A medical myth that drives me nuts (as I’ve mentioned) is the claim that drinking X glasses of water each day is good for you. NPR’s Morning Edition debunked that claim this morning, demonstrating that there’s no benefit to doing so. It doesn’t help “flush your body of toxins,” improve your skin, help you lose weight, or keep you from getting dehydrated while sitting at your desk all day. Water’s a great thing — I’m drinking a mug of it right now — but I think it’s best to sing its praises within the realm of reality.
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I’ve always thought is was kind of silly to say that everyone has to drink a certain number of glasses of water per day – this is a case where size does count. The amount of water that a 90 pound person needs is going to be quite different from the amount that a 200 pound person needs.
That said, I think folks should experiment with water drinking to get to the level their bodies need. In acupuncture, there is a guideline of drinking half of your body weight in ounces of water daily. This actually works quite well for me. Regardless of what that study says, I know from my own personal experience that if I stop drinking this level of water regularly, I gain about three pounds, start having headaches, lose regularity, and feel dehydrated. Within 3 to 4 days of getting back on the wagon, the weight is gone, headaches are gone, and regularity is back.
I agree with Michael Pollan, our country is much too concerned with changing their habits everytime a new study comes out. In my opinion, we are far better off listening to our bodies to determine our ideal approach to physical health.
What you said. :)