From healthier skin to cleaning toxins to losing weight, many of us have heard of the benefits of drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day… but today, we’re separating fact from fiction from somewhere in between.
*We might as well start with the thesis statement… you do NOT have to drink 8 glasses of water a day, though the notion has its roots in good science, if not a bit dated. Back in 1945, the US Food & Nutrition Board recommended that adult males should take in about 2 to 2.5 liters of water a day, which does average out to about 8 glasses of 8 to 10 ounces each. Most folks don’t know there’s a second half to that claim: “Most of this quantity is contained in prepared foods.” That’s right… the water in the food you eat counts toward that figure! It’s another of several benefits to eating your fruits and veggies, many of which are made of about 70-90% water. Oddly enough, cucumbers are 96% water content, compared to a slightly lower 92% in watermelon.
*Contrary to popular belief, tea and coffee not only DON’T dehydrate you, but also count toward that water intake. It’s true that caffeine has diuretic effects that can cause you to urinate more, but clinical studies have shown no significant changes in net hydration… as long as you’re not downing one every waking hour.
*Don’t forget that you yourself are about 60% water… and if you’re off by just a couple of percentage points, here come the headaches and cramping and exhaustion and all that fun stuff. We do excrete a fair bit through our breath, sweat and urine, and that’s what you’re essentially replacing day by day, hour by hour.
*Back to that water figure from the 1940s… the board never cited a clinical study, so it’s already a bit anecdotal. Your body is pretty good at telling you when to drink, whether it’s at your 9-5 desk job or after a hard workout — though ignoring those signs and wondering why you have a mid-afternoon headache is another matter. Your kidneys are already amazing filters, so drinking more water than average won’t exactly cleanse toxins or improve skin tone any more than usual — though it can help flush out kidney stones, and staying hydrated helps prevent them in the first place. Drinking a couple cups of water just before you eat can lead to weight loss in the long run, but that’s more a case of filling your stomach so there’s less room for food.
*There is such a thing as drinking too much water. Water intoxication happens when your kidneys can’t keep up with filtration, flushing the sodium from your cells which then swell up, leading to high blood pressure and brain pressure — it’s just not a pretty picture. All of this to say… listen to your body (and your doctor) for the best medical advice, and maybe have a sip or several right now just in case!
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