Why you don't need to drink 8 glasses of water daily

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Eight glasses of water a day is a very dubious norm. Collected scientific studies that do not confirm the magical power of this figure.

The basic principles of a healthy lifestyle wander from one article to another practically unchanged and seem to be already established truths. Yes, you all know them perfectly well: more vegetables, constant exercise and eight, yes, exactly eight (!) Glasses of water a day.

Wait, is this really true about water? What if I don't feel like drinking so much? And do all people need the same amount of fluid?

The theory that we need eight glasses of water every day has deep roots, so deep that it’s even difficult to trace their origins. Most likely, this dogma started back in 1945 with a publication where, among other things, it was said that "the rate of fluid intake for an adult is about 2.5 liters per day … but most of this amount is contained in the food consumed." People safely threw away the second part of this phrase, and the myth of eight glasses of water (about 2.5 liters) went to walk the planet.

So let's immediately give up the idea that the number eight has some kind of huge significance for our health, and stop counting the glasses you drink. It is much more important to answer another fundamental question: does additional water consumption really have such a beneficial effect on our health?

There is a huge and undeniable plus of drinking water - it does not contain calories. Considering the obesity epidemic that has swept through almost all developed, developing and underdeveloped countries, it would be much better if the population replaces juices or even sweeter soda with plain water.

But the supporters of the "Eight Glasses of Water" sect also tell us about the miraculous cleansing of the body, the removal of toxins and toxins, and the normalization of the work of internal organs. However, here, too, everything is not too straightforward.

To date, there is no consensus among scientists about the effect of abundant additional fluid intake on human disease and mortality. For example, a very large study was done in the Netherlands in the 1980s. Its results were published in 2010. After observing more than 120,000 people over 10 years, the authors found no relationship between fluid intake and causes of death. In other words, people who drank a lot of water and a little, die from the same diseases.

Other studies support this finding. There is no connection between the amount of fluid consumed and the incidence of chronic kidney disease and mortality from cardiovascular disease. But he does not see any effect of additional hydration on the quality of our skin, so, most likely, the visual effect of rejuvenation of people drinking water does not correspond to reality.

However, what to do with other scientists who offer us completely opposite conclusions in their scientific works? For example, this, which followed more than 20,000 Adventists, found that drinking a few extra cups of water had a positive effect on overall morbidity and mortality. So where is the truth?

The truth, as usual, lies somewhere in the middle, and to find it, you do not need to conduct any expensive research. And it consists in the fact that you need to drink, and to drink it is water. But you should not get hung up on any specific number of liters or glasses of the daily requirement. For each person, this rate is individual and depends on many reasons, including the climate and current diet. And the best advice I've ever heard on this subject is the doctor's answer to my question about how much and when to drink. He replied as follows:

Drink when you are thirsty.

It's simple, why complicate it?