The universal advice that has made guzzling 8 glasses of water is more urban myth than medical dogma and appears to lack scientific proof. Enough said.

Regards, Joey

p.s: I don't want to hear yet another water intoxication case already!

Drink intelligently.

Regards, Joey

Water the Essence of Life

How many times have you heard "drink your water"? In the health profession we use that statement quite a bit, but few people take the time to explain
why. In this column today I would like to explain why, then maybe you might drink more water.

Water is the second most important element on earth. You can only live a few days without it, maybe a week but not much more. The human body is
composed of 70% water, as are most of the foods we eat. Our muscles are 75% water and our blood a whopping 90% water. Our blood carries
nutrients to every part of our body and waste products away to be eliminated. Without enough water our bodies' would starve and we would poison
ourselves with our own waste products.

The most current research that is available states that in order for a human to remain hydrated they should consume one half their bodyweight in fluid
ounces daily. That's a pretty easy formula to follow, if you weight 100 lbs. you should drink 50 ounces per day. If you would like to lose body fat you
must increase the amount you take in daily. Our bodies are very reluctant to let go of fat if we don't have plenty of pure water.
Yes other liquids will count but not as much, the body must work to separate the water from the remaining contents at a price. Energy is the price a
person pays to have the water extracted, that might be something you want to keep in your reserves. All alcoholic beverages, coffee and tea work as a
diuretic, in other words they extract water from your body. When you take in these liquids you need to add water.

Our body uses water for almost every function that takes place within it. Our kidneys help remove waste products from our blood, which then is
excreted in the urine. When we have water shortage the bodies' automatic reaction is to retain the water it already has. When this occurs the stored
water becomes increasingly contaminated with waste and the kidneys can not remove the toxins, as they should. They simply overload. The body then
shifts the cleaning load to the liver.

The body must get rid of as much waste as possible, in most cases the liver is already burdened with trying to filter and clean our blood. So when it
has to take up part of the kidneys job the liver can't do all of its work efficiently.

Pay attention here, one of the most important jobs the liver has is metabolizing stored body fat into energy. As a result ones weight increases because
the stored up fat can't be burned and turned into energy, and the body tends to hold onto more water because of the initial deficiency. Do not get me
wrong, it takes more than drinking water to lose weight, eating right and exercise help, but I will go so far as to say you can't lose body fat properly
without drinking water.

If you drink more water you will urinate more, but that's a good thing. Remember this is the way the body rids itself of toxins. If you allow the toxins to
build up in the body the eventual price will be greater than going to the bathroom more often. If you have been dehydrated for some time you should
increase your intake slowly. At first you will actually be thirstier, then after a short time the increased thirst and believe it are not the increased urine
output will decrease.

Source: Dr. David S. Dyer, N.D.

hi,i drink 4-5 liter of water a day...jz sharing my experience...but 8 glasses is enuf for a day...^^

I wonder why most people never consider the fact that your "FOOD" has liquid in it as well.

.......    Water are not supposed to be contaminated. Pipe water are safe to drink but if the colour is brownish then don't drink it. Soft drink is not advisable coz contain a lot of sugar. Makes your body more hypertonic plus burden your kidneys too. So just drink plain water !

4 litre of plain water MINIMUM for me

So I guess once the urine color is clear and not yellow, you are not longer to need force yourself to drink more water?

It is some kind of indicator that your body don't need more water or just some urban myth?

Every day you lose water through your breath, perspiration, urine and bowel movements. For your body to function properly, you must replenish its water supply by consuming beverages and foods that contain water.

Several approaches attempt to approximate water needs for the average, healthy adult living in a temperate climate.

    * Replacement approach. The average urine output for adults is about 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) 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.
    * Eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. Another approach to water intake is the "8 x 8 rule" — drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day (about 1.9 liters). The rule could also be stated, "drink eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day," as all fluids count toward the daily total. Though the approach isn't supported by scientific evidence, many people use this basic rule as a guideline for how much water and other fluids to drink.
    * Dietary recommendations. The Institute of Medicine advises that men consume roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day.

Even apart from the above approaches, if you drink enough fluid so that you rarely feel thirsty and produce 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) or more of colorless or slightly yellow urine a day, your fluid intake is probably adequate.