Do you have to drink eight glasses of water a day?
Eight cups (or 2 litres) of water per day on top of other fluids has been the standard advice given to us to stay well hydrated. Although adequate hydration is important and drinking water is going to be good for us regardless, there has never been any scientific evidence to confirm that eight glasses is not necessarily the magic number.
There is no universal requirement for water intake and everyone’s fluids needs will vary widely based on gender, age, body size, health status, physical activity levels (duration and intensity), the environment you live in (hot or humid conditions require more), pregnancy and breastfeeding.
The best recommendation is “let your thirst be your guide”. Your thirst is a sufficient indicator for most people of hydration status. Some exceptions to the rule might include athletes who train at high intensities and/or long duration, and people with health conditions that affect their thirst such as diabetes or kidney disease. These people may need more precise estimations of fluid needs, daily.
Another good indicator is the colour of your urine. If your urine is clear, straw or champagne-like colour then it’s a good indicator that your body is hydrated. If your urine is a dark yellow or brown then it’s time to get some water into your, pronto!!
Is drinking water between meals bad for your digestion?
There are some claims out there that drinking water around/between meals is bad for your digestion. This premise is based on the thought that the water will dilute stomach acid and digestive enzymes, making it more difficult for your body to digest food. This claim, however, implies that your digestive system is unable too adapt its secretions to the consistency of a meal, which is in fact not true.
Another concern that comes with this claim is that the fluid or water increases the speed at which solid foods exit the stomach and therefore, reducing the contact time with the stomach acid and digestive enzymes, resulting in poorer digestion. Some studies that analysed the stomach’s emptying speed showed that, although liquids do pass through the digestive system more quickly than solids, they did not have an effect on the solids’ digestion speed.
In some cases, liquids might actually improve digestion as they help break down large chunks of food, making it easier for them to pass through your oesophagus and into the stomach. It’s important to note that your stomach actually secretes water, in addition to digestive enzymes and gastric acid during the digestive process. Therefore, water is needed to promote the proper function of the enzymes.
Does drinking more water cleanse out the toxins in the body?
Our body accumulates toxins on a daily basis and some people are more exposed than others depending on their environment, lifestyle, diet and stress. When removing toxins from the body, the bowel disposes of toxins from the digestive system, the liver helps clear the way for other organs to function properly and help remove toxins, and the kidney filters the blood and allows for excretion through urine. It’s important to note that your body is actually able to detoxify itself in a natural manner with the use of its lungs, liver and kidneys.
However, when our bodies are overloaded with unfamiliar toxins, are producing too many toxins, or are not eliminating toxins effectively, the toxins build up and can cause health issues. This is where water can assist in the cleansing process.
Water flushes toxins and waste from the body and transports nutrients to where they are needed. Without water the contents of your colon can get stuck and cause constipation. Water helps soften the stool and promotes transit and evacuation of the bowels. Our kidney system is unique in its filtering capabilities and totally dependent upon water in order for it to work efficiently. The kidneys filter voluminous amounts of blood each day, which helps maintain the body’s water balance and excrete toxins and excess fluid through the bladder. Therefore, daily fluid intake is essential for this function to occur.
As water is a diuretic, people with a high urine output have a lower risk of kidney stones, kidney disease and urinary tract infection (especially in women after sex).
Will drinking more water lead to clearer, healthier and more hydrated skin?
Although proper hydration is important for your overall health, it’s not clear whether drinking extra water affects skin hydration in healthy people.
The bottom line is that skin is an organ, and just like any other part of the body, your skin is made up of cells. And skin cells, like any other cell in the body, are made up of water. Without water, the cells and organs will not function properly. Therefore, if your skin cells are not getting a sufficient amount of water, you are more at risk of becoming dehydrated. This lack of hydration will present itself by turning your skin dry, tight and flaky, which in turn give the skin less resilience and will be more prone to wrinkling.
Despite this explanation, however, there’s a lack of research showing that drinking extra water has any impact on skin hydration or appearance in healthy individuals.
Does drinking more water help or hinder weight loss?
Research has suggested that water can help promote weight loss and has previously hinted that drinking water before meals reduces intake of calories. More recently, studies have compared weight loss among dieters who drank water before meals with those who did not. The study showed people who drank water before meals lost more weight over a period of 12 weeks. Water may be so effective for weight loss simply because it fills up the stomach with a substance that has zero calories. People feel fuller as a result, and eat less calorie-containing food during the meal. Also, increased water consumption may help people lose weight if they drink it in place of sweetened calorie-containing beverages such as soft drink or some fruit juices/smoothies.
Research has also shown that drinking chilled water may speed up your metabolism by about 24 calories for every 500mL you consume. The reason this might occur with chilled water only is because the body uses more energy bring the cold water up to body temperature.
Will drinking more water suppress your appetite?
Drinking water before or with meals can also improve your eating behaviours, making you pause between bites and check in with your hunger and fullness signals. This in turn can prevent overeating. As mentioned above, drinking water before a meal will also fill up your stomach and signal to the brain that it is full, which in turn may reduce the volume of food you consume and decrease your appetite.
Is the following statement correct? “When you’re thirsty you’re already dehydrated, therefore drink more than you normally would.”
This is not entirely true. As mentioned above, one of the best indicators of your body’s hydration status is your thirst. Thirst is your body’s way of telling you to drink water and as a result you will not be at risk of becoming dangerously dehydrated the moment your feel slightly parched.
You don’t have to drink “more” water than you usually would, unless something has occurred that requires you to change your fluid requirements or your exercise intensity and duration increases. Bottom line is, if you drink water continuously and regularly through the day and especially when you’re thirsty, it’s a pretty fail-proof method of staying hydrated.