Drinking Water - 8 or 12 glasses? page 2

[PartyLikeAGrokstar]

Mark did do a post on water consumption. I don't feel like finding it, but it's there. The gist was to drink when you're thirsty. Simple as that.

[Suse]

IMHO, drink until your urine is light and clear. That's the best test. If your urine is dark, you're dehydrated (except the morning - it's typical for your urine to be darker in the morning). But, during the day if your urine remains dark, you need to step up your fluid intake.

I have to say my urine is always rather dark. However if I have a lemon juice and hot water in the morning, I find my urine is much lighter for the rest of the day and I wouldnt say my water intake has increased any. I drink tea mostly and I think the dark urine is just toxins coming out.... frankly I have no idea if that is the case, but its what I like to think... so perhaps light urine means there arent any toxins to come out... hmmm If I'm ever anywhere tropical for a holiday I have to admit my urine is always lighter... more sweating (more toxins coming out??) and probably more water going in....

I do have a reminder set on my outlook to get a glass of water at 10am and at 3pm each day. Sometimes I even drink it!

[Shrinking_Violet]

My recommendation is to take your weight in pounds, divide by two and change the units from pounds to ounces. That is how many ounces of water you should drink every day. Divide that by eight to make it be 'glasses'.

Mind you, this is my thing. I don't think it is dogma for anyone.

Again, this is pure nonsense. Think about it. Take Griff as an example. He used to weigh more than 300lbs - are you saying he should have been drinking 150oz of water per day...?! That's about 4.5l! A glass is 250ml - that's 18 glasses per day. You DO NOT need that much water. In fact, drinking more than your body asks for is gonna do you harm in the long run.

Mark even covers this in his blog: - http://www.marksdailyapple.com/8-gla...f-water-a-day/ I thought you routinely searched the blog, Periquin? This is why I'm slightly bemused to see such a CW answer from you...

[Shrinking_Violet]

IMHO, drink until your urine is light and clear. That's the best test. If your urine is dark, you're dehydrated (except the morning - it's typical for your urine to be darker in the morning). But, during the day if your urine remains dark, you need to step up your fluid intake.

Actually, no, this is more CW nonsense. Mark has covered this in his blog. You urine should NOT be 'light and clear' - clear (and by that I assume you mean until it looks as though you're peeing water) is a sign you're overtaxing your kidneys - NOT a good thing to be doing.

There are lots of things which could darken your urine - certain foods (e.g. beetroot, turmeric, spinach (yep, if I eat enough of the stuff my pee is green!) carrots, red cabbage - think of all the coloured veggies you can eat, they can all affect the colour of what comes out t'other end!)

There are also things which can make your pee cloudy which don't necessarily indicate dehydration; I find that, not only does my pee stink when I eat asparagus (that's a whole other topic; many people don't notice their pee is stinky, I certainly do - my mother also does, but my father and sister don't) but it goes cloudy. No idea why, but it's a natural thing to do with eating asparagus, I assume.

There is a commercial over here (for Strongbow* - I remember now) which carries the slogan 'Obey your thirst' - the same is true of water. It's not necessary to drink if your body isn't telling you it needs it - and it's another CW myth that "if you're thirsty you're already dehydrated". Bollocks!

I take a lot of supps, so I get through about 1-1.5l a day (Periquin, if I was to use your reasoning, I... oh wait, I do. But not intentionally - just take so many pills (and I take ALCAR 2x day too and that needs to be diluted with 8oz or it makes you gag (lemon stevia helps, though...))

Talking of which, I was due a dose at 7 - it's now 8!

Drink when you're thirsty, don't when you're not. Simples! (as that mildly annoying meerkat would say. Brits'll know what I'm on about!)

*Strongbow, if you don't get it in the US (I believe the Aussies and Kiwis do - we imported it to Oz as revenge for them inflicting the likes of XXXX and Foster's on us! ) is cheap, nasty, crappy cider which has probably never been within 100 miles of an apple. Ever!)

[Valarauko]

Summer in Japan is brutal, so hot and humid. Sweating buckets just walking at a snails pace. 3-4 litres on some days wouldn't be a joke. Mid winter though its about a litre may be 2, tops. THats just water. Throw in coffee and the odd tea too.

[Debbie]

I used to drink half my weight (in ounces, not pounds) of water. Going pee became a part time job.

The reason I stopped is because, with my thyroid issues, I already have problems absorbing nutrients. When I started seeing my new endocrinologist and he was alarmed with my depleted Vit D and calcium levels, he asked me about my food and water consumption. Although we had discussed this before, it took on a new relevance. When he heard how much water I was drinking, in addition to two cups of coffee daily and tea a few times a week, he said I needed to cut back on the water. He suggested the 'clear to pale yellow' wisdom.

I don't like treating my body like a machine. I pay attention to how I feel. Some days I need more, some days I need less. If I am dehydrated, I will feel tired and sluggish. Also ... some functions, erm, well, don't function so well. I drink when I am thirsty. I also drink when it *sounds* like a good idea. I have given birth and am in my late forties; that means I don't drink too much for a couple of hours before I go to bed because I LOVE my sleep and don't want to do anything that will wake me once I am in it.

I have had jobs in the past that did not allow me to drink when I needed. I had to treat my body like a machine then, and drink on a schedule, or I would have become really dehydrated. It's just a fact of life for many people that if they don't eat and drink on a schedule, their bodies will become even more neglected.

I suppose my answer to your question is not very well defined but the truth is, everyone's body and life situation is so different that there cannot be a one-size-fits-all solution.

Watch for patterns in yourself and let that be your guide for your personal needs.

best wishes

[StoneAgeQueen]

I you're thirsty- drink. If you're not, don't.

[Shrinking_Violet]

I you're thirsty- drink. If you're not, don't.

Wasn't what I said...?

[Mr. Bad News]

Get enough salt and hydration is a problem of the past.. a sprinkle on eggs, a sprinkle on meat, two sprinkles for a broth drink, and I'll only have to drink at most 4 tall glasses of water a day. And thats with like one salty meal a day.

[979roadrunner]

It's a myth that you can't drink too much water, too. There is such a thing as water toxicity, and in today's water crazy world, it's more common than you'd think. This is covered in an EMT 'basic' course