In the early 1800s, people only "deigned" to drink water when they were dying. Hydrotherapy, as the name suggests, means "curing diseases with water". Its founder, Vincent Priessnitz, said: "At that time, only poor people would drink plain water to quench their thirst."
He added that very few people drank more than half a pint of plain water in one sitting.
But time flies, today is not the same as before. Drinking water among British adults has peaked in recent years. Sales of bottled water recently surpassed that of carbonated soft drinks in the United States. In our lives, we are bombarded with information: drinking a few liters of water a day is the secret to staying healthy and having beautiful skin, losing weight and keeping us cancer-free.
The British government encourages office workers to carry water bottles on the London Underground, primary school students are also encouraged to bring water to the classroom for drinking, and almost all companies put a large jug of water in the middle of the table during meetings.
Many people think we should drink at least 8 glasses of water a day
There is an unofficial recommendation called the "8 by 8 rule", which recommends that we drink eight 240ml glasses of water a day, for a total of close to two liters, in addition to any other beverages.
However, there is no scientific support for this "law". Official UK or EU guidelines do not advise us to drink this much water.
So where does this statement come from? The most likely cause seems to be a misinterpretation of two decades-old guidelines.
In 1945, the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council recommended that adults consume one milliliter of fluid for every calorie of food eaten. Women drink two liters of fluid on a 2,000-calorie meal, while men drink 2.5 liters on a 2,500-calorie meal.
The Magic Straw That Lets You Drink Dirty Water Directly
Will there be a day when there will be no fresh water on earth?
Why 'Water Politics' Will Shape the 21st Century
Water provided by fruits and vegetables counts towards daily water intake in original recommendations
In 1974, the book Nutrition for Good Health by nutritionists Margaret McWilliams and Frederick Stare recommended that adults drink an average of 6 to 8 glasses of water per day , but the authors suggest that this should include fruits, vegetables, caffeine, soft drinks and even beer.
believe in the feeling of thirst
Water is important, making up about two-thirds of the body's weight, transporting nutrients and waste throughout the body, regulating body temperature, acting as a lubricant and shock absorber in joints, and in most chemical reactions in the body important role.
We lose water when we sweat, urinate and breathe. Keep your body hydrated to avoid dehydration. Dehydration occurs when the body loses 1-2% of its fluids and continues to worsen without rehydration. In rare cases, dehydration can be fatal.
The unproven "8 by 8 rule" leads us to believe that feeling thirsty means we're dangerously dehydrated. But experts agree that when the body is signaling, we don't need to drink too much water, just moderate.
"Hydration is a complex function that humans evolved from the ocean to land. The body has many complex ways to stay hydrated." Neuroscience and Aging Laboratory, Tufts University, Massachusetts and Aging Laboratory, senior scientist Irwin Rosenburg said.
In normal health, the brain detects when the body is becoming dehydrated and uses the sensation of thirst as a reminder to drink, and releases a hormone that tells the kidneys to store up urine to keep you hydrated.
"If you listen carefully, your body will tell you when it's thirsty," says consultant sports medicine physician Courtney Kipps. He is Clinical Teaching Director of Sports Medicine, Exercise and Health at UCL and Medical Director of Blenheim and London Triathlons.
"When you're thirsty, it's too late, based on the assumption that thirst is not a good indicator of a lack of fluid. Why is everything else accurate in the body but only thirst What's the problem? The thirst mechanism has been working fine for thousands of years of human evolution."
Water has no calories and is the healthiest choice, but other beverages can also hydrate our bodies, including tea and coffee. While caffeine has a mild diuretic effect, studies show that tea and coffee can still help with hydration, as can alcoholic beverages.
