Possibly a bit controversial. I'm no scientist, but I am a great believer in scientific method, and putting myths to rest. A few links:
The mysterious origins of the “8 glasses of water a day” rule
What Drove Us to Drink 8 Glasses of Water a Day?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/14/drinking-8-glasses-of-wat_n_899276.html
There are many more if you google...
It is my understanding that;
a) The oft-quoted belief that you need to drink 8 glasses of water per day is wrong. Even if your body does need that much water (which is highly dependent on what you're doing, and probably an essentially arbitrary figure), a significant chunk of it comes from solid food (which is, much like you, normally mostly water). I've heard it said that deliberately drinking that much, on top of what you're probably already consuming and even when not thirsty, can even be harmful, putting undue strain on the kidneys.
b) Beer, tea and coffee contain diuretics. But it's a big stretch to go from there to "they dehydrate you". The vast majority of any of these or similar drinks is water, and you normally have to drink quite a lot of them, and wait some time, before the diuretic effect takes over (e.g. a hangover). If you drink a few pints of beer, or evenly spaced cups of tea, you are gaining water.
c) Normal, healthy urine is anywhere between yellow and transparent. The assertion that it should be transparent is not based on any real data.
d) Perhaps most importantly: your body is very good at telling you what it needs. If you feel thirsty, drink. If you don't, you probably don't need water (there are certain medical problems that interfere here, definitely. But they are comparatively rare).
e) That said, there are specific considerations that apply to vaping. vaping dries out the respiratory tract, and we probably need to compensate for that by drinking more fluids than we intuitively feel like we need.
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So, some questions. Can anyone provide evidence that any of the above is wrong? Preferably published in peer-reviewed literature, but anything that isn't from an unnamed nutritionist would be a start (don't get me started on nutritionists - I'm sure some of them are great, but it isn't a legally protected name. I'm perfectly entitled to call myself a nutritionist if I feel like it).
If not, perhaps people should be slightly less militant about the "drink water by the gallon" advice. I'm sure it's given with good intent, and I'm sure most people need to drink more fluids when they start vaping. But being a bit more flexible about choice and quantity of fluid will make things easier for newbies.
The mysterious origins of the “8 glasses of water a day” rule
What Drove Us to Drink 8 Glasses of Water a Day?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/14/drinking-8-glasses-of-wat_n_899276.html
There are many more if you google...
It is my understanding that;
a) The oft-quoted belief that you need to drink 8 glasses of water per day is wrong. Even if your body does need that much water (which is highly dependent on what you're doing, and probably an essentially arbitrary figure), a significant chunk of it comes from solid food (which is, much like you, normally mostly water). I've heard it said that deliberately drinking that much, on top of what you're probably already consuming and even when not thirsty, can even be harmful, putting undue strain on the kidneys.
b) Beer, tea and coffee contain diuretics. But it's a big stretch to go from there to "they dehydrate you". The vast majority of any of these or similar drinks is water, and you normally have to drink quite a lot of them, and wait some time, before the diuretic effect takes over (e.g. a hangover). If you drink a few pints of beer, or evenly spaced cups of tea, you are gaining water.
c) Normal, healthy urine is anywhere between yellow and transparent. The assertion that it should be transparent is not based on any real data.
d) Perhaps most importantly: your body is very good at telling you what it needs. If you feel thirsty, drink. If you don't, you probably don't need water (there are certain medical problems that interfere here, definitely. But they are comparatively rare).
e) That said, there are specific considerations that apply to vaping. vaping dries out the respiratory tract, and we probably need to compensate for that by drinking more fluids than we intuitively feel like we need.
---
So, some questions. Can anyone provide evidence that any of the above is wrong? Preferably published in peer-reviewed literature, but anything that isn't from an unnamed nutritionist would be a start (don't get me started on nutritionists - I'm sure some of them are great, but it isn't a legally protected name. I'm perfectly entitled to call myself a nutritionist if I feel like it).
If not, perhaps people should be slightly less militant about the "drink water by the gallon" advice. I'm sure it's given with good intent, and I'm sure most people need to drink more fluids when they start vaping. But being a bit more flexible about choice and quantity of fluid will make things easier for newbies.
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, have long-since trained themselves to ignore their signals. Smokers in particular have often trained themselves to smoke in response to subtle thirst signals, because they get lumped into a generic "I need something" signal. So a better rule than 'drink X a day' would be "when you get a nic fit, drink a few swallows before going to the nic, part of the impatience is likely to be subtle thirst signals."
