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The 8 cups thing is pure tabloid science, like red wine is good for your hear, or getting 10k steps a day makes you more healthy. It's not actually based in fac

The 8 cups thing is pure tabloid science, like red wine is good for your hear, or getting 10k steps a day makes you more healthy. It's not actually based in facts.

krisoft 2y ago
I believe here it is used as a rough estimate of the drinking water needs of a human, and as such it is fine? The problem is when people take it as an exact number they must drink every day or else…
- hinkley 2y ago
  They also backpedaled and allowed that your first cup of coffee or tea in a day counts as one of those beverages. I think beyond that the diuretic effect cancels out some of the fluids. If your pee is clear stop drinking. That’s how I rehydrate after a workout. That’s how a lot of actually healthy people do. Over time I’m growing more fond of the habit of calling people who aim for the trappings of a discipline without following it as cosplayers or LARPers. The people carrying the quart bottle of water are LARPing.
  - rurp 2y ago
    This seems weirdly hostile to drinking water. Some people like drinking throughout the day and/or feel better when they are well hydrated. Drinking enough water is one of the easiest healthy habits to pick up and stick with; it takes way less effort than exercising or learning to cook healthier meals. > If your pee is clear stop drinking. Why? A person has to drink a lot of water for it to be a problem, far more than someone out and about with a bottle is going to consume. More water probably won't help anything if your pee is already clear, but it won't hurt anything either and most people drink too little water as it is. Getting mad a people for carrying a water bottle around just seems weird. Depending on the area, it's not always easy to get a drink any time you want one. I guess if people are bragging about how hydrated they are it would be annoying. Bragging about how healthy your habits are is douchey in any context, but I've literally never seen someone act like that because they drink enough water.
    - kimixa 2y ago
      I read that the other way from the parent - in that you should keep drinking until your pee is clear. Then you're back to "normal" after a dehydrating event (the workout), so you can continue maintaining that level as normal. And I agree that "constantly carrying the bottle" has become as much about the fashion as anything - there's a guy at work who always has a metal bottle on him, taking it everywhere. But they rarely use it - they've never refilled it at work, and less than 1l (I've never seen it less than half full, but assuming it is used over the day) over 1/3 of the day doesn't feel like theyre over hydrating.
    - kragen 2y ago
      most people don't drink too little water; you're reasoning from a false premise there if you do develop this habit, your kidneys adapt by eliminating water faster. this is usually not dangerous in today's world, but it's inconvenient to need to carry around a water bottle and frequently find a bathroom. occasionally it can lead to mild dehydration if your access to water is interrupted for a few hours also, inevitably, you do lose some salts with all that urine, which you have to replace, so drinking too much water mildly increases the risk of, in particular, hypomagnesemia (hypocalcemia and hypokalemia are much rarer, and you really have to be pounding the water bottle to get hyponatremia; on the plus side, you don't have to worry about being in acute hyponatremia for more than a few hours). these are a little more dangerous for the type of food faddist who believes things like 'drinking more water is good for you' because they're disproportionately likely to also believe that salt is bad for you drinking extra water can be really dangerous for people with renal insufficiency, because they can get hyponatremia from fairly mild overdoses of water, but generally they're already aware of this problem if they have any access to proper health care at all so basically it's an addictive habit with mild negative health consequences, similar to eating a low-fat diet, drinking coca-cola, or injecting heroin under unusual conditions, like going to the black rock desert, continuing to drink when your pee is already clear is actually a good idea, because then you actually can get dehydrated without any urge to drink. but you should probably be drinking stuff with salt in it, like gatorade, though homemade oral rehydration solution is enormously cheaper
    - EasyMark 2y ago
      I think people get tired of being harassed about drinking water like you’re constantly in danger of falling over from dehydration. It’s not bad per se to drink more water than you need as it does help the kidneys flush the garbage out of your system. I think drinking when you’re thirsty and having meals is fine. Most food has a ton of water in it as well.
  - insane_dreamer 2y ago
    better to over-hydrate than under-hydrate
    - blooalien 2y ago
      Both can pretty easily do you serious harm if taken too far, up to and including death. Thankfully the survivable "buffer space" of "too far" is large enough that people generally pretty rarely ever get to the actual danger zone. Here's one fairly famous(ish) example of over-hydration being fatal: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16614865 https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16614865
      - insane_dreamer 2y ago
        yeah, I'm familiar with that tragic story but the reason for my previous post is because the upper limit for serious harm by over-hydration is quite high (it's difficult to drink that much water without urinating which was the key factor in that woman's death), whereas the lower limit for serious harm by under-hydration is not that low (not that difficult to hit) so I would disagree that both can "easily" do harm
        blooalien 2y ago
        > so I would disagree that both can "easily" do harm Easily enough but you're 100% correct that there's a fairly huge difference between the two extremes in how easy (or hard) they are to reach. Dehydrated to a dangerous point is most assuredly typically easier to achieve. Certainly easier by far to die from, too, as evidenced by how often the one happens compared to the other.
  - EasyMark 2y ago
    Studies have shown that less that 400mg of caffeine a day is fine for a healthy adult. Just watch drinks it after 4 or so unless you like it affecting your sleeping pattern.
xnx 2y ago
In a dry climate it is very reasonable to calculate 2 liters of water (~8 cups) lost through respiration and perspiration. If this water isn't being replaced by food or drink, that's trouble. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK236237/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK236237/
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
Symmetry 2y ago
There was one study back in the 1940s(?) that justified it. The researchers who did the study intended it to include water that was in the food a person consumed but the person doing the press conference didn't know that and so responded incorrectly when some reporters asked him about that issue.
insane_dreamer 2y ago
> tabloid science, like red wine is good for your heart please don't burst my bubble
EasyMark 2y ago
Many studies have shown that even 5000 steps a day can be associated with considerable better health outcomes than those who sit at a desk all day and work remote and get maybe 1000. Personally that’s my baseline and I take a walk like that every morning before I shower for the day. I do some mild strength training a few times a week and walk and that’s about it, and I can usually keep up with my homies when the occasional group hike or basketball game comes up. My doctor seems happy with my annual exams and bloodwork

The 8 cups thing is pure tabloid science, like red wine is good for your hear, or getting 10k steps a day makes you more healthy. It's not actually based in facts.

krisoft 2y ago

I believe here it is used as a rough estimate of the drinking water needs of a human, and as such it is fine? The problem is when people take it as an exact number they must drink every day or else…

hinkley 2y ago
They also backpedaled and allowed that your first cup of coffee or tea in a day counts as one of those beverages. I think beyond that the diuretic effect cancels out some of the fluids. If your pee is clear stop drinking. That’s how I rehydrate after a workout. That’s how a lot of actually healthy people do. Over time I’m growing more fond of the habit of calling people who aim for the trappings of a discipline without following it as cosplayers or LARPers. The people carrying the quart bottle of water are LARPing.
- rurp 2y ago
  This seems weirdly hostile to drinking water. Some people like drinking throughout the day and/or feel better when they are well hydrated. Drinking enough water is one of the easiest healthy habits to pick up and stick with; it takes way less effort than exercising or learning to cook healthier meals. > If your pee is clear stop drinking. Why? A person has to drink a lot of water for it to be a problem, far more than someone out and about with a bottle is going to consume. More water probably won't help anything if your pee is already clear, but it won't hurt anything either and most people drink too little water as it is. Getting mad a people for carrying a water bottle around just seems weird. Depending on the area, it's not always easy to get a drink any time you want one. I guess if people are bragging about how hydrated they are it would be annoying. Bragging about how healthy your habits are is douchey in any context, but I've literally never seen someone act like that because they drink enough water.
  - kimixa 2y ago
    I read that the other way from the parent - in that you should keep drinking until your pee is clear. Then you're back to "normal" after a dehydrating event (the workout), so you can continue maintaining that level as normal. And I agree that "constantly carrying the bottle" has become as much about the fashion as anything - there's a guy at work who always has a metal bottle on him, taking it everywhere. But they rarely use it - they've never refilled it at work, and less than 1l (I've never seen it less than half full, but assuming it is used over the day) over 1/3 of the day doesn't feel like theyre over hydrating.
  - kragen 2y ago
    most people don't drink too little water; you're reasoning from a false premise there if you do develop this habit, your kidneys adapt by eliminating water faster. this is usually not dangerous in today's world, but it's inconvenient to need to carry around a water bottle and frequently find a bathroom. occasionally it can lead to mild dehydration if your access to water is interrupted for a few hours also, inevitably, you do lose some salts with all that urine, which you have to replace, so drinking too much water mildly increases the risk of, in particular, hypomagnesemia (hypocalcemia and hypokalemia are much rarer, and you really have to be pounding the water bottle to get hyponatremia; on the plus side, you don't have to worry about being in acute hyponatremia for more than a few hours). these are a little more dangerous for the type of food faddist who believes things like 'drinking more water is good for you' because they're disproportionately likely to also believe that salt is bad for you drinking extra water can be really dangerous for people with renal insufficiency, because they can get hyponatremia from fairly mild overdoses of water, but generally they're already aware of this problem if they have any access to proper health care at all so basically it's an addictive habit with mild negative health consequences, similar to eating a low-fat diet, drinking coca-cola, or injecting heroin under unusual conditions, like going to the black rock desert, continuing to drink when your pee is already clear is actually a good idea, because then you actually can get dehydrated without any urge to drink. but you should probably be drinking stuff with salt in it, like gatorade, though homemade oral rehydration solution is enormously cheaper
  - EasyMark 2y ago
    I think people get tired of being harassed about drinking water like you’re constantly in danger of falling over from dehydration. It’s not bad per se to drink more water than you need as it does help the kidneys flush the garbage out of your system. I think drinking when you’re thirsty and having meals is fine. Most food has a ton of water in it as well.
- insane_dreamer 2y ago
  better to over-hydrate than under-hydrate
  - blooalien 2y ago
    Both can pretty easily do you serious harm if taken too far, up to and including death. Thankfully the survivable "buffer space" of "too far" is large enough that people generally pretty rarely ever get to the actual danger zone. Here's one fairly famous(ish) example of over-hydration being fatal: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16614865 https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16614865
    - insane_dreamer 2y ago
      yeah, I'm familiar with that tragic story but the reason for my previous post is because the upper limit for serious harm by over-hydration is quite high (it's difficult to drink that much water without urinating which was the key factor in that woman's death), whereas the lower limit for serious harm by under-hydration is not that low (not that difficult to hit) so I would disagree that both can "easily" do harm
      - blooalien 2y ago
        > so I would disagree that both can "easily" do harm Easily enough but you're 100% correct that there's a fairly huge difference between the two extremes in how easy (or hard) they are to reach. Dehydrated to a dangerous point is most assuredly typically easier to achieve. Certainly easier by far to die from, too, as evidenced by how often the one happens compared to the other.
- EasyMark 2y ago
  Studies have shown that less that 400mg of caffeine a day is fine for a healthy adult. Just watch drinks it after 4 or so unless you like it affecting your sleeping pattern.

xnx 2y ago

In a dry climate it is very reasonable to calculate 2 liters of water (~8 cups) lost through respiration and perspiration. If this water isn't being replaced by food or drink, that's trouble. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK236237/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK236237/

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

Symmetry 2y ago

There was one study back in the 1940s(?) that justified it. The researchers who did the study intended it to include water that was in the food a person consumed but the person doing the press conference didn't know that and so responded incorrectly when some reporters asked him about that issue.

insane_dreamer 2y ago

> tabloid science, like red wine is good for your heart please don't burst my bubble

EasyMark 2y ago

Many studies have shown that even 5000 steps a day can be associated with considerable better health outcomes than those who sit at a desk all day and work remote and get maybe 1000. Personally that’s my baseline and I take a walk like that every morning before I shower for the day. I do some mild strength training a few times a week and walk and that’s about it, and I can usually keep up with my homies when the occasional group hike or basketball game comes up. My doctor seems happy with my annual exams and bloodwork