The year was 1945 and the United States Food and Nutrition Board, a part of the National Academy of Sciences, was a young five years old. And, they wrote a recommendation for the daily intake of 2 liters (roughly 10.5 cups) of water. And, henceforth the myth of drinking eight glasses of water per day was born. At least, as best as we can know.
The missing element about all of this was a misinterpretation of where most of your daily intake of water comes from…food. So, let’s discuss how much water has been recommended for daily intake, why drinking eight glasses of water per day is wrong, how much water is too much, and when you should actually drink water.
Water Daily Intake Recommendations
Governments are well-established recommendation engines of how much of any substance individuals should ingest. From calcium to vitamin D to sodium and macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats and proteins) to water, governments give advice on what their scientific research believes is best for its constituents. For example, as of 2011, the same US Food and Nutrition Board (USFNB) recommends a wide variety of daily intake sources to maintain homeostasis (i.e., optimum levels for humans to survive) in their publications.
From the USFNB, they note that the average adult females should take in about 2.7 liters (about 11 cups), while adult males about 3.7 liters (about 15 cups), per day.
But, don’t be deceived by the “daily intake” as meaning to drink water. As we’ll see shortly, the myth of drinking eight glasses of water per day runs deep in our culture, and the more you know, the healthier you and your loved ones will be by spreading good information.
The Myth of Drinking Eight Glasses of Water Per Day
So, the USFNB tries to give some good information in the mid-1940’s about daily water intake, but the media bungles the whole story, leaving out the pertinent details of what that really means for everyday Americans.
In research speak, the USFNB notes that, “Most of this quantity is contained in prepared foods.” What that really means is, you get most of your daily water intake from the food you eat, not the water you drink on a daily basis.
As Dr. Aaron E. Carroll notes in his The New York Times article, “No, You Do Not Have to Drink 8 Glasses of Water a Day,”
Water is present in fruits and vegetables. It’s in juice, it’s in beer, it’s even in tea and coffee. Before anyone writes me to tell me that coffee is going to dehydrate you, research shows that’s not true either.
You get the vast amount of your daily water intake from drinking and eating normally without ever having a glass of water. It’s not that drinking water as your beverage of choice is bad; that’s good. But, the notion that you should go out of your way to drink that much water is a completely false narrative.
And, the problem continues because of huge marketing campaigns around drinking lots of water by manufacturers of bottled water (from Coca-Cola (Dasani), PepsiCo (Aquafina), Nestlé, and Poland Springs), as well as commercial water cooler providers, and water bottle makers.
While the myth of drinking eight glasses of water per day is pervasive, there are actually more risks to most Americans today of over-hydration than dehydration.
When Your (Water) Cup Runneth Over
The fanaticism surrounding drinking water as a healthy part of life overshadows the positive aspects of simply drinking enough water to maintain adequate levels in your body. Most notably, the amount we urinate and even life-threatening conditions occur from overconsumption of water. Too much of anything can be a bad thing after all, right?
So, urinating too often is not only a productivity killer (even though commercial entities would try to make you think differently and even cherry-pick data to make it sound like there’s a problem), but it might also show an underlying health condition you should seek help for from a licensed medical professional.
Urinating frequently can be a symptom of simply drinking too much water, but if you are drinking too much water and aren’t noticing your uptick in urination frequency it could be hiding a bigger problem. You can be suffering from a urinary tract infection, overactive bladder, or diabetes, and be very well unaware.
Further, water intoxication, as it’s called to take in too much daily water, can lead to hyponatremia (low sodium levels in the body). In basic terms, your body flushes out too much sodium (salt) in your bloodstream. This can cause dizziness, headache, fatigue, nausea, and other symptoms. There are greater risks of overconsumption as well (if you’re worried you are drinking too much water), but I don’t want to dote on extreme cases.
It is important to note that dehydration can lower cognitive performance. But, this is by no means a pervasive risk that we should be concerned about drinking water specifically, if you follow some basic rules of water consumption.
When You Should Drink More Water
There is a very simple but effective heuristic approach for determining if the water levels in your body are too high or too low. Pay attention to your pee!
If you pay attention to the color of your urine, you should be good to go. Your urine should be a light yellow for healthy adults that aren’t on medications or with special conditions. (If you are in that specific group, ask your medical provider.) If your urine is clear or dark yellow, you’re drinking too much or too little water, respectively. It’s that easy!
If it’s too little water (dark yellow urine), drink a single cup of water. Then, you can check your next trip to the bathroom to see how it looks.
Additionally, if you feel thirsty, have a cup of water. Your body is miraculously capable of triggering a sensation for thirst when it needs more water.
One additional tip: if you are an athlete, work outdoors or indoors in a physical capacity (such as construction engineer or yoga instructor or restaurant server), or other physically demanding situations (like, going for a hike), carry water with you and drink water as you need it. Your body will lose water faster in those environments.
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While it may seem like good advice that we should be drinking eight glasses of water per day, it’s more likely that you’re getting plenty of water and simply need to have a healthy nutrition plan.
How much water do you drink per day, and why? Let us know in the comments!