8 glasses of water per day a MYTH?

[Barcs]

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Eight Glasses of Water a Day

According to Snopes it is. Personally, I'm really surprised at this because I've heard from TONS of people that you are supposed to drink at least 8 glasses per day and your urine being clear is a sign that you are drinking enough. I know Snopes has been wrong in the past, but what you guys think? I'm sure it's not unhealthy to drink that much per day, however.

[Jennihul]

It's a great lesson to not believe everything you are told.

Just like the food pyramid and "complete proteins", the water thing is a myth.

If a man who weighed 280lbs and worked in Florida, in the blazing hot sun for 10 hours a day drank 8 glasses of water a day, he'd be dead.

If a bedridden grandma on dialysis or with congestive heart failure drank 8 glasses of water a day, she'd be dead.

It's geared toward the average person but there is no such thing as the average person.

If your urine runs clear all day, and you have to pee multiple times an hour, you are stressing your kidneys and possibly washing out valuable nutrients and minerals.

If your urine is deep yellow and scant all day, you are not drinking enough.

If your urine is straw colored and not more often than every hour, you are probably drinking enough.

Jennifer

[WarrenDavies]

As I understand it (I could be wrong but heard this in a lecture a while back), the 8 glasses per day advice is a misquote and in the original research said "8 glasses per day, most of which will come from food". In other words, the total of 8 glasses includes the water in all the food you eat too.

[Rick Abelson]

I have always used the pee approach with the idea that if it is yellow I am not drinking enough water and I never pass a sink or fountain without taking a drink. Good advice for Las Vegas.

[beautyscientist]

I have studied carefully a paper that suggests that drinking 2 litres of mineral water a day has a beneficial effect on the skin. I can't comment on any other benefit, but it doesn't seem like an excessive amount of water intake over a 24 hour period. I am not sure why Jennihul thinks that drinking that amount of water in Florida would be fatal if combined with manual labour?

[Keith]

It's not really a myth it's a simplification. It's not right 100% of the time, but it's a decent rule of thumb. And yeh, it doesn't include the water in food, but I know I, for one, don't want to have to work out how many fractions of a glass of water are in each item of food I eat.

Originally Posted by beautyscientist

I am not sure why Jennihul thinks that drinking that amount of water in Florida would be fatal if combined with manual labour?

She's saying that if you laboured in the Florida heat, you'd lose water at a much faster rate and would need more water than the 8 glasses a day recommended.

It's a bit of a strawman really, since every source I've seen cite the 8 glasses a water a day has considered it a healthy minimum not a cap.

[Cantando]

I believe the statement was taken out of context from what a doctor said some years ago.
I think it's a bit naive to think that everyone needs to drink 8 glasses a day.
A manual worker working in a hot climate is obviously going to need a lot more than a sedentary, retired person.
More doesn't necessarily mean better.

[Mags]

I asked a urologist about this once, and he confirmed that since each person is different, each person will need a different amount of water per day (plus it also depends on what your level of activity is).

Like Jennihul said, monitor your urine colour... it needs to be a pale yellow.

Mine gets to that point with approximately 4 - 5 glasses of water a day. Any more water than that, and I may as well live in the bathroom

[Amadeus]

Yea, and you also need to change your oil in your car every 3,000 miles. lol If you are eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables it is a huge myth that you need to eat 8 glasses of water. If you were to go to an Asian country like Japan you would see that their drink glasses are 1/4th the size of American's drink glasses. The reason they don't need to drink so much is because they are getting hydrated through food. Americans eat so much processed food with less water and no fruits and veggies that they have to drink a lot. I think I saw on Oprah (Dr. Oz) a while back where they tested the myth of needing 8 glasses of water. They did a test on twin girls over a month. One consciously drank 10 glasses of water and the other consumed quite a bit less. Test results showed that there was absolutely no changes in health as a result to how much water they drank.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Mags

Like Jennihul said, monitor your urine colour... it needs to be a pale yellow.

I always thought it was supposed to look like water (rather than pale yellow)? That's the point I aim at.

[beautyscientist]

Its a good job this is an internet forum and not a conversation. Imagine joining a group of folks chatting and discovering that they were debating what shade of colour their urine should be...

[yogesh sarkar]

I on average drink 10-12 liters of water every day, in fact I love drink water and I can consume 500+ ml each time easily.

[Mags]

Originally Posted by Keith

I always thought it was supposed to look like water (rather than pale yellow)? That's the point I aim at.

Keith, I'm not sure on the medical/scientific reasons for this, but I think your urine should be pale yellow (or "straw coloured" as Jennifer referred to it) rather than clear like water.

Originally Posted by Jennihul

If your urine runs clear all day, and you have to pee multiple times an hour, you are stressing your kidneys and possibly washing out valuable nutrients and minerals.

That said, if you feel fine drinking that level of water, then it's probably the right level for you. Maybe experiment a bit and see how you feel?

[Andrew Brunelle]

I drink well over that much water in a day. I probably drink about 100 ounces of water a day, some in the fruits and smoothies I make, while most of it is pure spring water. The only inconvenience I've noticed was I have to urinate like six times a day. Other than that, I feel a lot better than I did before I drank so much water.

[Kaspian]

I drink a lot of water because my body asks for a lot of water. On a typical day, I'll probably go through 4 liters (~1 gallon). What I eat seems to have little effect on how much water I need; lately I've been having 2 mostly-raw meals per day, and my water consumption hasn't changed.

[AnonymousOne]

The best strategy for getting enough water is to have a water bottle available whenever possible.

Do that, and you'll not have to worry about the color of your urine or the number of glasses of water you're consuming.

[landonRinek]

Originally Posted by Amadeus

Yea, and you also need to change your oil in your car every 3,000 miles. lol If you are eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables it is a huge myth that you need to eat 8 glasses of water. If you were to go to an Asian country like Japan you would see that their drink glasses are 1/4th the size of American's drink glasses. The reason they don't need to drink so much is because they are getting hydrated through food. Americans eat so much processed food with less water and no fruits and veggies that they have to drink a lot. I think I saw on Oprah (Dr. Oz) a while back where they tested the myth of needing 8 glasses of water. They did a test on twin girls over a month. One consciously drank 10 glasses of water and the other consumed quite a bit less. Test results showed that there was absolutely no changes in health as a result to how much water they drank.

I think you hit a nail on the head, the "myth" does not specify what size of a glass of water to drink. And in America..well most things are overly large to begin with. So maybe we should consider what a normal sized glass means. Another factor involved with this is the amount of salt you intake on a daily basis.

[Revolution]

You need to do what feels good in this regard.
Who is someone to tell you that you need 2l a day? Who are they? God?
We come in different shapes and sizes, sometimes the weather is hot/cold, sometimes we output more physical exercise/labour than on other days. Sometimes our food intake and also the type of food ingested can have an impact. For example which do you think is more hydrating - a serve of potato and pumpkin or 5 slices of high-fiber wholemeal bread? The answer is obvious.

As for they urine thing that is bulls*** too. I mean come on what if youve just had a vitamin pill or some other food or substance that tends to colour the urine? what then? Also there is sooo much more to think about.

Most "experts" I have heard say that the average adult "needs" 8 glasses of water ON TOP OF whatever other fluids you may have derived from other sources including food,juice,tea,coffee,vegetables or whatever.
I will conclude with this how I started:
Forget the about hard-lined rules and simply listen to your body and trust your inner wisdom.

[LightWork]

Originally Posted by AnonymousOne

The best strategy for getting enough water is to have a water bottle available whenever possible.

Do that, and you'll not have to worry about the color of your urine or the number of glasses of water you're consuming.

Fully agree. Using this method, I get probably 2-3 litres a day.

To the 10-12 litres a day, I hope you meant glasses?? That's an insane amount. I'm not doubting you if that's what you say, but unless you are a sizeable character, I'd vouch for that being unhealthy? Still, everyone's different!

[Cantando]

The more meat, junk food and salt you eat, the more water you will need to wash out the harmful by-products.

Also, if you are above average size and/or live in a hot climate, you will probably need more.

However, I can’t help thinking that it is a bit of a fad, or even addiction, for some. They think there is something different about their body which requires constantly having a bottle of water within arm’s length, and if their mouth starts to feel a bit dry – major panic!

[Kaspian]

Originally Posted by LightWork

To the 10-12 litres a day, I hope you meant glasses?? That's an insane amount.

I have always heard the recommendation as 8-10 glasses of water per day. How much water that is depends on the size of the glass. In the US, a small glass (child-sized) is generally 8oz, a medium glass is 12oz, and a large glass (think beer pint) is 16oz. Since 8oz = 1 cup, here's what things add up to:

8oz Glass:
8 glasses = 8 cups = 4 pints = 2 quarts ≈ 2 liters

12oz Glass:
8 glasses = 12 cups = 6 pints = 3 quarts ≈ 3 liters

16oz Glass:
8 glasses = 16 cups = 8 pints = 4 quarts = 1 gallon ≈ 4 liters

[verbors]

I just drink when I feel:

thirsty
tired
a headache
sore muscle

~Verbors

[beautyscientist]

It is common sense to drink when you feel like it. There is a figure of 2.25L quoted in a paper that I review on my blog - but that only means that 2.25L was found to be effective. If you wanted to work out the optimum level that would be a different and much bigger study.

[Rick Abelson]

I am 61 and have been a life-long jock and fitness nut. Back in the 50's 60's and 70's you never heard anything like drink 64 oz. per day. Water was never a subject like it is today. I do know that cramps and fatigue happened more back then and today we know that those symptoms are a direct result of dehydration. Better to drink than not. IMHO

[Rick Abelson]

If you wait until you are thirsty to drink it is too late according to the so-called experts.

[bf1983]

Does anyone else find it weird that we as the human race went thousands of years without needing an answer to this question about water?!

When you're thirsty - drink.

Am I missing something here?

It also depends on the water-content of your food as well.

Brian

[Keith]

Originally Posted by bf1983

Does anyone else find it weird that we as the human race went thousands of years without needing an answer to this question about water?!

When you're thirsty - drink.

Am I missing something here?

Yup: optimisation.

What the human body can get by on is significantly less than what it needs to optimally thrive. Some people survive just fine eating nothing but junk food, but it hardly keeps your body in peak condition.

For most of human existence, water wasn't portable. The human body has developed an impressive ability to store water and get by on minimal amounts. But if you give it more the body can take better advantage of it and function more optimally.

Originally Posted by Rick Abelson

If you wait until you are thirsty to drink it is too late according to the so-called experts.

I think a lot of the confusion is over what "too late" means. Obviously you aren't going to die if you drink less water. In this case, it means that, if you wait until you're thirsty, you're not getting enough water to run your body optimally.

[24evita]

I hope I can shed some light on this, as a sience educator, the whole "glass idea" first of all is a little misleading as for starters look at our glass sizes today, a glass to one person may not be a glass for another. But that is just a small detail.

Yes it is true that to function optimally we each need around 1.5 litres of water a day as your body depends on the water for so many chemical reactions. Now having said that, as a few others have posted, a lot of that water does come from our food, especially if you have a diet high in fruits and vegetables.

Secondly, that number is also very general and does not take into consideration your, age, sex, body composition, environmental conditions and daily physical activity levels. For example if you are a smaller build, do not do a lot if any physical activity and eat enough fruits and vegetables each day, then technically you can get by with 500mL of water per day. But of course as soon as you decrease the fruits and veggies, increase the physical activity and spend time outdoors in warmer temps, you also need to greatly increase your water intake, with some athlete's drinking even as much as 3 or 4 litres a day!

Hope that helps.

[TomSprewer]

I always have a bottle of still water in my office, and drink about 3-4 litres a day. Believe it or not, you can actually prevent sore throats and muscle cramps just by drinking regularly.
Water water water

[bf1983]

Tom - well I've never heard about the sore throats one, will try to drink more as I get prone to these.

I love this place - so much great advice!

Brian