Quick Fact: Drinking Minimum 2 Litres of Water Per Day (The Myth)
Quick Fact: Drinking Minimum 2 Litres of Water Per Day (The Myth)
The common advise that you have to drink at least two litres of water a day is an old myth. It can be traced to Food and Nutrition Board report from 1945 posted in British Medical Journal. The report advised that we should drink 1 millimeter of water for each calorie intake. It may be more-less correct but the issue is that large amounts of water that we consume each day come from our food.
Besides, there is absolutely no evidence that drinking a lot of water has detoxifying effect on our body or improvement of our skin quality including wrinkles. By drinking more, we just have to go to the toilet more often. The kidneys and the liver are responsible for dealing with toxins in our body so the only benefit of drinking more water may be when you saturate your body with alcohol or salt (easy to do considering dangerous salt oversaturation in processed food). When you become dehydrated it is important to resupply your body with sugar and salt, not just water. Drinking excessive amounts of water can also lead to death by overhydration - "hyponatremia".
[ Typical advert of bottled water showing picturesque mountains to deceive about its source. 60-70% of "mineral" water on the market is filtered tap water, the rest is just ordinary ground water, with only tiny percentage coming from mountain springs. Picture Source ]
I remember when I was growing up as a kid in the 80s, it was very uncommon for anyone to carry water with them outdoors (unless on some sort of hiking trip), even during hot days. People simply drank liquids when they came back home. Mostly tap water, tea, some homemade juice or fruit compote drink.
Then in the beginning of 90s, big water companies started the boom of bottled water. They discovered new, easy way of making a lot of buck by selling water to people, so they started massive marketing campaigns brainwashing people with lies about inferiority of tap water and the need of constant hydration 24 hours a day. People mindlessly have followed this bullshit trend (as they tend to follow pretty much any bullshit they get brainwashed with in adverts), so now you can see people walking like some sort of aqua-zombies with their bottle of water everywhere they go, constantly suckling on it like a little baby on a tit. Regardless that they are not even feeling thirsty. This socially conditioned, consumerist-driven, mindless and habitual behavior has drowned our planet in plastic bottles causing irreparable environmental damage.
References:
"Just Add Water", Journal of American Society of Nephrology, 2008.
"Fact or Fiction?: You Must Drink 8 Glasses of Water Daily?", Scientific American, 2009.
"Plastic bottles are a recycling disaster. Coca-Cola should have known better", The Guardian, 2017.
"Hyponatremia", Wikipedia article.
-logic
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Yeah, drinking a lot of water is unscientific and bogus:) As you said, all the plastic water bottles cause huge environmental damage. There are actually some examples of death from hyponatremia because of water poisoning. This paper (http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa043901#t=article) from the Boston marathon is a classic:)
Hey, thanks for the link. Yeah I read somewhere once about oversaturation with water between the runners lol
This one really annoys me because I've even had some nurses telling me that I should be drinking 2 litres of water a day and I have to explain to them that unless you have damage to your hypothalamus or some other problem with homeostatic feedback mechanisms (e.g. drugs, renal problems) - your thirst will tell you how much you need to drink.
Also as you point out drinking too much water can be dangerous (although in a healthy individual 2 litres probably won't cause a problem, in certain diseases particularly where your have poor renal function the threshold may be much lower).
I think in part this myth may have been perpetuated by bottled water companies.
Your body will indeed always let you know how much you need. The same holds for many of the every-day-needs. But myths are hard to fight. Educating people is the only way out (as you did with these nurses)!
Exactly!
That is unfortunate that some many health professionals such as nurses and doctors still perpetuate this nonsense :-)
You are probably one of few doctors who debunks this :-)
I also think that water corporations have largely contributed to this myth. Just like tobacco companies 70-80 years ago used to perpetuate the bullshit that cigarettes are great medication :-)
I'm not saying you have to drink water out of a plastic bottle but so much evidence points to drinking plenty of water every day leads to a very healthy life.
This doesn't mean other things aren't important as well.
I completely disagree with this article and think it's just your personal opinion.
P.S. Thanks for sharing anyway. Thank God we live in a free country :)
"your personal opinion"
You have the references to scientific studies above ;-) It is not my so-called personal opinion but opinion of experts which I have referenced.
"I'm not saying you have to drink water out of a plastic bottle but so much evidence points to drinking plenty of water every day leads to a very healthy life"
You are welcome to provide coherent scientific evidence to support your claim. Peer reviewed studies published in accredited scientific journals, for example. Meta-analysis would be the best.
(Not personal anecdotes or some dubious blog or article posted on "health" sites, please)
If you can't provide any then it is actually YOUR personal opinion :-)
Thanks for the comment, by the way.
Good catch. You provided references, he didn't. So the personal opinion comment was ironic.
Having said that, hopefully you would agree many people are not that good at listening to cues their bodies provide. Thirst can be mistaken for hunger.
It is not bad advice, in my opinion without evidence, to tell people that they should pay attention to the amount of water they are drinking daily and make sure it is more than zero cups of water per day
STEEM On!!
Thanks for the comment. Of course, you are right. I agree with you. Not enough of water is as bad.
About confusing hunger with thirst. You make an interesting point but I don't think it is possible. Two different areas in the brain are responsible for the feeling of hunger and thirst. I have nto heard about any case of people confusing these two. It is explained in second reference in Scientific American article.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/441564-difference-between-being-hungry-and-thirsty/
Many sites report that confusing thirst and hunger is quite common.
I personally believe I had this issue. Eating too much and too often, when body was trying to signal thirst.
I'm having better results and feeling better and losing weight by going with assumption that all hunger pains are really thirst, and if drinking a glass of water doesn't resolve the issue then I was hungry.
Simple tap water mixed with lemon slices. Bottled "SMART Water" is the stupidest thing anyone can spend money on
STEEM On!!
I agree. Water should be free. It is fundamental human need. I drink tap water too. The taste of hard water in my borough may be a bit strong so what I do is boiling it first, then cool it and filtre it in my Aqua Optima jug. Tastes great. 1 filtre lasts for a month and is 100 times less plastic than if I had to buy same amount of bottled water.
Watch the video in link 3.
The amount of water you drink does have a part to play in how much you eat and what you eat.
You can find almost anybody (scientist) that will say almost anything about just about anything even if it as ridiculous as, a cow really jumped over the moon.
You have to go with the majority when it comes to scientist, not one lone ranger that is trying to come up with a new bright idea.
The majority of scientist will tell you more water is better, that is of course to an extent.
#1. https://authoritynutrition.com/7-health-benefits-of-water/
#2.https://greatist.com/health/health-benefits-water
#3. http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/6-reasons-to-drink-water#1
First link is a dubious "health" site not a link to scientific reference.
Second link is about dehydration, need for hydration and effects/benefits of water on human body. The studies provided there relate to these facts. Drinking too little water is as bad as too much. also pointing out some obvious facts that when you endure athletic performance you p[erspire more so you need to replenish with water accordingly.
There is mentioned about drinking half a litre of water before certain activities like eating etc. With relevant studies provided to support that.
Sadly, they also repeat the myth of drinking 2 litres of water a day but bring absolute no single study to support that claim. This whole article although brings up interesting information, in no way debunks my article that 2 litres of water idea is an arbitrary myth.
My article is not about how much and what you eat because of drinking water but about myth of "2 litre of water a day" advise.
Check Waterlogged by Tim Noakes. Good read on this subject
Just reading this "http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/introduction-ndash-a-change-in-view-of-hydration"
I myself never drink for up to 2 hours during my intensive running in scorching sun. During obstacle race that lasts 2 hours I do not drink at all or very little (if I run during hot day).
I think that this obsesion with compulsive drinking during athletic performance in many athletes is mind generated anxiety rather than actual physical need.
It is so annoying when during some workout (like circuit or intensive conditioning calistehnics) we have to take a break every 10-15 minutes because some atheletes have to compulsively suck on their water bottles.
Similar. If im going to be out there less than a couple of hours I dont take any water. Salt loss tends to be my enemy rather than need for liquid (when I get into the 3hrs+)
Yes I agree. Same here :-) Glucose and salt :-)
Thanks for recommendation!
I heard one liter of water first thing in the morning is great for overall wellbeing.
I heard about 0.5l lite according to all those unsubstantiated "morning routine" advises on YT :-)
I drink about a gallon a day, I just feel better. You are so right about the tap water in most bottled water. 😂
Do you know how much a gallon is? That's a big bunch of water every day. Does your job result in a lot of sweating?
I live in Vegas... 110 daily and love to work out so it makes sense with those two things lol
That could do it. Not a common situation for most in the US
I do drink a lot because I'm active and even when I'm not I often feel thirsty...but I just drink tap water in a reusable steel bottle. I didn't know the percentage of bottled water that is actually tap though, that's terrible. I know Coke got busted for doing that before but I didn't know it was common practice. Plastic waste is just horrible.
Thanks for comment.
I recommend these documentaries:
"Flow: For Love of Water"
"Blue Gold World Water Wars"
Yup, upvoted this one of your, too.
Thanks. I upped 2 of yours. My votes are not worth much but at least a cent.
In reality the only thing you need to do is to keep yourself hydrated during the day. The myth is just that, a myth . But it's an easy way of telling people why they should drink water during the day.
People are not that stupid to be told that they need to drink water. Our bodies tell us when we need to drink - we simply become firsty. Sometimes we need more (like during certain prolonged atheltic performance or in very hot environment due to extensive sweating), sometimes less. The 2 litre a day is bullshit. 160cm tall female with 60kg body weight living in arctic circle may need only 0.5 litre of water a day. 2m tall male lumberjack weighing 120kg, working in tropical forest may need 6 litres a day. And so on...
It becomes stupid when we perpetuate and follow myths.
Completely agree with you , myths should be debunked if false and proven if true .
Water is Life!