I’ve heard that you should drink eight glasses of water a day for a long time. But I’ve never been able to find out exactly how much water they mean by a glass. Even articles written by doctors never use a more specific unit than a glass. Is it 8 oz, 10, 12, 16, or someething else?
Drink 8-8oz (1 cup) units of water. Total of 64 oz.
Is that a half-gallon or a full gallon?
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Thanx, Bunny Girl. Not that I can possibly chug that much water in a day :P, but it’s nice to know.
Does anyone know a person who actually does this? I don’t see how it’s possible to drink that much water on a regular basis. Am I the only person who feels guilty because I don’t consume the “required” amount of water?
Also, if you happen to have kidney trouble or congestive heart failure, drinking a lot of water can kill you.
Well, the problem is that we have all these sugary alternatives. Surely you drink much more than 64 oz of fluid a day. That’s only 4 16 oz. servings (think medium coke bottle).
Most of the time, I just don’t care for water. The first few swallows are usually great. But about half a cup into it, it gets very bland.
I do not necessarily drink this amount of water each day, but I do drink a lot.
At work we have what I believe to be about a 16Oz glass. Sometimes I take a morning break and I drink 2 such glasses full of water. Everyday at lunch I drink 2 such glasses. If I did this every day then I would be getting 64Oz each day. Water for dinner would just add to it.
It is really not that hard. I started drinking the water at work due to the high price of soft drinks here.
BTW a gallon is 128Ozs so the 64Ozs is half a gallon.
Jeffery
Also, the 8 glasses of water a day is kind of a minimum. Most of the sites I have checked out state that you should drink another full glass for every 50 pounds over a certain weight (maybe 150 or 200).
Jeffery
64 oz is only 1/2 gallon; that’s not too much. I have a quart cup at my desk that I fill up twice/day and usually manage to drink it all while I’m working. Of course, I continue to drink water after I leave work(especially if I’m working out) so I probably end up consuming between the equivalent of 10-16 8 oz glasses/day. Actually, a staff member at the fitness center I used to go to recommended at least 10 glasses/day since we live in the desert. I know a guy who drinks at least 1 gallon/day because he’s on creatine and very careful about using it properly and getting its full effect.
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I keep a 32 ounce glass of water by my desk at work. I will fill this one to three times a day. This is in addition to the water I drink outside of work. It’s not really that hard, you just have to like water.
And the real problem is that these count against your liquid intake. You need extra water to process all that sugar and caffeine.
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Actually drinking 64oz of water isn’t all that hard to do for me, either - I can get 48oz bottles of spring water for a buck where I work, and I usually pick one up daily. Add the water and juices I drink at home and I think I’m pretty set.
I’ve actually noticed I seem to function mentally and physically better when I’m lubed up like that; if I’ve gone a day or so without the water bottle I can really feel the difference.
Cave Diem! Carpe Canem!
I kind of look at water as the oil in your engine. If you’ve got a crankcase full of good clean oil, you’ll have a smooth running engine (let’s not get into the other complicated issues). Water does the same: helps the body get rid of toxins, keeps all the parts working well that flush out those toxins, and just plain makes your “engine” running smooth. Plus, if you’re trying to lose weight, the more water you drink, the less water weight you’ll have. Your body begins to store water when it doesn’t get enough, so you actually have more water weight if you don’t drink enough water. Isn’t the human body about 75% water anyway??
Did you read that 7th Day reasearch report that said drinking 5 glasses of water a day was found to be better for people because ‘it made the blood the right thickness’ and thus went thru the heart better. Seems reasonable.
On the other hand, If you overdo it, you can overload fluid
in your body, and you can have the
opposite effect, so you have to be
careful.
It prevents dehydration of the body Sam.Also,
First of all, drinking fluids other than
water or total fluid intake was not
related to the incidence of fatal heart
disease or stroke. The speculation
here is that when you drink fluids
other than water, they have a
hyperosmolar
concentration; and when you put
things in your tummy of a higher
concentration, water can be drawn
from your system.
Don’t know much about biology, but, water can make your blood the “right thickness”?
So, if I understand well, too much water can make your blood the “wrong thickness”? What is that? Too thin? Too thick?
You really think that makes sense? It does not make sense to me, but I could be wrong. Could you or anyone here explain to me the biochemical processes involved in this?
Men will cease to commit atrocities only when they cease to believe absurdities.
-Voltaire
My understanding is that the water in foods (like chicken, steak, etc) also counts. Given that most food is rather moist, this adds up quickly.
By the way, for those who exercise, I believe you should be drinking a lot more than the eight glasses. I think you are supposed to have something like 1-2 quarts of water before you start the physical activity along with lots of water during any breaks.
Brian
It’s true about the “blood thickness” thing, although that’s a simplified explanation. When you’re dehydrated, you have too little water in your blood and less blood volume; your blood is concentrated (the way your urine is concentrated when you don’t get enough fluids). Your blood contains many important proteins, and without enough water to dilute them your blood gets sort of sludgy and your heart has to work harder to circulate it.
If you drink too MUCH water, your kidneys simply excrete the excess to keep your system in balance. This is assuming both your heart and your kidneys are healthy; if they’re not, you can go into congestive heart failure.
Thirst is not a good indicator of how much water you need; by the time you feel thirsty you’re already dehydrated. A severely dehydrated person’s skin will “tent” when you pinch it gently over the forehead or sternum.
As for me personally, I guess I should be dead by now. I drink about 1 or 2 glasses of water a day and the rest of my fluid intake consists entirely of coffee, which is a mild diuretic anyway. I don’t even get much fluid in food because I mostly eat some pretzels or a piece of bread. It’s a miracle that I’m able to walk around. But where I work, we’re not allowed to have drinks or food (except on “lunch breaks” but I’ve never had one of those in 2 years) and there’s no time to go to the potty anyway in a 14 hour shift. I never had a urinary tract infection in my life until I started working there, but I’ve had 3 in the last year.
I don’t drink water at all in it’s pure form. Just juice, soda, coffee, etc.
I surf a lot though, and I do drink a lot of salt water doing that I’m sure. Tasty.
Phew… I’ve been trying to remember for days where I’d read about this, thought for sure Uncle Cecil had covered it, but evidentally not. But I finally remembered, so here ya go:
http://www.urbanlegends.com/medical/eight_glasses_of_water.html
Long story short, the “eight glasses of water” you have to consume includes water that is in other foods and beverages, not in addition to them. Bon appetit 
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