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Not 8 Glasses a Day, Find Out How Much Water You Really Need

By Naweko N San-joyz

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away." "Take two aspirins and call me in the morning." "Drink at least eight glasses of water a day." How do these clichéd prescriptions get started anyway? According to a recent article in the British Medical Journal, these false remedies arise from poor or untested health theories.

Included in those theories, sits a recommended eight classes of water a day. But how many classes of water should you drink a day? That depends on whose medical advice you believe.

Instead of sifting though theoretical suggestions for answers, another way to gage your liquid consumption needs is to access your dehydration symptoms and then drink accordingly. For example, dehydration is linked to constipation, headaches and heat strokes.

Drink water to avoid headaches

A study in The Journal of Head and Face Pain found that headache suffers could relieve their tensions within thirty minutes to an hour simply by drinking between a half to three-quarters liter of water. Rather than tap your aspirin next time for a pain fix, you may want to guzzle a glass of H2O.

Drink water to stop constipation

Findings in the Journal of Neurology suggest that constipation may precede the onset of motor dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. Investigators in the study defined constipation as not having at least one bowel movement within a three-day period.

This pioneering study suggests a possible link between dehydration and Parkinson's disease. But of course, more research is needed. The proposed health kernel here is that drinking adequate amounts of water could prevent constipation.

Drink to replenish lost fluids after exercise

Drinking guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommend that athletes drink "as much as tolerable" during exercise. This means drinking enough water to compensate for water lost through sweating and other metabolic activities. But not everyone agrees with that figure.

Back in 2007, a report in the Journal of Sports Sciences, argues that this liberal drinking recommendation is not based on "appropriately controlled, randomized, prospective clinical trials conducted under environmental and other conditions that match those found in 'out-of-doors' exercise". Also, in some cases, excess water consumption can lead to water intoxication and death.

Ultimately, the question as to how much water to drink is up to the consumer.

One of the lurking causes of the advent and persistence of medical myths is the unwillingness of the consumer to take health issues and the consequences of their decisions into their own hands. This does not mean consumers should practice medicinal anarchy, but question health recommendations.

The real question here is not how many glasses of water a day should you drink, but why do you need to drink the water in the first place-to prevent headaches, exhaustion or constipation, or just because you think it is a smart idea.

Sources:

Blau, J.N., Kell, C.A. & Sperling, J.M. (2004) Water-Deprivation Headache: A new headache with two variants. The Journal of Head and Face Pain, 44 (1), 79-83.

Vreeman, R. C. & Carroll A. E. (2007, December 22) Medical myths. British Medical Journal, 335, 1288-1289.

Ueki, A., Otsuka, M. (2004, October) Life style risks of Parkinson's disease: Association between decreased water intake and constipation. Journal of Neurology, 251, vii18-vii23.

Naweko San-Joyz helps people look better. You can get started by using her free weight loss tool located at http://www.noixia.com/blog

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