If a person can live without food for 40 days, without water – no more than a week. Already the ancient people knew about this simple principle. Therefore, they chose a place for housing based on elementary considerations: they settled mainly near rivers and lakes, where there was fresh water. Groundwater, rainwater, and springs were also used.

Feeling hungry or thirsty? Research by American scientists

If it was a problem for the ancient man to find clean drinking water, today such a problem disappears. However, studies in the United States have shown that 75% of Americans suffer from thirst without knowing it. According to scientists from Canadian Pharmacy NBCR, a similar trend is recorded throughout the world.

Remember when you were really thirsty? Probably only in childhood or when it’s very hot outside. Look at children, how greedily they drink water. Therefore, small children have fewer problems with overweight in comparison with adults. Experts explain this by the fact that even very slight dehydration reduces overall metabolism by 3%.

Water – panacea for almost all diseases

Even Hippocrates actively used hydrotherapy in his practice. The bathing soothes pain in the side, chest and back, increases perspiration, improves breathing and relieves fatigue. In addition, it relieves tension in joints, opens pores, moisturizes the nasal cavity and relieves heaviness in the head.

Modern doctors and healthcare specialists agree with the ancient Greek healer. They are sure that warm water really relaxes, and therefore relieves headaches and muscle pain, relieves a runny nose. And if you consume this water?

A preliminary study by nutritionists at the University of Washington has shown that drinking of 8-10 glasses of purified water a day relieves pain in the spine and joints in 80% of patients.

Scientists also say that a slight decrease in the amount of water in the body, for example, by only 2%, can cause impairment of short-term memory, cause a severe problem in simple calculations: a person cannot concentrate on the monitor screen, cannot type simple text without mistakes.

2.5 liters of water per day: Australian scientists disprove myth

Back in 1945, the US National Research Council published an article by the National Food and Nutrition Board, which stated: the norm of water intake for an adult is about 2.5 liters per day, but most of this amount is contained in the food consumed.

The first part of the phrase was safely taken out of context. From that day on, all people began to perceive this “health formula” as an immutable truth. Many authors and nutritionists even created their own unique methods of healing, taking this simple principle as a basis.

Recently, a team of scientists from Monash University in Australia finally denied the recommendation to drink as much water as possible. 20 people took part in the scientific experiment. For several days, the volunteers were asked to drink water after exercise, and also shortly after the thirst was quenched.

After examining the participants after the experiments, scientists recorded a decrease in the level of sodium in the blood in those who drank at least 8 glasses of water per day. Thus, it has been proven that regular drinking of large amounts of water is a potential cause of the hyponatremia development – water intoxication, accompanied by a decrease in the level of sodium in the blood. It causes nausea, fatigue, lethargy, drowsiness.

Complications of hyponatremia can result in such negative consequences as the development of cerebral edema, paralysis, mental disorders (panic syndrome, depression), arterial hypertension. There have been cases when complications of hyponatremia were fatal.

Drink or not to drink?

A study by Australian scientists has confirmed that you need to drink water not according to the schedule and universal rules, but according to the body needs. Drink when you feel thirsty.

Drinking plenty of water will not save you. Research by Dutch and British scientists

In the 80s. last century in the Netherlands, a study was conducted in which 120 thousand people took part. The results were only published in 2010 in the British Journal of Nutrition. The authors found no link between fluid intake and causes of death. People who drank a lot of water or a little die from the same diseases.

Colleagues were supported by British scientists, who published an article in Oxford Journals. They also found no relationship between water intake and the incidence of chronic kidney disease and death from cardiovascular disease.

Experiments were carried out on healthy people living in countries with a temperate climate. A special category is made by nursing mothers, pregnant women, children, athletes, people at any disease stage. They are in a very special group where drinking really needs to be approached individually.

Drinking plenty of water will only benefit those in need. Research by American Nephrologists

Nephrologists at the University of Pennsylvania from Philadelphia, USA, having analyzed all the existing data regarding the impact of excess water intake on human health, concluded that only athletes and those who live in dry hot climates should consume more water. Also, doctors sometimes recommend drinking plenty of water, for example, in the case of gout and high temperatures.

Experts from America argue that there is no evidence that excessive drinking is good for ordinary people. Therefore, it is worth contacting specialists, in particular nutritionists, for individual advice on nutrition and drinking.

There are many conflicting studies relating to water. Scientists from all over the world continue to closely study this substance. One thing is for sure: dehydration will not lead to anything good. It is necessary to drink when you want it.

Category: Health and Wellness

Tags: water, Water-Based Diet