You really should dismiss unsubstantiated claims, particularly when they’re liberally peppered with percentages. It’s a no-brainer. Where’s the cite?
The eight (or five) 8-oz glass of water claim is largely a myth. If you practice proper nutrition, your food will contain a majority of the water your body requires. Obviously, the more physically active you are, the greater your intake requirements will be. Ask your doctor, he/she will tell you the same thing mine did (if the medical degree didn’t come from Upstairs Hollywood Medical School ) Unfortunately, the myth persists as any search engine will demonstrate.
Um, evilhanz, I don’t see a consensus in that thread you linked to that “The eight (or five) 8-oz glass of water claim is largely a myth.” It seemed more toward the opposite view.
Dr_Paprika’s quote says that “you can get by…on just over 1L[34 ounces]/day.” His formula says 2.6 liters (about 88 ounces) for a 70kg (154 lb) male. So, you need somewhere between 4 and 11 8-ounces of fluids per day. According to kinoons in the other thread, 60% of fluid intake comes from beverages, so you need to drink a minimum of 20 ounces (to avoid kidney damage), with optimal being about 53 ounces.
So drinking water is good for you. Otherwise, I agree with you on not accepting unsubstantiated percentages.
To put it bluntly this is what we were taught in high school. If you piss is yellow, that means you are not getting enough water, if it is clear you are getting enough. Does that sound right?
I just saw a story on CNN last night, they asserted that 1 glass of water is equivalent to 6 or 7 times its volume in antioxidant-rich foods. The researcher said that water will lubricate the intestines and reduce the time that carcinogenic compounds were in contact with the intestinal lining. One of the interesting suggestions they made was to always drink a glass of water after drinking a cup of coffee.
It’s true that the pH of a freshly-opened can of Coke is quite low… something like 2.3, my brain is thinking? But it’s also true that your insides are designed to handle acidic substances.