Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mindmetoo]

I noticed today in the Korea Times the oriental "medicine" columnist advanced (in a detox article) that myth we need to drink 8 glasses of water a day.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-08/dms-al080802.php
http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp

One thing people don't realize, we get a substantial amount of the water our body needs from the solid foods we eat. Unless you're eating hard tack all day, food is largely water: fruits, vegetables, meat. They all have water. Our body is more than capable of using the water from the solid foods we consume.

The water issue seems to be akin to the question of, say, vitamin c. Clearly we need vitamin c. How much? There is well established scientific research behind the "Recommended Daily Allowances" for vitamins. They're not numbers someone simply pulled out of Men's Health Magazine. They're not guesses.

Also, she suggests you might need more. Of course, we've seen recently in that DJ Wii stunt that drinking too much water can kill you. If your electrolytes become diluted, your nerves stop being able to transmit electrical signals. Suggesting we need to drink more than 8 glasses should have been tempered with the warning that like all medicines more is not always better. It's a rather common mistake for people to assume that if the proper dosage of a medicine their doctor is giving them works, then taking even more will have increased benefits.

[CasperTheFriendlyGhost]

Can't conceive? Maybe you need more Bita-C 500...

http://www.deliciouslivingmag.com/healthnotes/healthnotes.cfm?ContentID=1040005

[poet13]

"Of course, we've seen recently in that DJ Wii stunt that drinking too much water can kill you."

Huh? Post a link.

[Gatsby]

Mindmetoo is right on the mark. The eight glasses a day rule is an example of how far doctors and health writers can go without turning on their brain. A little thought, as mindmetoo pointed out, would reveal the many flaws with this maxim.

Let't try another one: Do people who live in Alaska have to drink the same amount of water as people living in Florida? Having personal experience in this matter, I can assure you that you don't.

Do people who sit inside all day at a desk have to drink the same amount of water as people who are running a marathon in Arizona? How about if you are a roofer in Florida? How about if you are a 330 pound roofer, vs a 130 pound roofer?

Clearly, temperature, humidity and activity affect how much you perspire, and how much you have to drink.

Medical conditions, such as taking prescription drugs or diabetes, may also affect your need for water. Frequent urination is a possible sign of diabetes.

Obviously, if you are thirsty, you should drink water, eh? But I talked to some guys working in a boat yard who said they could drink all day and never almost never need to take a piss, which is not good.

If you are running a marathon, the trick is to drink before you get thirsty, so you need to know your body. But some marathoners have gotten into trouble from drinking too much. The key issue, as I understand it, is maintaining the balance in your blood of sodium and postassium, the two chemicals that regulate blood pressure, and the osmotic flow of nutrients into cells, and the removal of waste from the cells. Dilute the sodium and potassium, and your blood pressure can fall dangerously.

Sodium (salt) tablets are no longer recommended for dealing with heat. The body does a relatively good job of conserving sodium, and if you are suffering from heat stress, salt tablets can push your blood sodium levels too high, according to doctors today. Calcium and magnesium are the minerals needed for transmitting nerve impulses, and if the levels fall too low you can get an irregular heart beat.

The electrolyte issue, in general, is a bit overblown. You've got people drinking sports drinks who are sitting on the beach or playing a two hour baseball game. Most people don't need to worry about it, and don't need all the sugar. Want electrolytes? What you need most is potassium. Drink a 6 ounce can of apricot nectar or just about any fruit juice - apple, grape, grapefruit are all good sources of potassium - or have a banana. Or have a non-alcoholic beer. If you are playing a hard game of basketball in the hot sun, sports drinks might be in order, though.

I talked to some marathoners and doctors in Florida for an article on this subject, and found that the statistics showed that only about seven people in Florida died from heat that year. People are unduly paranoid. But then acclimatization may be a factor, too. And then there's Syracuse's gift to the world: air conditioning.

But you can get into trouble from not drinking enough water. The docs there said that they have to treat athletes occasionally with temporary dialysis. What happens is they are breaking down muscle cells at the same time that there is not enough water flowing through their kidneys, so the kidneys get blocked and they can't urinate. The dialysis helps clear them out before they are damaged.

The doctors recommend that you drink enough water to keep your kidneys flowing. In Florida during the summer it is so hot that you can drink lots of water but just sweat it all out without going to the bathroom for eight hours or whatever. And you may not even know you are sweating if it is hot and dry. If you are running or bicycling, even in moderate temperatures, you urinate a lot less. I tested this by bicycling 25 miles to the beach in 100 degree heat, and survived. I didn't sweat, unless I stopped riding, and I didn't need to urinate, unless I drank a lot of water.

A variety of drugs can aggrevate heat-related problems. But one of the worst are the NSAIDs such as Advil, which can contribute to temporary kidney failure for athletes like marathoners.

So the first rule is to drink enough water to need to go to the bathroom at normal intervals.

The second rule is to make sure your urine doesn't get dark. If it is orange, that is a danger sign and you need to drink more water. If it is darker, reddish brown or brown, that's from the pigments of dying cells clogging your kidneys. This is called rhabdomyolysis. These symptoms can occur whether you're dealing with heat or e-coli food poisoning. Then you need to go to an ER for possible dialysis.

On the other hand, you can drink too much water, as mindmetoo pointed out, and sometimes 8 glasses a day may be more than you need. You may end up all night pissing it away.

BTW, is there something lacking in the credibility of Men's Health Magazine? I believe they do pretty good fact checking. But some of those Rodale publications do tend to oversimplify things.

[Wrench]

I'll trust the 8 glasses of water a day ANY day before some Foocking Crackpot Oriental Medicine Billsh1t mumbojumbo doctor.

[the_beaver]

[mindmetoo]

[Bramble]

What are the chances of anyone here dying from too much water? Most of us don't eat nearly enough fresh fruit or vegetables, and we constantly poison our bodies with sugar, caffeine, salt, excess protein, etc. I think it's OK for most of us to err on the side of a little too much water.

[Bramble]