Water water everywhere...

[SoupDragon]

... but how much should we drink?

I know it's something like 8 glasses but how much is that??

Dunno - I was always told you should take one of those litre bottles of water into work and aim to have finished it by the end of the working day. I would imagine that "allowance" is a minimum though?

Souperdoup,would you believe -it's 2 litres,and you can include tea and coffe in that too.I think I'd be on the toilet all day if I drunk that much.But people say they feel better for it.

Thanks - that's a lot!

I once made the mistake of trying to drink the recommended amount in the late afternoon - I was up all night!!

There's been recent research in America that shows most people only need to drink enough to satisfy their thirst. It's claimed that drinking more flushes out the toxins but your body does that anyway, with or without extra fluids. There are, of course, exceptions such as those with kidney problems or a fever. I was rather relieved to read the research as I'm not good at drinking anything more than my thirst dictates!

There is quite a bit of research out there, but the 8 glasses you refer to is: 8x8 - ie, 8 8-ounce glasses. I think that they modified this recommendation recently.

I was recently told that you need to drink 1 litre a day (I was drinking one glass, tops!!). However, you CANNOT include tea and coffee as these are actually a diuretic, ie it actually dehydrates you rather than put anything in. I was shocked at that was nearly the only water intake I was having but recently increased it to as much as I can drink a day (still not the whole litre) but the main thing is my skin looked much better (and that's from someone who's pregnant and looked bloody dreadful last time!).
If you can stomach it try and increase it.

I have kidney stones and have to drink 8 - 10 PINTS, not glasses, a day! You honestly get used to it after a while, and I am sure your blader capacity increases, although I know my stomach capaciy hasn't - there is no way you can get more than 2 pints of water down in a one-er, you have to take a break!
But since I have started drinking that much (and it has become a habit, I keep a pint glass by the sink and drink whenever I go there), my digestion is better (never sluggish ), I have fewer headaches, my skin is clear and my hair is shiny. And my kidneys are improving. The Urologist I saw said you should never feel thirsty - if you feel thirsty you are already dehydrated and potentially harming your urinary tract.
HTH!

I think you should basically drink as much water as you can take without having to constantly go to the bathroom. Right about coffee and tea - they dehydrate you. I was told that the general rule of thumb is that: as susanmt said, you shouldn't ever get thirsty. Also, your urine should not be brown in color - means your not getting enough to drink - it is better if it is yellow to clear. I know that when I was nursing all the time, I couldn't drink enough - and my urine was still brown. Sorry - more info than I'm sure you wanted.

Seudonnim that makes perfect sense and I have always believed that to be intuitively correct.
Just when did magazines start telling us we should be cramming two litres a day down our necks whether we felt like it or not?
Having said that I drink a ton of water a day as I just love the stuff and it has helped me in the weight loss struggle.

Suedonim, my understanding is that in most people the thirst mechanism is extremely weak and very often mistaken for hunger. Also, when you feel thirsty it is a sign that you are already becoming dehydrated - so effectively once you're thirsty it's too late.

Two litres is the minimum requiremnet for an adult - it's what we need simply to replace what we lose through breathing, crying, sweating, urinating, etc.

A campaign is building for providing better fresh water facilities for children in school (I know my kids' schools tend to have one, grubby, water fountain inside each toilet - how hygienic is that???) because dehydration makes them tired and reduces their ability to concentrate.

(Have just checked with DS2, who is at secondary school, and out of all the boys' toilets there is ONE water fountain! There are 300 boys at his school! DS1's primary school - 150 boys - has 3 or 4 water fountains!)

And they don't even drink coffee, tea or alcohol! Where does that leave the rest of us?

I still don't get the logic behind the once you're thirsty it's too late argument. Noone claims once you're hungry it's too late. It is accepted hunger is a sign you should take on board more fuel. Thirst is surely just a similar physiological mechanism for fluids. The body is a very sophisticated machine. The idea that we need to be told by experts( and only in the last five or so years) to cram in more water than we feel remotely inclined to take just makes no sense at all.

Absolutely jasper - thirst is a signal from the body telling us to drink. It is not too late. Its the same as an itch or needing to go to the loo...

If you drink too much then you just pee it out and it isn't used. I think you have to strike a balance and drinking more isn't necessarily better. Also remember that the blood and fluids in the body have many constituents in them other than water. For example salt is very important. That is why in hot countries people often drink beer when thirsty (not too much obviously) and eat a handful of something salty eg tapas in south of Spain. Salt is particularly lost through sweating.

Jasper, Eulalia, you took the words right out of my mouth! I was pondering on this subject as I washed my hair this morning and had exactly the same thoughts as you both.

And I can't help but wonder if the advice of the last five years has anything to do with the marketing of expensive bottled water?? Cynical? Moi? Surely not!

In our region, all the children in all the schools have been provided with a water drinking bottle, and there are water chillers in the corridors at school, so children can refill in between classes, at break etc. And all of them are allowed to have their water bottles on their desks and drink when they want to. Many teachers are reporting better behaviour and attention spans from children.

Susanmt - that's fabulous! What region is this?

That's what I meant about a campaign starting...some schools in some areas are doing this but I think some heads want bombs up their backsides.

Here a local supermarket gave water bottles to the kids in one local school`but that's as far as it's gone.

Apparently though there is a potential problem with water coolers; our HC does not have them because of the (very slight) risk of Legionnaires Disease. However they are installed at our dental surgery.

I teach in a secondary schol and we've recently started allowing students to have a water bottle with them in class and drink whenever they want as long as it is only water - this is also following on from all the research on how it aids concentration etc etc. Not that many actually choose to do it tho!

Everyone has to use bottled water (with a cooler)here as the tap water is heavily contaminated with bugs and heavy metals. We also use bottled water with a bactericide to wash fruit and veg, and for cooking and teeth cleaning. The schools use disposable cups, not drinks bottles, to prevent any chance of bacterial growth in the 90+ deg temps. One of the first things I plan to do next Saturday when I get home is have a long drink of Scottish tap water and clean my teeth while the tap is running!!

If you're in Severn Trent Water Authority area they will provide every child with a water bottle if the school applies.

Jasper, Eulalia et al, I remember physiology lectures at Uni on how the human thirst mechanism is one of the crappest in the animal kingdom, so that when you begin to feel thirst, you really are already dehydrating. (Sorry to you-know-what on your chips!)
So I think there may well be more than marketing behind the drink-more-water-mongers.

My DS (currently in year 1) school actively encourages the kids to drink water, we were asked to send a 500ml bottle to school as they have just had some new water fountains installed in the playground. The kids can help themselves to the water at playtime and lunchtime.

DS hates water, but, because everyone else drinks it, he does.

SueW - we're in the Severn Trent area, I'll mention to the Headteacher about applying for the bottles.

We're in the Western Isles, and we have a community/school project which has funded the bottles and coolers. But we are a ver y small region (2 6yr secondaries, 4 junior secondaries and accompanying primary schools) so it's not such a big deal here to get everyone doing it.

Isn't it strange how we're all going back to the days where we drank water at school. The water fountains were the only drinking source there was. And then came fizzy drinks machines, so no more water. Now we realise water was the best afterall. Looking at the organic thread and breastfeeding threads you do wonder what we've really achieved in the last century!

I started drinking 1.5 litres a day and did feel better for it, it helped my weight loss significantly and I came to the conclusion that if I had drunk that much water I could also drink whatever else I felt like! Find it very easy in the office but much more difficult at home.

I refused to drink bottled water because I decided if tap water was good enough for DS it was good enough for me so have a 500ml bottle I fill up from the tap. I find the only way to ensure I drink this amount is to measure it out by the bottle. DH claims not to like tap water (ours is not bad and fairly soft) so I buy him two litre bottles of Asda Smartprice at 20odd pence for two litres and he keeps one in the car (he's on the road a lot) and one by the bed.