If you are counting up your water intake, remember that you also get water from food (in a nutrition class I took in college, way back in the 20th century, the Prof. made a point of emphasizing that the biggest nutrient in steak was water). This is especially true of citrus fruits. So, if you hate the taste of water (I am one of those who thinks this is weird), make it a point to eat oranges, water melon, et. al. to increase your H20 intake.
FWIW, I’m one of those people who subscribes to the “stay very hydrated” mindset. I’ve heard that, if you feel thirsty, you are already slightly dehydrated. I won’t claim medical expertise on the subject (although this guy does), but I know I feel better when properly hydrated. My indicator of proper hydration? If your urine is translucent, or clear, you have enough water. If it’s flourescent or neon, you need more water.
Do you have a cite that shows any benefit for any person to consume any amount of water in any peer reviewed study? Failing that, can you remember a rumor that someone, somewhere did a study on the effect of drinking any particular amount of water?
For healthy young adults trying to loose weight, and not worried about a 30mm rise in blood pressure, this may be a useful element in a weight loss regimen.
Tris
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” ~ Hippocrates ~
Heh, and it took some forty-odd posts to get a peer-reviewed study . Now I’m going to try to find one that says that increased water intake doesn’t help with weight loss. I’m pretty sure I read this within the past year or so. IIRC, food with higher water content helped with weight loss by increasing satiation, but plain old water didn’t. I’ll see what I can dig up. I hate searching through bio and med journals…
Please note that this does not negate the aforementioned “drinking water burns some calories.” However, drinking water with your meal is not going to keep you satiated longer. Eating a watery meal will keep you satiated longer.
From my quick scan, the gist of the article is that for an appetizer they gave some folks chicken soup, some folks chicken casserole (with the same amounts and ingredients [except less water] and same caloric content as the soup), and some folks casserole with extra water to drink to make up the difference. The participants could then eat as much as they wanted for lunch. The folks who had soup ate less for lunch, and didn’t make up for this reduction at dinner. The folks who had casserole ate the same regardless of how much water they drank.
What? I’m somewhat closer to 90 pounds than 225, and even though I’m not fond of drinking anything, it’s hardly impossible to drink that much water. At work today I drank 2 twenty ounce bottles of water, and I’ve probably had close to that much water and milk over the rest of the day too. Most people, both male and female, I know drink much more than I’m able to make myself. Just over 3 bottles of water in the 14+ hours one is awake is hardly a feat, even for small women.
It’s been empirically demonstrated that if you have NO fluid intake you’ll be dead in a few days.
I’m not saying there’s necessarially a benefit to drinking a gallon of water a day, what I’m saying is that (barring some bizarre and rare condition) it’s not going to hurt someone to do that.
It could, if said person eats a lot of fruit such as watermelon, cantelope or other foods rich with H20, which could then cause an imbalance of electrolytes.
Plus saying “well, NO water kills, so drinking 64 ounces of water on top of anything else they eat or drink can’t be harmful” is fallicious.
And of course that is precisely what I was recommending. Oh, wait, no it wasn’t. I was recommending that people drink whatever they please, and do so because it pleases them to do it. What I asked was that claims of benefit be referenced to some reliable study on the benefit.
And of course I was saying that drinking a gallon a day would kill you dead. Oh, wait, no I wasn’t saying that! Do you have clinical trials that support that only rare individuals could have problems with drinking a gallon a day?
I think it is significant that people who drink a gallon a day feel social pressure to proselytize on the benefits of their own preferences. You don’t ever hear someone say, well, I just like water. And, drinking a gallon without ever mentioning it is fairly rare, too.
Drink what you want, for no other reason than personal choice. If you want to defend your choices, base that defense on factual evidence.
Tris
“An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup.” ~ H. L. Mencken ~
Fluid intake, maybe. However you normally don’t have to drink anything to survive. Unless you’re subsisting on pretzels you won’t die of dehydration with a good amount of fruit and meat in your diet.
Yes, it’s possible - but most people I know don’t eat nearly that much fruit. (I’d also expect that fruit would supply things like potassium, which most people don’t get enough of, and unless they’re on an all-fruit diet I’d expect they’d get enough salt and electrolytes from the rest of what they eat) All that drinking 64 ounces of fluid is likely to do as an adverse side effect is make you urinate more often.
Of course, I didn’t perform a medical interview with the OP - maybe his doctor did, maybe his doctor didn’t. I don’t know the OP’s daily diet or fluid intake. But going by what the average person seems to consume, increasing fluid intake to 64 ounces and choosing water over large amounts of soda or coffee is unlikely to cause harm.
Yes, there are people out there who have to watch their fluid intake very carefully - but you generally know if you’re on kidney dialysis or, like my mother-in-law, suffering from severe congestive heart failure.
We’ve got several people where I work who really do set out to drink a gallon of water a day. They don’t “prostelytize”. They don’t fall over dead. They do pee frequently.
I thought these videos might be interesting for this thread.
The BBC are doing a series called The Truth About Food two of the questions are, can water help you lose weight? and does drinking two litres of water a day improve your skin?
you need to scroll down to “How to be slim” then “How to be young and beautiful”
Is drinking a gallon a day really that unusual? I guess I may just be abnormally thirsty, but I probably average about .75 gallons a day if I’m doing nothing but sitting on my ass, and over 1 if I’m exerting and/or overheating.
I feel I must confess: I frequently consume a gallon of water a day.
But, I must admit I’ve never felt social pressure to proselytize on my preference (you, too, must join us in our quest to be quenched!!). I just feel better staying well hydrated. When I work out, my muscles feel fuller. My skin stays clearer.
And I pee like a racehorse (on all fours, while standing outside).
Agreed. I drink up to a gallon of water a day because I live in a desert, I like staying hydrated, and I’m prone to negative health issues if I don’t stay hydrated. I also really like water. I’ve never encouraged anyone to drink a lot of water, let alone proselytize, except for when I’ve had out-of-state guests coming from humid areas/sea level because it’s just a good idea to stay well hydrated when you go from sea level to altitude. I don’t think anyone’s ever asked me how much water I drink, but if they did I would tell them.
. Now I’m going to try to find one that says that increased water intake doesn’t help with weight loss. I’m pretty sure I read this within the past year or so. IIRC, food with higher water content helped with weight loss by increasing satiation, but plain old water didn’t. I’ll see what I can dig up. I hate searching through bio and med journals…