Basic Pursuits

A friend and I once took a drive from Miami to St. Petersburg, Florida, a trip of about five hours. When we started, I noticed that my friend got into the passenger seat with a liter of water. He explained that he'd recently discovered that he wasn't drinking enough water and was making up for it.

After about an hour, he asked if we could pull over. Sure. No problem, but then in less than an hour he asked if I could pull over again. And again. And again.

We spent an hour of our now six hour trip "pulled over." Admittedly I was irritated, but no enough not to try a little excessive water drinking of my own. Of course, I was "pulling over" as much as my friend, but I quickly grew tired of it. I didn't find I felt anything different except very inconvenienced.

Now come a metastudy (a study of studies) in which the authors seek to find studies which prove that drinking lots of water has benefits. Conclusion: no real need to be obsessed with drinking water.

Most of us, he [one of the study's author] says, are OK "by trusting our instincts" about how much to drink. "If you have a normal heart, normal kidneys, and normal thirst mechanism, it's not likely you will get dehydrated if there is a sufficient supply of fluids available," he says, and drink when thirsty.

However, their might be a strong placebo effect. "People say they feel stronger and healthier if they drink more water," said the author. "That's fine. If they enjoy that benefit, so be it. [But] those who don't feel that way shouldn't feel obligated to drink the eight glasses."

Benefits of Drinking Water Oversold?