So, how much water do we really need to drink everyday? Well, not much according to some reaserchers. In the study on the first link down bellow the author stated that drinking 500 mL or about 2 eight ounce glasses of water per day is probably adequate for people under normal circumstances. And if you drink over that amount then you will just probably pee the excess water out. Though he admits that a person's daily water requirement will vary from person to person.
The reason that you don't have to drink all that much water is because you actually ingest alot of water when you eat foods because nearly all foods contain water, most fruits and vegetables contain a high perecentage of water. Even meat, gravy and some breads contains water. And the body seems to be quite adept at extracting water from the foods that we eat. Plus people get alot of water from drinking other beverages such as vegetable juice, fruit juice, tea, milk and etc.
Drinking too much water can be bad for your health: Benefits are a myth
Also, measuring your urine with a refractometer is a fairly reliable way to determine your hydration status and to detrmine whether or not you are drinking too much or not enough water. I have also found that your urinary refractometer reading usually corresponds with the color of your urine.
The refractometer can be used to measure the specific gravity of your urine and the specific gravity of your urine correspoonds to your hydration status quite well. According to some researchers if the specific gravity of your urine is bellow 1.008 - 1.012 then you may be drinking too much water. A 1.012 specific gravity of your urine will usually correlate with a urine color that is yellowish. Crystal clear urine will usually correlate with a urine spefic gravity of about 0 to .5 . And therefore, if your urine is crystal clear then you may be drinking too much water.
You can read more about that by clicking on the link down bellow and in the paragraph "Specific Gravity" on page 34.
You can buy a relatively cheap refractometer off of ebay for about $30.00 but it only measures the brix/sugar content of your urine but what I do is use thE "brix to specific gravity" conversion chart to determine the specific gravity of my urine.
And I usually try to eat a drink in a way that my refractometer urinary brix/sugar reading is some where between 3.07 to 5.08 or slightly higher and this refractometer reading will correlate with having a urine specific gravity of 1.012 to 1.020 or slightly higher.
So, whenever my refractometer urinary brix/sugar reading is bellow 3.07 I will definetly stop drinking water and I will often eat a little extra sugar and or salt. And whenever my refractometer reading is above 5.08 or so I will usually start drinking more water or start drinking some other type of fluid.
Now you can get a refractometer that comes with a specific gravity scale but those refractometers are much more expensive than the cheap refractometer than I listed above and if you use the brix to specific gravity conversion chart then the cheaper refractometer is reliable.
posted
Your body will tell you when you need water. A lot of people on here will tell you to drink a lot of water daily to flush toxins etc.
Well too much water can lead to water intoxication,(a potentially fatal disturbance in brain functions that results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside of safe limits).
My doctor told me I was drinking way too much water and he was concerned about flushing my body of antibiotics, vitamins, minerals, etc.
So I listened and cut down and feel that it has helped.
To each his own though.
-------------------- HERX is a Four Letter Word! Posts: 716 | From If you're going through hell, keep going......Winston Churchill | Registered: Apr 2007
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How many people beat themselves up because on top of the teas, soups, juices and other liquids they were drinking, had this concept that we also have to drink half our weight (in ounces) of water?
May we all drink in copious amounts of compassion and kindness ~ for ourselves and for all beings ~
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emla999/Lyme
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posted
Hey Riverspirit,
You might find the videos down bellow to be interesting. Matt Stone discusses the potential harmful affects that the overconsumption of water/fluids/ watery foods can have on the body.
The potential side effects of drinking too much water/fluids.
quote:Originally posted by bigstan: Your body will tell you when you need water. A lot of people on here will tell you to drink a lot of water daily to flush toxins etc.
- Not really. Once you FEEL thirsty, you are "overdue" on the water.
Drink 1/2 your body weight in water. ( or close to it )
So if you weigh 150 lbs, drink 75 oz a day. It is easy to become dehydrated and not even know it.
Do the pinch test. If you pinch the skin on your hand and it SLOWLY goes back to "normal".. you are dehydrated.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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MichaelTampa
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Member # 24868
posted
I have seen my need for water decline dramatically over time of treatment with lyme. I imagine the chemicals/metals/etc detoxing was a big part of it.
I really feel I needed a lot of water back then, more than the myth amount Mercola wrote about recently. And now, I really feel I need much much less than that. I am sure needs do vary based on medical situation, as I have seen it for myself.
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posted
Well, I don't think I ever hit the mark on it, but if I don't remember to drink 1/2 to a full glass of water ever 2-3 hrs, I end up not feeling well. And the pinch test is my measure. If I hit that threshold then I up the water for a few hours.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Keebler
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posted
- My cells love water. In with the new, and out with the old. When we drink water, our cells get rinsed out, so to speak. That water exchange is especially important for those with inflammation, swelling and edema.
I need at least 3 quarts a day. Any less and I'm feeling way too sluggish. I think we do need that much (at times up to a gallon), but not to neglect replenishing sea salt, minerals and electrolytes from foods.
Water helps our body filter waste. It really helps my brain, my eyes, my skin, my mood. I do consider tea in my total tally but plenty of good clear water is the best liquid for our bodies.
The first thing we should do after arising in the morning, after rinsing our mouths, is to drink a nice glass of water. Our brain gets dehydrated overnight.
Soda has been one of the worst thing for the human body, IMO, at least as its gulped by so many in our society these last decades. Such a shame to have a "need" created just to make someone lots of money.
There are so many other delicious choices for beverages - without chemicals.
My favorite fancy water: add juice of a real lemon or lime; dash of sea salt; touch of stevia.
Crushed MINT leaves are also an excellent way to spruce up water whether hot or chilled. Mint is very easy to grow at home and the produce departments of most groceries carry bunches of it.
After citrus, always thoroughly rinse mouth with clear water and wait at least 30 minutes before brushing. -
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emla999/Lyme
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posted
Keebler,
In all due respect, if I were to drink a glass of water or a glass of any fluid first thing in the morning, when my body's temperature is at it's naturally lowest point of the day, it will make me feel horrible within a few hours afterward..... I will develop cold hands and feet, anxiety, fatigue, restlessness, muscle twitching and often a bad headache. In other words, by drinking water first thing in the morning I will develop symptoms of acute mild hyponatremia. And one of the most common causes of hyponatremia results from drinking too much water. And this has nothing to do with detox because I can drink alot of water later on in the evening when my body temperature is at it's highest and I suffer no ill effects from drinking a glass or two of water.
I have a device called a refractometer and it can be used to measure your body's hydration status via your urine. And if I drank a glass of water first thing in the morning my urinary refractometer reading will always be very low usually within an hour or so of drinking water and thus indicating that I am overly hydrated.
So, I have learned that I usually don't need to drink hardly any water/fluids or eat anything watery until about 2 hours after I have woken up that morning.
But later on in the day I can drink the same amount of water and my refractometer reading will be normal.
By the way, a person's, circadian rhythm, and thus their minimum/maximum body temperature can vary from person to person and a person's circadian rhythm can play a role in when the best time for you to eat, drink and sleep.
If you are a morning person(lark)then your body temperature will usually be higher in the morning than that of a night person (night owl). So, a morning person may be able to drink more water earlier in the morning because their body temperature is often higher at that time than a night time person's.
Though, I understand that all people are not the same and some people will probably need to drink more water than they are while others such as myself will need to drink much less water/fluids than they were. There are alot of factors involved. But as for me, the single best thing that I have ever done to improve my health was to reduce the amount of total water/fluids that I drank/consume...... especially in the early morning and night time hours.
Doing that one thing has tremendously changed my life for the better.
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Emla,
I only drink warm water. I should have mentioned that as cold water from the tap (or counter top filter) would also make me cold.
Good point.
I even need warm water to brush my teeth.
It's just such a routine that I don't even think about mentioning it. My tea kettle gets a work out.
As for the morning water and dehydration, I can't remember where I read that but it's been within the past year. Still, as you mention, that may not be for everyone.
I know that I get far fewer headaches when I start the day with a glass of warm water and a little sea salt. Just a thought for those with headaches to test out.
But, as you point out, lyme can really affect the way each of our bodies regulate fluids and heat/cool, etc. I do think the "control room" takes a huge hit and that can go bonkers any number of ways. -
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emla999/Lyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
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posted
Keebler,
I have tried drinking only warm water/fluids in the morning and I will still get a low urinary refractometer reading and thus I will still develop the symptoms of mild acute hyponatremia.
Hyponatremia is an electolyte imbalance and one of the most common causes of hyponatremia is the overconsumption of water/fluids. Whether you drink hot or cold water water/fluids won't make any difference. Though, you will feel even more cold in the morning if you are drinking cold water/fluids in the morning.
Being overly hydrated can also change your body's production of certain hormones such as ADH.
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- While some (or many) here may have similar dysregulation as you do, many may still need more water (and minerals) than they may be getting.
Everyone is so intent on "detoxing the liver" but without adequate water, our cells cannot "detox" and our liver and kidneys will have a much harder time.
It may not so much about washing all the water out of our cells as our ability to REFRESH and HOLD a certain level of water in our cells on a continual basis.
But, what's adequate for one, as you point out, may not be for another. And, too little water can interfere with adrenal/endocrine function as much as too much.
And / or adrenal / endocrine dysfunction can be causing problems with hydration regulation.
For those who find they need to limit water, massage would be far more important, then, to help the cells release the old and take in the new, so to speak.
I tried to find the quote about the morning water. I don't think this is where I most recently saw it but The Body Ecology site has some basics to consider for those with adequate regulation.
. . . At 55 to 65% water, our bodies need the universal solvent for every conceivable function. . . .
. . . Prioritize Morning Hydration
Because the body becomes dehydrated overnight, it is especially important to drink sufficient water in the morning.
Donna Gates, author of The Body Ecology Diet, recommends drinking half of your minimum daily water intake by mid-morning.
Following the most recent formula of drinking half your body weight (in pounds) in ounces of water per day, this means that a 140 pound woman would aim for at least 4 to 5 cups of water by 10:00 a.m. (she would need a total of almost 9 cups, or 70 ounces, by the end of the day).
I find that observing this rule helps me tremendously. I feel less hungry and experience fewer headaches later in the day by drinking so much in the early morning. If I wait until I feel thirsty, which is usually sometime after lunch, I find I�m fighting an uphill battle to rehydrate my body. . . .
You May Be Dehydrated Even If You Drink Lots of Water: Dehydration Risks & Solutions
Section: What Do Adrenals Have To Do With Hydration?
. . . Aldosterone is a hormone secreted by your adrenals that regulates water levels and the concentration of minerals, like sodium, in your body1, helping you stay hydrated. . . .
11 Tips:
� Drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily. If you weigh 200 lbs. then drink 100 ounces of water each day. That translates to 3 - 4 quarts per day or one gallon.
� Sip water slowly, 2 to 3 ounces at a time, throughout the day. If you drink too fast, you risk diluting your blood, which may cause faster excretion of water by the kidneys. . . .
- by Connie Strasheim - Townsend Letter - July, 2010
be sure to scroll down past a section of ads that looks like the end of the article. This is a four-page article.
===================
And James Wilson's book: Adrenal Fatigue - a basic book, not about lyme, but with good suggestions for correctly endocrine balance. -
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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posted
- The information on circadian rhythm is very interesting. The other day, an article appeared (somewhere) about how often we need to pee can be directed in part by our genes and our circadian rhythm (which can be directed by our genes, too).
Thanks to Google, here's that article: ------------------
The circadian clock in the bladder supports urination -
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Catgirl
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
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posted
I guess it depends on how tuned into what our body wants and needs. I've always been someone who forgets to drink water. Then I feel like crap.
When I was on abx, my NP thought I was drinking too much water (8 glasses a day). I cut back and felt better. But then I started chelating and needed more (8 again).
Our body tells us. We just have to listen.
-------------------- --Keep an open mind about everything. Also, remember to visit ACTIVISM (we can change things together). Posts: 5418 | From earth | Registered: Mar 2011
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emla999/Lyme
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posted
Keebler,
Thanks for posting the links about the circadian rhythm.
I too have found the circadian rhythm of humans to be interesting and there does seem to be some health benefits or health consequences by doing or by not doing things that are in tune with your circadian rhythm. For example, making a person that has the circadian rhythm of a definte night person is generally going to make them feel like crap when someone wakes them up in the morning at 6:30 or 7:00 AM. And they will usually not be in the mood to eat or drink water until much later that morning. And in the late evening hours they will usually feel much better. And on the opposite side of this is the true morning person. They will often be as hungry as a horse early in the morning and they can usually drink more fluids earlier in the morning without suffering as many possible ill effects. But come evening time they will usually start to feel more tired....... their "clock" is winding down for the day.
The the role that your circadian rhythm has on your body temperature, eating/drinking habits and your sleeping patterns is very interesting to me.
Also, I would guess that most people probably know whether or not they are a night person "night owl" or a morning person "lark" but here are a couple of online surveys that a person can take to help determine what their circadian rhythm is and therefore whether they are larks, night owls or something in between.
And according to the survey down bellow I have a circadian rhythm of a moderate evening person (moderate night owl). I have been able to change that over these past several months though because I used to be a definite evening person (night owl).
posted
What i find interesting about these bugs is that before becoming ill (many years ago) i was a definite morning person. (went running first thing).
Even from the beginning of getting ill, i'd always have more energy at night....if i want to get anything done, it has to be at night.
Of course, the mind would love to change it all back. There is definitely something with these bugs that messes with that part of the brain that controls circadian rhythms.
Posts: 164 | From North America | Registered: Mar 2009
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Who knows what was ultimately effecting his girlfriend's daughter? The water drinking or?
Yet the point is that we bypass the messages we are getting individually.
And what stands out to me is your own experiences, both Keebler and emla999 !! You are each right!
emla999 wrote: " But as for me, the single best thing that I have ever done to improve my health was to reduce the amount of total water/fluids that I drank/consume...... especially in the early morning and night time hours.
Doing that one thing has tremendously changed my life for the better."
We all have so many concepts about what is "right". I sure do! Reading about your improvement inspires me to listen far more carefully to my own body's messages, moment to moment.
I hope more people watch this brief video and listen to their own guidance system.
emla999/Lyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
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posted
Riverspirit,
I also thought that video about the little girls's change in water drinking habits potentially made an impact on how she felt.
And as for me, I think that how much water/fluids a person should ingest per day and at what time of day is best for a person to ingest more or less water/fluids will definetely vary due to many factors such as a person's circadian rhythm, how much they sweat, a person's body temperature, how much salt and sugar they consume and when they consumed it, whether or not they have been exercising recently, kidney function, ADH/vassopressin levels and ect.
But for me, with the help of a refractometer, a conductivity meter, watching the color of my urine (I want my urine to have a yellowish color to it and NOT a crystal clear color to it) and paying close attention to how my water drinking habits affect how I feel, I believe that I have figured out the best water drinking schedule for me.
And yes, changing my water drinking habits (drinking little to no water/fluids in the early morning hours and the very late night hours) has been very beneficial to me.
I usually don't start drink much water/fluids until sometime around 10:00 AM and sometimes latter than that. And I will usually drink alot or most of my water between noon and 6:00 pm. And my water consumption peak is probably around 5:00 - 6:00 pm. Though, that time can vary depending upon what I have done physically or ate that day. And I then drink very little water after 8:00 - 9:00 pm.
Much like the little girl in that video, if I drink much water/fluids after about 8:00 or 9:00 pm I will have a very difficult time sleeping that night and if I try to go to sleep I will usually have to pee several times throughout the night. So, I usually try to drink very little water after 8:00 or 9:00 pm.
So, most of the time I drink very little water from 9:00 PM until about 10:00 AM the next day. However I will take a few sips of water before I go to bed and sometimes I will take a sip of water about 30 minutes or so after I wake up in the morning. And again this can vary somewhat depending upon what and when I eat. If I eat a fairly dry salty/sugary high carbed breakfast then I can drink more water earlier in the day.
If I were to eat whole fruit or something watery for breakfast then I would definetly not need to drink any extra water. Actually, usually if I eat fruit for breakfast I will feel bad for the rest of the morning...... most fresh fruit has too high a water content for me to eat it in the morning hours. But I can eat fruit later on in the evening when my body's temperature and my metabolism is higher........ that's where my body's natural circadian rhythm seems to play a role.
"Researchers found that the body's circadian clock controls an essential immune system gene in mice -- a gene that helps the body ward off bacteria and viruses."
"It does appear that disruptions of the circadian clock influence our susceptibility to pathogens."
Your circadian rhythm governs the highs and lows of immune response
So, if you are not in tune with your body's natural circadian rhythm then you may be causing your body to be more susceptible to pathogens/germs.
And in my opinion, your water drinking habits/schedule, your eating habits/schedule, your exercise/physical activity habits and sleeping habits and other habits/schedules can affect your body's circadian rhythm (clock) in either a negative or a positive way.
GiGi
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posted
We take in water with no minerals and electrolytes, but pee out minerals and electrolytes. We become more depleted the more water we drink if the water does not contain these. That is what I learned from Dr. K.
Look up his Rehydration Cocktail which avoids flushing out the nutrients we desperately need to detox. It also tastes very good. I posted it a couple of years ago. I think it is contained in the Allerlgie Immun Germany thread.
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emla999/Lyme
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posted
Gigi said,
quote:We take in water with no minerals and electrolytes, but pee out minerals and electrolytes. We become more depleted the more water we drink if the water does not contain these.
I would tend to agree with that statement.
Although, for me, after reading the recipe for Dr. K's rehydration cocktail I would have to say that if I drank his rehydration cocktail in the early morning hours and possibly even the late night hours then I may still develop a low urinary brix reading due to the water content of that cocktail and then I may still develop symptoms that can go along with having a low urinary brix reading eg. mild acute hyponatremia and what the world of RBTI calls cellular hypoglycemia.
In my opinion, when you are in a low metabolic state and have a low body temperature, then drinking more fluids/water are not always helpful to you.... irregardless of whether or not what you are drinking contains electrolytes or not. Though, drinking pure water would be worse for you to drink when your metabolism and body temperature are at it's lowest point.
For me personally, the best strategy has been to eat a dry and sort of sweet/salty breakfast. While drinking little to no water or other fluids early in the morning or very late at night when my metabolism and body temperature are at their naturally lowest points..... this is sort of eating and a drinking in a way that is in tune with my "night owl" circadian rhythm. But all of this can vary from person to person.
It seems to me as though when you repeatedly do things that are not in tune with your body's natural circadian rhythm and not in tune with your body's metabolic rhythm then numerous health problems can develop.
"International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization (WHO), has concluded that shift work involving disruption to the circadian rhythm is probably carcinogenic to humans."
"Moreover, epidemiological studies have repeatedly shown that chronic disruption of circadian rhythm by shift work (exposure to light at night) or jet-lag are associated with chronic illnesses, including a significantly increased risk of developing breast and prostate cancers.
The findings that dietary MSC can restore circadian rhythm in mammary cells independent of serum melatonin are the basis for an ongoing intervention trial."
By the way, it seems as though several things can disrupt your circadian rhythm, not just night shift work. How many people eat and drink in a way that is disruptive to their circadian rhythm?
I for one, know that drinking too much water late a night is almost guranteed to disrupt my sleep and thus disrupt my circadian rhythm. So, can a person's water drinking habits increase that person's risk for developing cancer?
How many people have other habits or are taking something that is disruptive to their circadian rhythm?
posted
Personally, I drink a lot of water. I seem to be pretty thirsty most of the time. I probably do 8 glasses / day easily.
I have pretty bad sleep patterns, and have been having a VERY tough time improving them.
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emla999/Lyme
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Lymeboy, for what it's worth, when I used to drink alot of water throughout the day I was also very thirsty..... I used to drink about a gallon of pure water per day and sometimes more. But even though I was drinking all of that water I seemed to stay thirsty all of the time and I had a dry mouth.
And apparently, my thirst and my dry mouth was due to my over water consumption because drinking alot of water seems to cause many people to develop a dry mouth and thus they feel thirsty.
But now that I drink less water at certain times of the day than I used to, my thirst has decreased alot.
At the 4:18 mark on the video down bellow Matt Stone actually talks about dry mouth being a symptom of drinking too much water. And I have found this to be true in my case.
And by the way, in my personal experience, drinking too much water will disrupt my sleeping pattern in a fairly profound way.
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sparkle7
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posted
Interesting. I will look at the links later. I just have to say that according to the Army person I saw on TV a while ago - he said most people were dehydrated... This may have been due to their research on people in Iraq, though. (?)
It may also be effected by the weather - how hot & dry it is or how much a person sweats. I don't really sweat alot but some people I know do. So, that may be a factor.
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emla999/Lyme
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posted
Many of you have probably heard that, "If you are already starting to get thirsty then you are already dehydrated". Well, that statement appears to be false. In actuality, thirst usually appears before dehydration. So, generally speaking, you shouldn't drink any extra water/fluids until you are thirsty.
Many of you may have also probably heard that "having dark colored urine means that you are dehydrated." Well, that statement also appears to be false.
Other claims discredited by scientific evidence that Valtin discusses include:
Myth #1
Thirst Is Too Late. It is often stated that by the time people are thirsty, they are already dehydrated. On the contrary, thirst begins when the concentration of blood (an accurate indicator of our state of hydration) has risen by less than two percent, whereas most experts would define dehydration as beginning when that concentration has risen by at least five percent.
Myth #2
Dark Urine Means Dehydration. At normal urinary volume and color, the concentration of the blood is within the normal range and nowhere near the values that are seen in meaningful dehydration. Therefore, the warning that dark urine reflects dehydration is alarmist and false in most instances.
"Valtin says, noting that (also contrary to myth) thirst occurs before the onset of dehydration".
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