Not a drop of evidence eight glasses of water is good for you, say experts

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mercurial

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The belief that we need eight glasses of water a day to stay healthy is a myth, researchers say.

There is no solid evidence that drinking plenty of pure water is good for the skin, wards off weight gain or helps rid the body of toxins.

Instead, most of us get all the fluids we need to avoid dehydration from food and other drinks, including tea and coffee.

The idea that those who fail to drink enough water suffer health problems became widespread in the 1990s.

Some health gurus and self-proclaimed nutritionists have insisted that the typical person needs to drink eight glasses, or two litres, of water every day.

Rather than just drink when they are thirsty, many now feel the need to keep a water bottle with them all day long.

Yet, according to a report published today, there is no evidence of any benefits from drinking so much.

Dr Dan Negoianu and Dr Stanley Goldfarb from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia reviewed every published clinical study into the subject.

They found evidence that those in hot, dry climates have an increased need for water, as do athletes.

Patients with some diseases also benefit from additional fluid.

"But no such data exist for average, healthy individuals," said a spokesman for the scientists, who are based at the university's renal, electrolyte and hypertension division.
No study indicated any real need to drink the recommended eight glasses of water each day.

"Indeed, it is unclear where this recommendation came from," the spokesman added.

Some studies have shown that water intake affects the rate that kidneys clear salt and urea from the body.

But they failed to show any health benefits, the researchers said.

Other studies showed that water retention in the body varied hugely - and depended on the speed with which water is swallowed.

If gulped quickly, water leaves the body more quickly.

If it is sipped, it is more likely to be retained. But no studies showed any benefit to organs from increased water intake.

The scientists also looked at the theory that drinking more water makes people feel full and helps them lose weight.

Again, the studies were inconclusive.

And while water has been touted as an elixir for improved skin tone, no studies showed any clinical benefit as a result of drinking more.

The scientists concluded there was no clear evidence that drinking more water was healthy.

"There is simply a lack of evidence in general," they reported in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

One source for the eight glasses claim is a 1945 study which concluded that most people need two litres of fluids each day.

However, this came from other drinks and food.

Ursula Arens, a spokesman for the British Dietetic Association, said the typical man needed around 2.5 litres of fluid a day while a woman needed around two litres.

"Most people can rely on their thirst to tell them when they need to drink, although as we get older perception of thirst is not so good," she said.

"Tea and the sort of coffee you get in Britain are fine for rehydrating - the diuretic effects of caffeine are massively outweighed by the fluids in those drinks.

"There are millions of people who get most of their fluids from tea without any ill effects."
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Not a drop of evidence eight glasses of water is good for you, say experts
 
There is no solid evidence that drinking plenty of pure water is good for the skin, wards off weight gain or helps rid the body of toxins.
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Some studies have shown that water intake affects the rate that kidneys clear salt and urea from the body.
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I don't trust studies that can't even manage to avoid contradicting themselves in 300 words.
 
With todays prosessed foods and UBER caffeinated drinks with enough sugar in them to kill a small house animal (lol...no proof for that as yet:p) and all the pollution ect ect i think we have more toxins in our bodies than ever before, also most people said that you need the equivalent of 8 glasses of water. I had a small pc program that worked on the principal of your body mass ratio and told you how much you needed to take in a day.

I weigh 87 and im 1.82 tall and i need +- 1.7 liters a day.

I prefer to get my liquids in beer though :)
 
This was on Oprah last night. They got two twins, got one to drink lots of water and one not to... and there was 0 difference between the two.
 
Well, whether I drink 5 cups (big cups) of coffee or 5 glasses of cooldrink per day, I still drink water, water is in every drink, I dislike the taste of pure water generally, it's siff.
 
w1z4rd said:
This was on Oprah last night. They got two twins, got one to drink lots of water and one not to... and there was 0 difference between the two.
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how long did the "experiment" go on for?

LOL, -1

firstly:

thats like saying Mantombazana Tshabalala-Msimang is a real doctor.....looooooool

Ok and secondly

you just need the equivalent of more or less 1.5 liter per day, yes most foods do have more than 30% water base. :)

Also watch "Super size me!" there he eats the *****e prossesed foods (mcdonalds) and his kidney start fialing and packing up after 1 month!!!
 
Devill said:
Also watch "Super size me!" there he eats the *****e prossesed foods (mcdonalds) and his kidney start fialing and packing up after 1 month!!!
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That is hardly comparable. It is a completely unbalanced diet, not evidence that the average person needs to be drinking vast quantities of water.
 
Yep, there have been a few studies done. No need to drown yourself in water.
 
noxibox said:
Do either of those things need to be eliminated any faster?
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If salt is not removed from the body then eventually the cell will start bursting (8th grade biology ftw). Salt increases bloody pressure...how much priority you put on stopping that is up to you. High concentrations of Urea in the bloody will also harm the body. The point is, its better to over-estimate the amount of water the body needs than to underestimate it, because the body copes way better with a little too much water than too little.

teraside said:
Well, whether I drink 5 cups (big cups) of coffee or 5 glasses of cooldrink per day, I still drink water, water is in every drink, I dislike the taste of pure water generally, it's siff.
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Devill said:
I prefer to get my liquids in beer though
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Not quite. Caffeine, alcohol and sugar are diuretics. i.e. They contribute to dehydration.

w1z4rd said:
This was on Oprah last night. They got two twins, got one to drink lots of water and one not to... and there was 0 difference between the two.
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Docs can make a fairly accurate guess about how much water a person is drinking via blood tests. The liver gives of some or other enzymes when a person is getting a less than ideal amount of water. Unless they dissected the twins, I wouldn't put too much faith in Oprah's science.
 
Devill said:
how long did the "experiment" go on for?

LOL, -1

firstly:

thats like saying Mantombazana Tshabalala-Msimang is a real doctor.....looooooool
Click to expand...

Are you smoking something? wtf are you on about?

Ok and secondly

you just need the equivalent of more or less 1.5 liter per day, yes most foods do have more than 30% water base. :)
Click to expand...

Er... right.. your point?

Also watch "Super size me!" there he eats the *****e prossesed foods (mcdonalds) and his kidney start fialing and packing up after 1 month!!!
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I watched this.

Dunno what the point of your post was... you made no sense and appear to be a little confused.
 
HavocXphere said:
Docs can make a fairly accurate guess about how much water a person is drinking via blood tests. The liver gives of some or other enzymes when a person is getting a less than ideal amount of water. Unless they dissected the twins, I wouldn't put too much faith in Oprah's science.
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It was on the Oprah show, the experiment was done by proffesional researchers and prof. doctors... or where you somehow under the impression she did them herself? :confused:
 
w1z4rd said:
Are you smoking something? wtf are you on about?



Er... right.. your point?



I watched this.

Dunno what the point of your post was... you made no sense and appear to be a little confused.
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I am saying that if you take oprah to be you source of scientific proof for anything then you are not providing any proof at all. (its called a simile i think e.g. when you call anything on oprah scientific its LIKE you calling Mantombazana Tshabalala-Msimang a real doctor...poking fun at the minister and oprah at the same time)

Then when i added that most foods have a 30% water base i thought it would not need explaining that you get most of the 1.5 liters of water you need a day , through eating HEALTHY-ISH foods and consuming a couple of glasses of liquid.

Then the macdonalds comment was to show that if you eat highly prossesed foods then you will not be getting your dialy needed H2O through your food :)

*note to self*

Stop smoking and posting you just say such stupid things that dont make sense at all to them normal folk
 
As no one has answered my question: How long did they conduct these experiments for?

Every year there are new "Proofs"

like:

Fish is good for you because of great nutritional value..........
No wait fish is bad for you because of the pollution and the to high mercury content.

Cell phones are of no danger to you health......
Uhhhh wait, they are of great risk to your health because of radiation.

Also has this been published/accepted in any reputable medical journals?
(the water thing not the fish or cell phone thing :) )

Im not saying that its wrong im just saying people dont understand certain concepts, and that they need to do more test ect ect...
 
Devill said:
I am saying that if you take oprah to be you source of scientific proof for anything then you are not providing any proof at all. (its called a simile i think e.g. when you call anything on oprah scientific its LIKE you calling Mantombazana Tshabalala-Msimang a real doctor...poking fun at the minister and oprah at the same time)
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You keep making it out as if Oprah herself did the experiments..... which she clearly did not. She reported on the experiments.



Devill said:
As no one has answered my question: How long did they conduct these experiments for?

Every year there are new "Proofs"
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Well, I dont know how long the experiments went on for, but in the experiments they did... they said the water doesnt make a difference. However, if you believe it does... then you should be able to provide the data that says 8 glasses of water make a difference.


like:

Also has this been published/accepted in any reputable medical journals?
(the water thing not the fish or cell phone thing :) )
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I would imagine so... but I dont subscribe to medical doctor journals (I already have a science subscription ... and theyre expensive). Now the question to ask.. has the '8 glasses of water help you theory' being posted in a medical journal? As I said... proper journals require you pay (the bastards! ).. so I am not in with the 'med' crowd.

Im not saying that its wrong im just saying people dont understand certain concepts, and that they need to do more test ect ect...
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I completely agree with you!
 
w1z4rd said:
Well, I dont know how long the experiments went on for, but in the experiments they did... they said the water doesnt make a difference. However, if you believe it does... then you should be able to provide the data that says 8 glasses of water make a difference.

I completely agree with you!
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You are making false claims ;) Lol, i never said that you need 8 glasses of water, i said that you need 1.5 liters of water a day, whether it be by food or coffee or cola or what ever :)

PS i know that oprah didnt do the experiments , im just saying that MOST scientists dont go on tv shows till they have proved something 100%(or close to 100%)

Anyway will be waiting for proof of either statements :D

Ooooh and this wasnt written or published by oprah :)

http://books.google.co.za/books?id=...g=Qy-MQfDx1GgoNRKqrM5_6BdOmXA&hl=en#PPA869,M1
 
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In the article above :

See the loss of water per day eg through the skin .

see now we have to replace the water we lose every day, ELSE you WILL die :)

And that is really a scientific fact ;) proven by the many people who have died of dehydration.

Now as i was saying i dont believe you should DRINK 8 GLASSES OF WATER DIALY but i do believe in replacing the water that you have lost during the day whether it be by food or drink.
 
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