Hydrated or dehydrated?

US researchers reviewing a study undertaken in 1945 recently concluded that it is a "deeply entrenched belief among the public that we must drink eight glasses of water a day to maintain health and wellbeing".

It suggests that there is "not one single study which reveals that drinking this amount of water improves skin tone, aids dieting or prevents headaches (except those induced by hangovers").

Apparently, the renewed evidence also suggests that tea, coffee and even weak alcoholic drinks make up our daily fluid intake" and suggest that there is no evidence that these drinks dehydrate.  The review further reports that drinking too much fluid can actually be dangerous, resulting in "water intoxication".

The Study concluded that there is no evidence that drinking lots of water benefits the body's organs. 

Edith Maskell of Bromley Health Management said "It's ludicrous. The outcome of their studies may have revealed these "facts" but as always, it depends on how they did their research.  The reviewers obviously didn't consider the evidence and research recorded in the book written by Dr F Batmanghelidj ..Your Body's Many Cries for Water. 

Common sense will tell you that if a person isn't taking in sufficient HYDRATING fluids (water), their skin will eventually start to look like a dried prune. That's why smokers are easily recognised as they age.  It may be true that tea and coffee is not dehydrating in itself but it is if they drink nothing else (which the majority do): AND smoke and drink alcohol every day?   ......and anyway, who drinks weakened alcoholic beverages? Your car won't run with tea, coffee and beer in the radiator even though it's weakened  by water and neither will our bodies. 

Our bodies are 85% fluid - it requires the fluid (as in non toxic fluid content) to remain at that level, otherwise it can not function properly. If we don't top up that level regularly and the fluids we drink are mostly those that ARE known to dehydrate, (tea, coffee, sugary drinks, alcohol) the levels drop and health problems WILL evolve in the long term. 

The conclusion that they found no evidence that "drinking lots of water benefits the body's organs" is frankly, barmy. In my professional experience, people don't drink enough fruit, vegetables and salds which WOULD top up the fluid levels;  instead their diets are mostly pre-prepared processed foods which DEhydrate because they contain additives and other "poisons" like chemcials, metals and pesticides. 

As for people dying from "water intoxication" (hyponatraemia) because of low salt levels, the background of those individual cases needs to be investigated before drawing conclusions.  Long distance runners is cited as an example.  How many people are long distance runners?  and how many who are, die from water intoxication? Drug abusers have also died from water intoxication - it does NOT provide weighty evidence that drinking 8 glasses of water a day is unhealthy for the general public".

Monday, 7 April 2008