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I never thought I’d say it (and I fear I might be responsible for other people reading it by linking to it) but Collin’s blog has given me a delightful little tidbit that I have to share with my crazy friends at IBM.

You do not have to drink 8 glasses of water a day! It is a myth, and a potentially dangerous one.

Thats right, this post is directed at you maniacs who carry a 64oz bottle of water around with you at work and check in with each other throughout the day to see how well you are drinking. There is no original scientific basis for the 64oz measurement; you do acquire hydration from caffeinated beverages; even dry items like bread contain water; and drinking too much water is dangerous (hyponatremia).

Even Snopes addressed this issue after the crazies spread spam encouraging overhydration. 

To end this post, unlike the maniacal myth propogators, I will be providing some legitimate sources to back up my claims. Oh… and "I told you so".

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/hydrationandfluid/a/060704.htm

The vast majority of healthy people adequately meet their daily hydration needs by letting thirst be their guide, says the newest report on nutrient recommendations from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

http://www.looksmartmom.com/p/articles/mi_m0846/is_9_23/ai_n6004443?pi=gbl

In fact, most fruits and vegetables are 80-99 percent water, but even cake, bread and cheese are more than 20 percent water each.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283

"You don’t need to sip from your water bottle all day to satisfy your fluid needs."

http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/diet.fitness/02/11/salt.water.ap/

The adage "drink at least eight glasses of water a day" is unnecessary. The average healthy person gets plenty of fluid, from beverages as well as the water content of fruits, vegetables and other fluids. So don’t bother counting, just drink when thirsty.

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/82/97493.htm

Perhaps the biggest surprise is that one piece of often-repeated advice — elderly people need eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day — may be wrong and even harmful.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 15th, 2006 at 10:27 am and is filed under IBM, Rants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.