“The average person loses about 10 cups of water a day to bodily functions says the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. ‘How much [water] to drink? Divide your weight in half. The answer [in pounds] is the approximate minimum number of fluid ounces you should drink daily. The common “eight glasses a day” or 64 fluid ounces is the minimum amount a person who weighs 128 pounds should drink.’”
-The Globe and Mail, August 24/00, A14.
O.K. I would hazard the guess that almost no one daily drinks a quantity of water equal in ounces to half the number of pounds they weigh.
So what’s up with these studies? You clearly won’t die if you don’t drink that much water. You probably won’t even get ill. “…should drink x ounces of water”… or else what?
Granted, we should all drink more water, but what are the dangers of not drinking “enough”?
Further query: are these studies taking into account the amount of water we get from various foods? A glass of water, after all, is not the only source of water.
I think that they may be saying that you need so many ounces of FLUID. . . . not necessarily plain water. I haven’t drank plain water in at least a year. (Tasteless, nasty stuff.) Basically, you just need to keep yourself hydrated. You can tell if you’re drinking enough from the color of your urine. Very faintly yellow or clear urine is optimal.
I heard that if urine is a richer color it meant you were taking enough vitamins and was a good sign. I also heard that if you don’t drink enough water you could even get somewhat dizzy and have other weird symptoms.
the “8 glasses a day” is a bit of an urban legend - - derived from a mis-statement of one person’s study many years ago (the actual statement was for the equivolent of 8 glasses a day, which includes water derived from foods)
The “half your body weight, in ounces” actually doesn’t sound too unreasonable, as an approximation, but it’s greatly oversimplified. What are you doing that day? If you’re running around heavily exerting yourself, in 90 degree weather, in the sun, you’re going to need a lot more than if you’re in your seventy-degree air conditioning sitting in front of the computer or TV all day. If you’re out in the sun, etc., you should probably be getting a gallon or more, but if you’re inside chillin’, half that should be fine. Also, this is water from all sources, not neccessarily pure. Remember, except for strong alcoholic drinks, all beverages are overwhelmingly (90%+) water, so a glass of OJ or 7up is almost as good as a glass of water.
Actually, it is my understanding that the darker your urine is, the fluid you need to take in. A year or two ago, a local radio station was having one of its annual outdoor rock festivals, and it was predicted to be a very, very hot day. Before the festival, they invited an EMT on to the morning show to give tips on how to avoid dehydration and heat stroke at the concert. His tips included watching the color of your urine. If it’s dark, you need more fluids. If it’s very light or clear, then you’re properly hydrated.
I am big on water. I drink at least a gallon a day, and usually have a bottle of water with me wherever I go. Wonderful stuff!
I was at this week-long workshop up in the mountains a few years ago. They cautioned us about taking precautions in high altitude. One of the things they stressed was that we needed to drink water. Not Coke, not juice…WATER. Sure, you could drink other drinks as well, but to get the full effect, water was optimal.
I know of people who never drink water and are still alive to tell about it, but I doubt you’ll find any health professional who will tell you that water isn’t extremely important. It just is.
Yes, water is the best for hydration, but most things aren’t too far behind. OK, so maybe if you’re drinking juice instead of water, you’ll need 1.1 gallons instead of 1 gallon-- Not a big deal. On the other hand, if you’re trying to make sure that you’re properly hydrated (on a hike, for instance), you should avoid caffeine and alcohol, regardless of the amount of water in the drink, as both will stimulate your kidneys and cause you to waste a lot of that precious moisture.