Water: How Much Is Enough?
You don’t need 8 glasses a day, experts say.
You’ve probably heard the maxim, drink eight glasses of water a day for optimum health. But do you really need to drink 
that much water? Probably not, say the experts. “The notion that there is widespread dehydration has no basis for medical fact,” Dr. Robert Alpern, the dean of the medical school of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, stated in a Los Angeles Times article.
Water has been touted as a cure-all for numerous problems, from dry skin to obesity, says the article. But, according to Alpern, the only people who really need to drink a lot of water are patients with kidney stones, to help them prevent further problems. Otherwise, the article says, let your thirst be your guide. If you’re low on fluids, your body will let you know. Most people only need about four eight-ounce glasses a day to maintain their fluid balance, says the article.
But if you want to drink more, by all means do so. It won’t hurt you. Just don’t expect water to whisk weight off you. If you have a choice between drinking water before a meal or adding it to your meal, such as in soup, add it to your meal. It will fill you up more than a glass of water.
Almost everyone has heard the advice to drink eight glasses of water a day. It’s true our bodies need water every day, but the eight glass rule has reached mythical status. In reality, the body also can extract water from food, and although some purists say otherwise, juice, milk and any decaffeinated or non-alcoholic drink also counts toward your daily water intake.
Most nutritionists say you shouldn’t take seriously some of the exaggerated claims made for water drinking. These include:
Plenty of water helps in weight reduction.
Water flushes out mysterious unnamed toxins.
Most illnesses are caused by dehydration.
A general rule-of-thumb recommends drinking enough fluids to avoid thirst, without forcing yourself to drink eight glasses. Situations where drinking more water is advisable, are during strenuous exercising, long airline flights or when any illness causes vomiting or diarrhea. Drinking water may be more important for the elderly because the body becomes less efficient at regulating fluids.
Your body is the best indicator of your daily water needs. It is usually a changing need based on your daily activities.
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