Link: Science wishy-washy on health benefits of water - Diet and nutrition- msnbc.com.
Somehow this article reads to me like the authors are straining out gnats (from their water) and swallowing camels (instead of water).
For instance, I don't get why these two kidney specialists are blaming the "complementary and alternative medicine worlds" for the water-drinking thing. When I accepted their challenge and Googled "water health,' one of the very first hits was this sober-sided pro-water missive from none other than the Mayo Clinic, hardly a hippy-dippy health purveyor ... and in fact, they do go about stressing that everyone's water needs are different, and that studies have been inconclusive, and so on and so forth.
But while the kidney specialists aver that "there is no rational basis for the widespread belief that people need to drink eight glasses of water a day, and it is unclear where this recommendation came from," the Mayo Clinic webpage has a totally commonsensical explanation for that figure:
"Replacement approach. The average urine output for adults is 1.5 liters a day. You lose close to an additional liter of water a day through breathing, sweating and bowel movements. Food usually accounts for 20 percent of your total fluid intake, so if you consume 2 liters of water or other beverages a day (a little more than 8 cups) along with your normal diet, you will typically replace the lost fluids."
It's possible that weirdnesses like these were introduced by the Reuters staff writer--I've seen that kind of thing a lot. Alas, however, the original journal article on which this Reuters item is based is only available to paid subscribers, so there's no way to judge how the researchers originally explained their work, let alone how strong their data was, or not.
Regardless of this article, I'm going to keep aiming for my eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily, simply because I have established that I personally feel better when I do that--not to mention the instructions that came with my gout medication which said I should be drinking a minimum of eight glasses, and probably more like 12.
Which brings me to the kidney experts' distinction that water drinking is effective in the case of certain health conditions.
Now gout is a health condition caused by excess uric acid in the blood. Extra water drinking is specifically recommended to gout patients to help the kidneys flush out both the excess uric acid and the medication. So I'm sorry, it just makes no sense to me to maintain that water is effective at flushing toxins only when a doctor has hung a diagnosis on your condition, but not at any other time.
But don't take my word on this stuff--after all, I'm most definitely not a doctor. As in all other things regarding your body, see for yourself what amount and schedule of water drinking feels right to you ... and then make sure you get that. That's what I'm trying to do.
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