No benefit in drinking eight glasses of water a day

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On average, the body uses between 1.7 and 2.6 pints (one to 1.5 litres) of water daily and more in high temperatures or when exercising.

This is replaced through drinks but a large amount is also contained in food, so it is not necessary to drink an equivalent amount to replace water levels.
I should show this to the colleague whose office is next to mine--every day she drinks an entire Super Big Gulp (1.3 liter) cup of water during the day at work "because it's good for you." That's in addition to the multiple cups of coffee she drinks every morning and whatever else she drinks after going home. And she doesn't have any sort of regular exercise regimen either. :huh:
 
You should drink lots of water after a good theraputic massage to wash the toxins out.

Water is better to consume than sodie pops all day-I bet any Dr would tell you.

I'm guilty of pounding down diet cokes 4-8 a day.
not good, i know.

dbs
 
Interesting.

By the 8x8oz a day standard, I should be dehydrated. I drink maybe 3 drinks a day. Something in the morning, a glass of water or no calorie lemonade for dinner, and then another after I work out. I think on average I drink maybe 40-60oz of liquid a day. If I drink just b/c I feel I should, I just feel heavy and bloated. I've managed to lose 25 lbs in a few months without drinking non-stop. I simply drink when I'm thirsty, which is only 2-3 times a day, just a normal sized glass. I do not drink soda or coffee, just water, no calorie no sugar lemonade, and the occasional hot chocolate.
 
What "toxins" would need to be "washed out" after a massage?
 
My mom is prone to congestive heart failure, where fluid surrounds the heart and enters the lungs. We had a discussion with her doctor regarding the water issue a year or so ago, and he told us the same thing, that 8 glasses per day is nonsense and not necessary for anyone, that drinking when you're thirsty is adequate. In fact, for some patients like this, they're supposed to monitor their fluid intake every day to ensure it's not above a certain level (1 or 1.5 litres, I think). My mom doesn't have to monitor, though.

From everything I've ever heard, coffee is a diuretic, and doesn't count toward your daily fluid intake.
 
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yolland said:
What "toxins" would need to be "washed out" after a massage?

Environmental toxins that are released during a massage. Toxins you absorb walking down the street, breathing exhaust fumes, toxins in laundry detergents and household cleaning fluids, and from pesticides from many of the foods we eat. The list is endless. Most of us are very toxic and my health has benefited greatly from eliminating toxins regularly from my body. I no longer have allergies, for example, or the occasional eczema outbreak.
 
i'm with the desert girls on this one. 8 might be overkill, but your urine should be pale yellow all day long and should not have a strong smell.

(any chance you two will be anywhere near Tucson the last week of April?)
 
Irvine511 said:
i'm with the desert girls on this one. 8 might be overkill, but your urine should be pale yellow all day long and should not have a strong smell.

(any chance you two will be anywhere near Tucson the last week of April?)

Okay, I revise what I said. Eight glasses seems to be some arbitrary number--I don't know where that came from. BUT, I don't think the benefit of water can be underestimated based on my own experience, that of my friends, and the advice of many excellent doctors and healthcare practitioners I've worked with. I think most people don't drink enough water but I did have a knee-jerk reaction to the title of the thread. But I live in the desert at a high altitude--we need more water here.

I drink water like crazy. I drink half my body weight in ounces of water everyday and sometimes I add a little Celtic sea salt to it so it's really hydrating and doesn't just run through me.

(Sorry Irvine--I have commitments here that week. :( )
 
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pretty much agree with jg.....

.....while 8 glasses might be too much for some one of short statue, one the thin side etc.....I'm pretty sure some one taller (and people heavier than average weight) would probably need close to 8, to above 8 glasses a day maybe closer to the 10 mark.
Obviously exercise, higher temps-- you need to replenish during & after.

It flushes those environmental toxins out, helps various bio-chemical processes to take place properly, keeps the blood at a proper liquidity...... and other stuff i've read about ?ie"brain fog" .

I do my best to get the 8. Sometimes I am dehydrated for a bit/ a while esp IF i forget to take a bottle with me while I'm out, and about.

I'm mid-50's enjoy mostly good physical health, good blood etc test results, and good flexibilty- my problems for the most part have been with eye & ear stuff I was born with [not so good hearing, and :uhoh: LOUD concerts rock&roll added trouble/ VERY near-sighted too].
*REPEAT* "ear-plugs are my friends"*! I have permanent ringing in one ear from a WHO concert from waaay back from whence people didn't wear them for concerts.

I can still be at a U2 or Springsteen concert for in stance, and spend most of the time on my feet & dancing by my seat. :wink:

Usually no aches & pains unless I've "done something" ie over-done or in wrong postition -
like I rarely <2x's a year to once every 2 years> have any back pain [but I HAVE had it, and pretty bad for short stints of time <hrs - a few days> -relatively speaking to many others]. Only when i sit too long in one particular way, and stretch out too (sometimes) much to get at stuff I'm organizing/ cleaning up does it have a chance of happening.
I usually get a warning sign- then I readjust my position/activities. So I've learned to mostly avoid it> it did sneak up on me 3 weeks ago [very unusual], but i had been doing a lot of reorganizing etc.

So among other things {good foods, walking a lot, some tai ch, having play-time & fun etc} I also attribute often drinking a healthy amount of water as part of my efforts to remain healthy. Some good genes, and luck have probably played a part in there for me, too! :D
 
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joyfulgirl said:


I drink water like crazy.

Despite what my mom's doctor said, and articles like this, I still do, as well. I pretty much always have a bottle of water with me. If measuring in the standard 8 oz increments (who really drinks from glasses that small?), I generally have 8 a day, probably more like 10 in the warm months.

The downside is, I pee a lot. :grumpy:

And speaking of naturopathic matters, I also take what many would consider insane amounts of vitamin C every day, and have for 10 or 12 years. Linus Pauling is my hero.
 
VintagePunk said:


The downside is, I pee a lot. :grumpy:

And speaking of naturopathic matters, I also take what many would consider insane amounts of vitamin C every day, and have for 10 or 12 years. Linus Pauling is my hero.

Add a little Celtic Sea Salt. It will help you to absorb the water instead of having it go in one end and out the other, and is so nutritious. It's changed my life I swear! http://www.livingfoodfarm.com/info/celticsaltdontbeconned.shtml

I, too, am a big believer in massive quantities of vitamin C as well. I've had some unbelievable healing experiences with it, like with burns and stuff. Vitamin C IVs :drool:
 
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The massive vitamin C really doesn't do anything as long you're not deficient in it. Most of it just goes right out into the toilet.
 
randhail said:
The massive vitamin C really doesn't do anything as long you're not deficient in it. Most of it just goes right out into the toilet.

Not true. At the onset of a cold, I have taken as much as 8000 mg every 20 minutes for 3-4 hours and had the cold never develop (also worked for me when I burned myself badly--my skin never developed any signs of a burn). I've also had Vitamin C IV treatments to boost my immune system before surgery or travel. You wouldn't want to take that much every day but I have used high dosages to great healing effect in many a crisis, and because I take it regularly, I have a high bowel tolerance.
 
I'm not going to dispute what you say in your case. Studies have shown that high vitamin c can reduce the duration of a cold, but a lot of other purported claims haven't been backed up yet.

Taking high doses of vitamins isn't something that should be done lightly either. They can have a very negative impact on your body and cause some strange interactions with any medications you're taking. One study comes to mind that looked at vitamin A superdoses and it's impact on a certain type of cancer preventation and to everyone's surprise the vitamin a group had a higher incidence of the cancer. Again, I don't mean to tell you or anyone what to do, but for me megadoses of vitamins are a lot of hype and not a lot of action.
 
randhail said:
The massive vitamin C really doesn't do anything as long you're not deficient in it. Most of it just goes right out into the toilet.

Am I misremembering, or are you a med student?

I know that some studies refute the claims of extreme dosages of vitamin C, but some agree with it. Have you read any of Pauling's work? I've read his books years ago, and then just a few weeks ago, came across this old interview online. It's lengthy, but fascinating, and talks about his work and some of the politics involved in having his studies recognized.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natural-Health/1978-01-01/The-Plowboy-Interview.aspx

Personally, I can attest to rarely every catching colds or viruses - probably the average for me is every two to three years. Once I went for nearly 5 years without having one. As well, I've noticed that since I've been megadosing, I no longer have to treat my seasonal allergies.
 
joyfulgirl said:


Add a little Celtic Sea Salt. It will help you to absorb the water instead of having it go in one end and out the other, and is so nutritious. It's changed my life I swear! http://www.livingfoodfarm.com/info/celticsaltdontbeconned.shtml

I, too, am a big believer in massive quantities of vitamin C as well. I've had some unbelievable healing experiences with it, like with burns and stuff. Vitamin C IVs :drool:

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out. :up:
 
I never get colds either though, and very seldom flus (despite having three school-age children) and I've never taken any sort of vitamin supplement. :shrug: That's really all just anecdotal.
 
yolland said:
I never get colds either though, and very seldom flus (despite having three school-age children) and I've never taken any sort of vitamin supplement. :shrug: That's really all just anecdotal.

Exactly. One person can't take it, and make the claim that it works when there are so many other variables that could influence the outcome. I just know that for me personally, I now get way fewer than I did before I started taking it, and again, the whole lessening of allergy symptoms.
 
Yes, I am med student, which is why I'm somewhat skeptical of the megadoses. No money in prescribing vitamins. :wink:

Truthfully though, I believe that some sort of supplementation during stressful time periods can be beneficial, the body's needs are clearly different, but during good health, I tend to back away that the megadoses are useful. Whether the body can somehow adapt and handle higher levels - I don't know the answer to that.

It's sort of ironic that this thread came up today since I have an exam tomorrow that focuses on the kidneys. Let me tell you, that they are the most complex organs I've encountered and just a general pain in the ass to learn.
 
randhail said:
Yes, I am med student, which is why I'm somewhat skeptical of the megadoses. No money in prescribing vitamins. :wink:

Truthfully though, I believe that some sort of supplementation during stressful time periods can be beneficial, the body's needs are clearly different, but during good health, I tend to back away that the megadoses are useful. Whether the body can somehow adapt and handle higher levels - I don't know the answer to that.

It's sort of ironic that this thread came up today since I have an exam tomorrow that focuses on the kidneys. Let me tell you, that they are the most complex organs I've encountered and just a general pain in the ass to learn.

I'm sure you're way too busy now (not too busy to reply to this thread, obviously :wink: ), but when you have time, you should check out the article I posted. I'd be interested in hearing your opinion. For what it's worth, Pauling also talks about vitamin C's affect on the kidneys.
 
VintagePunk said:


I'm sure you're way too busy now (not too busy to reply to this thread, obviously :wink: ), but when you have time, you should check out the article I posted. I'd be interested in hearing your opinion. For what it's worth, Pauling also talks about vitamin C's affect on the kidneys.

I'll try to get around to reading when I get some downtime. My attention span for studying is really fading though, literally for the past week I've gotten up studied with periodic short breaks, and then gone to bed. So I'm feeling a little burnt out, just get to 4pm tomorrow. :yes:
 
I always thought the water thing was BS. First of all, we are all unique individuals with unique needs and it simply isn't true that we all have the same minimum threshold. That in itself is just completely counterintuitive.
 
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