Drinking Water

No Water, No Life

Human life cannot exist without water. We can survive for weeks, even months, without food, but we can live for only a few days without water. Our bodies are more than half water (the exact figure is a matter of some debate), but our brains are approximately 80 percent water. Clearly, water is an essential nutrient -- and one we too often take for granted.

The long list of processes requiring water includes the following:

• Digesting food and removing waste through the kidneys and skin
• Lubricating and cushioning our joints
• Keeping our skin cells plump
• Assisting delivery of nutrients via the bloodstream
• Protecting the intestinal-tract lining from damage by digestive enzymes
• Assisting our breathing
• Maintaining body temperature
• Helping brain functions

We need water — and plenty of it — to maintain good health. Conventional wisdom says that we should drink eight glasses of water daily. Unfortunately, this is another one-size-fits-all recommendation that doesn't address individual needs. I tell people that they should be drinking the equivalent of half their weight in ounces of water daily. In other words, if you weigh 160 pounds, half of that is 80 -- the number of ounces of water you should be drinking. Eighty ounces is equal ten 8-ounce glasses. Anything less shortchanges your entire body of a vitally important nutrient.
That said, it's also important to consider the following factors that may cause dehydration:

• Hot, dry weather
• Intense workouts
• Beverages containing alcohol or caffeine
• A high-salt diet
• Certain dehydrating medications, such as antihistamines

Clearly, the "eight glasses a day" notion needs to be adapted for each individual's lifestyle.

Clearing Up Controversies

 There are articles and/or news stories featuring "experts" who think eight glasses of water a day is unnecessary, wasteful, and possibly even dangerous. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. However, medicine and nutrition are evolving sciences. There are many unanswered questions about the human body, and results of clinical trials are sometimes open to interpretation.

Another controversial area is whether other liquids can replace water. Here again, experts do not agree. One school of thought holds that coffee, tea, wine, beer, soda and similar beverages count toward the eight glasses a day.  Caffeinated and carbonated beverages, for example, have a diuretic effect, increasing urination by irritating the bladder and creating the sensation that one needs to urinate. (yes, even the issue of certain liquids having a diuretic effect is still debated, but I happen to think that's true.) Furthermore, sodas and coffee increase the body's acidity, posing additional health risks.

Wake Up To Water

Being well hydrated means your body's organs have the water they need to function properly. One very easy and beneficial thing we could all do to start each day is to drink water !  Some recommend drinking around 22 ounces of fresh water first thing in the morning. Think about it -- you've just spent 7 or 8 hours sleeping, and during that time, your body has lost water due to respiration (breathing) and perspiration. Plus, your body has been undergoing a detoxification process while you were sleeping. Grabbing a cup of coffee may help you wake up, but it won't do much to rehydrate you. Drinking water first helps replace what was lost during sleep and helps remove toxins from the nighttime purification process, making water the "solution to pollution" that accumulates during the night.



In addition, drinking plenty of water can significantly reduce the risk of a healthy individual's having a fatal heart attack, according to a study of more than 20,000 men and women. Researchers found that drinking five or more glasses of plain water daily is as important as a nutritious diet, regular exercise, and not smoking when it comes to preventing a fatal heart attack. Dehydration increases blood's "stickiness" and raises levels of several heart-disease risk factors. You know how hard you have to squeeze to get honey out of a plastic bottle. That's an image of how hard your heart has to work to pump blood when you're not drinking enough water. Now, contrast that image with a squeeze bottle filled with a free-flowing liquid like water. No comparison, right? So simply staying hydrated protects the heart by making it easier to do its job.

Don't Risk Dehydration

How often should we drink water?  Obviously when we are thirsty, right?  Not always.  Thirst is a sign of dehydration, so if you are truly thirsty you are already slightly dehydrated.  First of all, many people misinterpret thirst as hunger, so instead of water, they reach for a snack. In addition, our sense of thirst diminishes as we age, so thirst is not a very good indicator of the need for water. Symptoms of dehydration cover a wide range and may include the following:

• Achy, painful joints
• Constipation
• Irritability
• Difficulties with ordinary mental tasks
• Wrinkles
• Fatigue
• Faster-than-normal heart rate
• Decreased urine output
• Thirst or dry mouth

If you think you may be dehydrated, lightly pinch the skin on your forearm. If it stays "pinched" for more than a second or two before returning to normal, you probably need more water. And that means you need to make a decision about where to get that water.

Water, Water Everywhere

In the past, drinking water was as easy as turning on the tap. Now we know that the quality of tap water can be questionable.  In most cases is fine but there are examples of contamination by everything from prescription drugs to toxic heavy metals (e.g., zinc, copper, cadmium, and even lead from the solder used on older pipes all have been found in drinking water). And that's not all. Municipal water is dosed with chlorine to kill bacteria and parasites, while fluoride is used to protect against tooth decay. Both, however, are highly toxic themselves, especially in large amounts. Many commonly used water filters don't remove chlorine and fluoride.

Of course, we have an array of water choices these days, but sorting through them can be challenging. There are literally hundreds of types of bottled waters, some with added minerals or nutrients, flavorings, dyes, and other ingredients -- including calories!

Results of bottled-water tests show that using these products could be a big mistake. As much as 40 percent of bottled water is simply municipal tap water that has been filtered or treated with chemicals. Other water is obtained from aquifers or outdoor bodies of water. These sources can be contaminated by agricultural or industrial runoff, petroleum products, pesticides, and other toxins.

Even if bottled water were absolutely pristine, there is concern about the plastic containers. Chemicals from the plastic can leach into water, as a study from the Harvard School of Public Health demonstrated. For one week, study participants drank water from standard, plastic (polycarbonate) bottles. At the end of the week, scientists found a shocking two-thirds increase in the concentration of a chemical known as bisphenol A (BPA) in the participants' urine.

BPA is not our friend. It has been linked to heart disease and diabetes and it also increases levels of circulating estrogen in the body. That may not sound dangerous, but high levels of estrogen have been linked to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes: and they appear to obstruct development of reproductive organs in lab animals. Children, pregnant women, and anyone whose health is already compromised by chronic illness are especially vulnerable to these harmful substances.

Since the dangers of BPA have been widely publicized, manufacturers now are touting plastic that's BPA-free. However, a recent study found that even plastic that does not contain BPA releases estrogenic chemicals -- and in some cases, these plastics release even more dangerous substances than plastic made with BPA!

In my opinion, the best containers for water are the reusable glass or stainless-steel versions. They're durable and washable, and they do not leach dangerous chemicals into the water.

Sources:
http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/nep/nep217/nep217.pdf

Chan J, Knutsen SF, Blix GG, et al. "Water, other fluids and fatal coronary heart disease: the Adventist Health Study."American Journal of Epidemiology 2002 May 1:155(9):827-33.

Carwile JL, Luu HT, Bassett LS, et al. "Use of Polycarbonate Bottles and Urinary Bisphenol A Concentrations."Environmental Health Perspectives 2009 Sep;117(9):1368-72.

Melzer D, Rice NE, Lewis C et al. "Association of urinary bisphenol a concentration with heart disease: evidence from NHANES 2003/06." Public Library of Science One 2010 Jan 13;5(1):e8673.

Shankar A, Teppala S. "Relationship between Urinary Bisphenol A Levels and Diabetes Mellitus." Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2011 Sep 28.

Yang CA, Yaniger SI, Jordan VC, et al. "Most plastic products release estrogenic chemicals: a potential health problem that can be solved." Environmental Health Perspectives 2011 Jul;119(7):989-96.

Reynolds KA, Mena KD, Gerba CP. "Risk of waterborne illness via drinking water in the United States." Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 2008;192-117-58.