commonly accepted thing, even as you tell JonoBN14 that his experience doesn't really count?

I'm with him that the conventional wisdom of 8 glasses of water a day is a much bigger deal today than it used to be.

And I think bottled water sales and promotion have a lot to do with it. Is the medical need greater? Nope. Is it something you see a lot more? Yep.

Is there less of a consensus among medical professional than the often quoted amount would lead you to believe? Yep.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

8 has no basis in fact, so saying that someone picked it as a balance between too much and too little is trying to create justification for something that doesn't exist.

Well...duh...there are various recommendations for water consumption that are based on different research and other factors. I was theorizing as to why 8 glasses a day was possibly chosen because there's no consistent proof that it has absolutely no justification. Doctors and research institutes can't possibly account for every human being's activity and consumption level so a more general recommendation may have been what they were going for.

Another cool article: http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/NU/00283.html