Do You Really Need To Resolve To Drink More Water?

I was astonished to see that the goal-tracking site 43 Things reports that "Drink more water" is in the Top Ten list of people's goals. This is a waste of precious resolution-making energy! A person only has so much self-discipline (studies back this up), so you should choose your resolutions carefully - and in most circumstances, you just don't need to worry about drinking enough water. If you're training for a marathon, or you live in the desert, you need to pay more attention to drinking water -- but I see a lot of people worrying about it while leading sedentary, air-conditioned lives.

From what I read, the research indicates that there's no evidence for the familiar advice that you need eight glasses a day. That's a myth. Despite what many people think, if you need water, you'll feel thirsty.

Also, in my admittedy unscientific observations, people who worry about drinking a lot of water tend to drink a lot of bottled water.

There's no evidence that bottled water is more healthful than tap water. In fact, EPA testing of public water is stricter than FDA tests on bottled water -- in any event, many brands of bottled water, such as Aquafina and Dasani, are nothing more than filtered tap water. Plus, unlike bottled water, tap water has fluoride. My pediatrician specifically asked if I gave my kids bottled water. I felt like a bad parent when I answered, "No," but she said, "Good!"

If you're concerned about the environment, you should re-think bottled water. According to one estimate, making water bottles consumes more than 1.5 million barrels of oil each year, for the U.S. market alone - and not even 15% of these are recycled.

Plus shipping the water from place to place consumes a huge amount of energy. The local Toasties take-out place where I get my made-to-order salad carries brands of water imported from France, Fuji, Iceland, and Croatia. This is water.

And buying bottled water is expensive! In 2006, U.S. spent $16 billion on bottled water. Not to mention that it's a pain to stand in line to buy a bottle of water, and to carry it around, or to deal with the enormous, heavy jugs for home, and then cope with recycling.

If you like drinking water, that's great. I'm aiming this post at people who feel guilty for not drinking enough water, or who apply effort to keep themselves hitting the eight glasses a day. Because, if you stop worrying about drinking so much water, in one fell swoop, you can...

* Direct your resolution-making energy to something that's more likely to pay off for health and happiness, like going to sleep earlier or to exercising
* Stop feeling guilty about not drinking enough water
* Save money and help the planet
* Eliminate chores

Now, I imagine a lot of people will protest that drinking water does great things for them. Is that right? Do you feel like you benefit from drinking tons of water?

Comments

[nyscof]

If you really want people to drink less bottled water then stop adding the fluoride chemicals. Unlike pharmaceutical grade fluoride put into dental products and supplements, the fluoride chemicals added to 2/3 of US water supplies are contaminated waste products of phosphater fertilizer industry, truck directly from their smokestack scrubbers to your glass of water, and are allowed to deliver trace amounts of lead, arsenic, mercury and other toxins.

Is there any pedicatrician who thinks giving your child even trace amounts of lead, arsenic and mercury is a good idea?

Besides, fluoridation isn't very green as truckloads of fluoride chemicals must traverse every nook and cranny of the US to deliver is toxic load where 99% of it gets sprinkled on lawns, poured into pools, flushed down the toilet, washing down the sink and sewers. Lots of manhours and gasoline will be saved when fluoridation stops.

No American is or ever was fluoride-deficient. There is no need to put it into waters supplies, In fact, the Centers for Disease Control tells us that up to 48% of US school children sport fluoride overdose symptoms - white spotted, yellow, brown and sometimes pitted teeth.

Let's get it out you can do so here
http://congress.fluorideaction.net

fluoridation 101
http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof

[YuryGetsin]

People are fucking stupid. If everyone bought a permanent water bottle, and refilled it daily, we would use less oil to make plastic and less magic to "purify" our tap water.

Vote Obama
This really isn't that complicated

[heal57]

That's what we do sometimes. We drink pure water and pay for the service and give our adult kids some do they don't pay extra. We discard the plastic bottles after two or three fills. Beleve me, water is very necessary, especially in the morning with lemon in it but not too cold. It clears the poisons in your body before your tea of coffee. Drink the purest water possible, especially in dry climates. You will be able to avod headaches at times by doing this. Don't drink it with food. Drink it before breakfast and well after dinner [2 or 3 glasses]. Refill a permanet bottle if you like, just please do it.

[exumbris]

Yes you really need to drink more water. Neither of the links for the research on this article worked just now. Most people drink soda, sports drinks or coffee instead of water - which also comes in environtmentally damaging packaging, and to add to that they are mass contributers to a lot of national health problems. So either way whatever you buy its going to add to the environmental problem unless you decide to make a drastic change in your consumer habits Also, this whole coca cola/pepsi/give me anything with sugar and caffeine phenomena is the whole reason we have to instruct people to drink water - because it is a drug - and as we know people who are on drugs, no matte how small and commonplace, will reach for what they want right now before what is good for them because their bodies are addicted. My suggestion? Exile soda/caffeine - get it out of your life, its disgusting stuff. DRINK WATER. Drink juice without additives.. But mostly, drink water. It wouldn't be in everything you consume and surrounding you in every which way if it weren't so important.

The countries with the best records in public health (except the united states, which ranks last in industrial nations) have the most ready access to clean water.

[Cathexis]

Good point, ex-umb! Most people get roughly enough water each day, but the form in which that water come is important.

By drinking straight water, a person is less likely to indulge in "water hidden in other sources" -- such as high-calorie soft drinks and even food! The body is not good at differentiating low-level thirst from low-level hunger ... some degree of our everyday eating, I understand, is really because we need more water.