We all need to drink water, but according to a new study the amount of water we're drinking isn't doing anything to make us appreciably healthier and in some cases it may even be working against us.
An editorial in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania concluded that available scientific evidence does not support the recommendation for consumers to drink eight glasses of water a day and that doing so will not improve skin tone, aid weight loss, flush toxins from a person's system or many of the other benefits widely believed to be true.
Authors Dan Negoianu and Stanley Goldfarb of Penn's Renal, Electrolyte and Hypertension Division looked to dispel "myths" associated with drinking large volumes of water.
- Skin tone: Water consumed is distributed equally throughout the body so there is no support for it providing a special benefit to the skin.
- Reduces appetite: The best that can be said here is that studies are inconclusive on the question of whether drinking a lot of water will reduce the amount of food consumers eat.
- Excrete toxins: Since 60 percent of the human body is composed of water, a few cups make no appreciable difference in the working of the kidney. If anything, the additional fluid runs the risk of lowering blood flow to the kidney, which may actually impede its ability to remove toxins.
Discussion Questions: Does the dispute over some of the health myths around drinking water pose a threat to bottled water sales? Does this issue combined with concerns over the environmental impact of bottled water pose a real threat to the category's future prospects? Should bottled water companies be preparing a response and, if so, what form should it take?