Q: I’m confused. I recently heard experts saying that drinking 8 glasses of water a day isn’t essential for good health but I always thought it was. Do I need to be drinking so much?

A: According to Dan Negouianu and Dr Stanley Goldfarb from the University of Pennsylvania who recently published their research in the Journal of the American Society of Nephronology there is no solid evidence that drinking plenty of pure water is good for your skin, wards off weight gain or helps rid the body of toxins.

 

I beg to differ and so does the British Dietetic Association which says that the typical woman needs around two litres (6-8 glasses) of water a day. Numerous studies back up the undoubted health benefits of drinking plenty of water and time and time again in my clinic I’ve seen the health, weight and mood of my patients improve when they increase their water intake. Most of us simply do not drink enough and rely on nutrient depleting and dehydrating teas, coffees, soft fizzy drinks and even alcohol for our fluid intake. Up to 75 per cent of your body weight is made up of water and water is needed to keep every organ in your body functioning at optimum levels. It’s also essential for hormone balance and for keeping bloating at bay. Drinking plenty of water therefore makes perfect sense and although I don’t recommend drinking water all day long I do recommend drinking at least 6 glasses of water a day for optimum health and well being. Remember, waiting until you are thirsty to drink isn’t good enough because thirst is a sign that dehydration has already set in so carrying a water bottle with you at all times is advised.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 1st, 2008 at 1:50 am and is filed under Ask Marilyn, General Health, Healthy Living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.