Drs. debunk 7 medical myths

[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

[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 UGAalum94

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 didn't say that.

If you and the people you knew didn't do it but other people did somewhere, it is safe to assume that it exists. Right? Some people thought yoga was new.

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

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.

That isn't what my posts to JonoBN14 were about. To Jono, I'm talking about water consumption, in general, and how people drinking water throughout the day didn't just start with the bottled water craze. I'm not talking about the 8 glasses rule.

It's obviously a much bigger deal and more advertised today--that doesn't mean that drinking water throughout the day didn't exist before it became such a big deal to the masses of North America.

[UGAalum94]

I'm not prepared to dispute that people drank water before the current bottled water craze; in fact, I'll go one better: I think some people drank water throughout human history.

Was anyone else bothered by how not-really-medical the medical myths were in the list?

[AKA_Monet]

Here's a thought: After drinking water, how does it get into the cells of our body, that compose our tissues?

Dehydration in some areas of the world is a serious issue. In the US, it should not be, however, it can be. Hyponatremia is also an issue in the US.

The issue is about balance. When 8 glasses were conceptualized, it was based on OUNCES to make it easy for lay people. There was no such thing as supersize. Now, there is.

During and after a workout or cardiovascular aerobic exercise, one has to KNOW when he or she thinks he or she is dehydrated.