Water, water...waiter, check please!

Alann45

Alann45

Joined
Jul 4, 2009
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Just read another recommendation on drinking water. That one should consume 8-10oz glasses (on 10-8oz) a day to be properly hydrated.

Does anyone manage to do that?
I'm at home most of the day, and I still don't drink nearly that amount. Almost seems like you'd have to really work at downing that much.

Maybe I need one of those camel packs bikers use with the lil hose permanently stuck in my mouth.
 
I think I drink a little more than that recommended amount...4-5 32oz. Nalgene bottles a day. It's a habit I formed while at work to keep myself full so I don't snack. Bad thing about drinking so much water is that you have to visit the bathroom so much.
 
I doubt that someone sitting at home or in a quiet office will need this average amount of recommended water. Some people drink more caffeine, or eat foods with more sugar, and need more water. Some eat more soups and salads, and get their water from that.
 
I doubt I drink as much water as I should, but I haven't died of dehydration yet, so I'm not worried.

Wait, if booze is 40% alcohol, then the remaining 60% is water, right? Then yeah, I probably drink enough water.
 
This is a hoax. There is no scientific evidence that drinking that much water is good for you. It is one of those things that "experts" have come to accept as a fact. The truth is that each person has an individual need for water. Trying to force 64 oz down your gullet may actually be harmful.

A long time ago I heard this topic discussed on Dean Edell's show. The funny thing is that no one knows where this idea came from. Edell said that it may have come from a sports physiologist who tried to calculate water usage by body weight while exercising and like many things, people latched onto the idea and amplified it.

Also, keep in mind that everything you eat is mostly water. Doesn't that count?
 
Planterz said:
I doubt I drink as much water as I should, but I haven't died of dehydration yet, so I'm not worried.

Wait, if booze is 40% alcohol, then the remaining 60% is water, right? Then yeah, I probably drink enough water.
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Most of us only die once, so that may not be a good indicator.:D
More seriously, my impression was that it wasn't to avoid dehydration, but more for overall health.

Booze acts to dehydrate so I'm not sure it's water content counts. Course if one is drinking enough booze to get that much water, they probably don't give a hoot. ;)

Esav may be right (I hope he is), but the stuff I've read is for general health, and not directed at just very active folks. I know hikers, bikers and such are very aware of their water intake...mostly to avoid that dieing thing.

Amazing it's even an issue when you realize we're fortunate enough to live in a country where we can easily have good quality water anytime we want.

safetyman said:
I think I drink a little more than that recommended amount...4-5 32oz. Nalgene bottles a day. It's a habit I formed while at work to keep myself full so I don't snack. Bad thing about drinking so much water is that you have to visit the bathroom so much.
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I know its a big part of a most diet plans (Nutrisystem, Craig, etc), to fill you up, as you note, and to flush things out.
If you're older, that it may make more bathroom trips necessary really doesnt' matter, you're going to be there anyway! :D
 
Water is very important. I'm a big believer in hydration! I don't know how much water is medically the right amount. I just know if I don't drink a lot of water, I get fuzzy and headachy in the afternoon. BTW, any non-alcoholic beverage counts towards your "water" intake, even if it is caffeinated, sugary, bad for you etc.

As a practical matter, it is very hard to drink too much water. You are much more likely to be dehydrated. I do have one close friend who is a serious athlete who almost died of drinking too much water (hypernutremia?) because he had done a century ride and drank "gallons" of water (according to him) and still felt bad. He ended up in seizures so severe he cracked some vertebra in his back. His buddy, also and athlete, was an ER doc and probably saved his life by recognizing what was happening and getting him to the hospital. Basically, the water strips your body of needed nutrients and electrolytes and the problem could have been avoided if he had eaten some proper snacks or even mixed something like gatorade with his water intake.
 
What kind of stress does consuming what seems like an unnatural ammount of water put on your kidneys? I once read that some bedouins in north Africa get by with three cups a day. Sure, they do other things to conserve thier water, but they live in the desert! And don't get me started on the Fremen. :rolleyes:
 
There probably is no magic number of glasses to drink and depends on each individual person. I know I drink tons of water and I am still constantly thirsty. When I was riding my bike everyday I would drink 1.5-2 gallons of water a day and probably drink about a gallon now. I need 3 or 4 glasses of water with every meal or else I am thirsty the whole time and don't enjoy my meal as much. Waiters hate me and I usually request a pitcher of water.

The easiest way to tell if you are drinking enough is by the color of your urine. If it is clear or almost clear you are where you need to be. While I'm not a 100% sure I don't think excess water hurts your kidneys and actually is good for them. It flushes them and helps to pull the toxins out of your body and since your kidneys aren't full of the toxins they are better off even though they are processing more volume.

I am on a medicine that stresses my kidneys and have been instructed by my doctor to drink as much water as I can. When I drink less water (which is still a lot compared to most people) my kidneys are stressed more according to blood tests I am constantly getting. Drinking excess water lowers the levels of what is tested and is good for everyone. The only way water is bad is if you drink insane amounts of water in a short time so that your cells become super saturated and don't have enough electrolytes for the electrical pulses that control your body, through your nerves, to fire correctly.
 
UffDa said:
There is no scientific evidence that drinking that much water is good for you.

***

A long time ago I heard this topic discussed on Dean Edell's show. The funny thing is that no one knows where this idea came from.
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I remember that show; it reminded me of when I was in the navy, at Great Lakes for Boot Camp. Basically, we were told to drink what we needed to, to not be thirsty. More for some people, a lot less for others. Once we understood the symptoms of dehydration, drinking enough was easy.

My doctor told me years ago, that the goal is to "pee pale". In other words, the more clear your urine is, the better hydrated you are, and it's easier on your kidneys, too. For me, no more than two quarts a day is enough, usually. (But I drink five quarts of coffee a day. Does that count? :p)

~Chris
 
I agree that most of this stuff about drinking X ounces per day has no rational scientific or experiential basis.

But I also know that my 80y old dad, who is in pretty good shape for an old guy, had to go to the ER this year from dehydration. And he was not otherwise sick or exerting himself. Just sitting at home, began sweating profusely and keeled over. He thought he was dieing. And even for a normal, healthy person, not drinking enough can make you woozy, and my progeny's lips get all dried and and cracky when they don't hydrate enough. So there is something to this hydration thing.

Best bet, in my view, is to drink enough to produce clear or mostly clear effluent (this is a family board :)) on a consistent basis.
 
Yes I have heard in my nutrition classes that one should drink 2 32oz (64oz) Nalgenes a day.
I asked why since a Male 2'9" 200lbs requires different calorie intake then a Female 5'4" 110lbs would they not require different fluid intake. My Professor paused and said well its just the standard for most people.
So some have said its hard to determine the exact amount of water intake required because it depends on body type and activity. Just make sure you pee pale/clearish and you should be good
Proper intake of fluids will make your kidneys happy, allow you to feel full and thus snack less (allowing you to lose weight), its also important in getting rid of fat cells to have a proper amount of water as they help in its dissolving and movement. It is also negative as one can overdose on water and mess up your kidneys and such.
 
]I literally drink about a gallon of water a day. This is NOT an exaggeration.
 
orca8589 said:
But I drink five quarts of coffee a day. Does that count? :p

~Chris
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Surprisingly to some folks, yes it does. Coffee and tea are diuretics, but people who drink a lot of it are not affected much. So, the answer is yes, coffee does count.

I don't know about beer though. I have heard that you don't own beer, you just rent it. :D
 
I don't remember it now but I heard you were supposed to drink x ounces of water per ??? body weight per day. I think for me it came up to two and a half gallons a day. I asked the doctor or dietician if they were serious. They responded just try to have more water.

The thing I've heard most often is your urine should be a faint yellow.

I drink two liters of water during an 8 hour shift at work if I get my bottle out where I think about it. I've gone through 6 liters during the summertime if out in the hot but find I need to add something to at least two of them (like lemon juice or some sort of juice mix).

I've also heard that you need to consume an equal amount of water for every non-water beverage you consume. A cup of coffee or tea needs a cup or water to work it through your system.

Best to probably learn what feels best for you and when you need to drink water to maintain your own personal balance.
 
UffDa said:
Surprisingly to some folks, yes it does. Coffee and tea are diuretics, but people who drink a lot of it are not affected much. So, the answer is yes, coffee does count.

I don't know about beer though. I have heard that you don't own beer, you just rent it. :D
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The new stuff I've read says that coffee, tea, even sugared or diet soda, all count towards your "water" intake. I don't think beer does, even though its mostly water.
 
nate1714 said:
its also important in getting rid of fat cells to have a proper amount of water as they help in its dissolving and movement. It is also negative as one can overdose on water and mess up your kidneys and such.
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Just for a bit of clarification:

You don't really get rid of fat cells. You add more fat to them and take fat away from them. Also, water doesn't dissolve fat, you need a special protein for that. It's released when the body needs the energy stored in the fat inside the cells.

Water overdose affects your nervous system rather than your kidneys. Too much water in the system throws off the balance of your electrolites and causes your nervous system to eventually shut down, thus killling you.
 
GWashington1732 said:
Water overdose affects your nervous system rather than your kidneys. Too much water in the system throws off the balance of your electrolites and causes your nervous system to eventually shut down, thus killling you.
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It's called hyponatremia. It's very rare, but it can happen if you drink too much water.
 
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