Myth: drink 8 cups water daily

How often we now see people with bottled water in their hand as they walk around, go shopping, or just sit in the yard. One lady could not attend a one hour meeting of ours without bringing (and sipping) her bottle of water. Some of us older folk find this hard to understand. We and our family and friends have lived well all these years without ever carrying a bottle of water around. Not even when some of us were avid joggers all year long.

The bottled water folk are sure we must have been (and still are) dehydrated..!!

A related issue that comes up is the dire need of drinking 8 cups of water daily. Here we are living well all these years and have never done this. Drink water...yes. More so when thirsty...yes. But eight cups every day regardless?

I have looked and looked over the years for the proof we need to drink 8 cups of water daily. And have not found it. The reason I mention this now is because The Harvard Medical College Health newsletter (email) arrived today and reminded me of this very subject.

They too have looked for proof we need to drink 8 cups of water daily and could not find it. Imagine that. Let me give you a sample paragraph from this Health letter:

"More recently, a kidney specialist at Dartmouth Medical School searched the scientific literature for studies that might support the idea that people need 8 glasses of fluid a day. Not only did he determine that no such evidence exists, but concluded that the research that has been done "strongly suggests that such large amounts are not needed"

If you would like to read more why not subscribe to Harvards free Healthbeat eletter. I have to pay for some of their research but this publication regularly arrives free of cost.

Subscribe Harvards Healthbeat here
And you can read todays edition here.