Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Do you need 8 glasses of water a day?

Everyone's heard this bit of conventional wisdom and some folks struggle awfully hard to maintain it - but do you actually need 8 glasses of water a day? The answer is a simple "NO".

Nobody seems to know where this health myth originates, but it is not based on scientific evidence. For most people, having a drink when thirsty is enough to meet daily liquid requirements. Pushing oneself to drink additional water is not only unecessary, but can be damaging to your health. Water intoxication occurs in extreme cases and can result in altered mental states and death.

4 comments:

Daniel said...

Ah, awesome! I've read (or maybe heard) about this before, and I'm glad to see I'm not the only one. Do you have a reference of some sort on this? Would be nice to point to any time people think I sound silly telling them about this.

Rachael said...

Oh, sure.

Biology: Concepts and Connections
p.509
Campell & Reece

They also point out in this section that coffee is hydrating, not dehydrating. Apparently another popular myth is that coffee dehydrates you?

Rachael said...

Oops - 5ed.

Daniel said...

It is indeed another idea that people have. Good to know that, too, is just a myth! I can now resume my coffee-drinking with confidence!