Is there any benefit in drinking 2L of Water daily?

Wanderer2010

Ok, so I am looking to cut down on fizzy drinks lately (Coke etc) as they are having a bad affect on my mood and energy levels so I have been having 2L of Water most days as I read up on some theories on their benefits. Now, most schools of though (research studies etc) say that 2L of water improves energy levels, keeps skin clear and flushes out toxins, not to mention is more healthy than Coke.

But the flip side is I have also read a lot of article claiming 2L of liquid, and not necessarily water, is suffice for health. Now i HAVE noticed a slight increase in energy and my skin looks a bit better, and just to note Im buying bottled water in bulk each week as I just dont trust tap water to have the same affect. Im looking for opinions here, do you think water really is the bees knees or whether its from the tap or bottled? Im trying to eventually make water my main drink, with maybe fizzy drinks as a treat. Any thoughts?

bcmf

I have a physical job and can spend between 8 and 10 hrs walking every day.
As a treat once or twice a week ,especially on my busier days, I would have a can of coke and a bar .
Gave up on it as after the inital rush I felt worse
In the last few weeks I have been drinking between 1 and 2 ltrs of water a day on top of the usual and energy levels have remained level through the day.I
I also cycle a few few times a week and made a conscious desicision that anything under 100km and I just bring 750ml of water.
I hear a nutrionionist saying before that you have to judge / learn how much water your body needs as if your body only needs 1 ltr and you drink 2 then you just end up expelling it.
They werent dismissing the value and importance of water but said that people can overdo it and YES its possible to drown from drinking too much.
If your body cant expel it faster then you consume it you could end up in trouble.

Algeria

Is too much water bad for you?

For about 5 years now I've been having 5-7 litres of water a day.

Peeing like a racehorse but it's just become part of my routine

Pj!

Algeria wrote: »

Is too much water bad for you?

For about 5 years now I've been having 5-7 litres of water a day.

Peeing like a racehorse but it's just become part of my routine

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

Algeria

Pj! wrote: »

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

:eek:

rocky

Drink water when thirsty...

April O Neill

I can't physically drink 2L of water in a day, just can't do it. And I don't feel like I need it. AFAIK, that 2L of water a day thing was misunderstood, it means 2L of water inc. what you take in in your food.

April O Neill

Algeria wrote: »

Is too much water bad for you?

Yes, it can dilute your electrolytes too much. The correct concentration of electrolytes is key for proper cell function.

Algeria

So how come I can possibly peg it if I drink 20 pints of water in a few hours, yet if u drink 20 pints of beer all ill get is a sore head?

rocky

There's nutrients in beer

Algeria

rocky wrote: »

There's nutrients in beer

God bless

Honey-ec

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

just to note Im buying bottled water in bulk each week as I just dont trust tap water to have the same affect. Im looking for opinions here, do you think water really is the bees knees or whether its from the tap or bottled? Im trying to eventually make water my main drink, with maybe fizzy drinks as a treat. Any thoughts?

While the fizzy drinks are definitely better off replaced with water, 2 litres of supplementary water every day is generally not necessary - as others have pointed out already, the "prescribed" amount of water is in total - it includes water already present in your food and drink. Also, there's no "magic" number - people will have different requirements based on lifestyle and physiology.

The best yardstick is really how often you urinate - if you up your water intake significantly and find that the only difference it's making is that you're in the jacks every five minutes, then you weren't dehydrated in the first place.

Also, tap water is absolutely fine. All you're doing by buying bottled is fleecing your pockets, lining the manufacturers and sending another couple of thousand plastic bottles to landfill every year. Do yourself and the environment a favour and just drink tap.

gtg60

rocky wrote: »

Drink water when thirsty...

At the stage when you're feeling thirsty your hydration levels are already outside the 'normal' range.

Algeria wrote: »

So how come I can possibly peg it if I drink 20 pints of water in a few hours, yet if u drink 20 pints of beer all ill get is a sore head?

Alcohol is a diuretic i.e. it makes you urinate more and the actual process of breaking down the alcohol in your liver uses up water hence the extreme dehydration felt the morning after a heavy night on the beer, both these processes negate the possibility of water intoxication.

The secret to consuming a lot of water in a day is small regular sips as your body makes more use of it.

FYI the only coloured Urine you should have is the first pee in the morning, all others should be colourless (if properly hydrated).

rocky

What's "'normal'" and where is it defined?

Woofstuff

When I was a farm laborer in the humid northern territories of Australia I drank a lot of water a day. Must have been six liters.

rocky

Were you aiming for a number, or drank when thirsty?

spaceylou

Mostly reiterating what others have said. 2 litres or 8 glasses of water is a figure that gets thrown about but just like with pretty much everything else in the human body there isn't a magic number but rather a 'normal range' based on averages from a large number of people.

A good rule of thumb is that if your pee is pretty clear and doesn't smell too strongly, you are hydrated. All fluids count, but remember coffee is a diuretic and as someone else already explained the process of breaking down alcohol uses a lot of water, causing dehydration.

Personally I would easily drink 2 litres in a day, more if I am training. That is what my body seems to need and I know straight away when I am dehydrated, headache kicks in, lack of energy and general queasy feeling. Another body might find that a lot to drink in a day.

It is extremely difficult to accidentally drink so much water that you suffer from water intoxication, its most commonly seen in drug users who attempt to drink a lot of water very fast to replace the fluids lost from sweating, except that unlike when athletes do something similar (minus the drugs) they aren't eating with the fluids or using re-hydration salts and basically dilute all the salt level in their body to dangerous levels.

This is why when a person is dehydrated they will sometimes crave salty foods!

But back to the Op's question - tap water is just as good as bottled water (unless you are in a part of the country where there is an issue with the water); if you like it to be cold get a filter jug that you can keep in the fridge; sip throughout the day rather than trying to gulp down loads in one go; and finally listen to how your body feels when you have less or more water and take a look at the colour of your pee

--Kaiser--

2 litres of water per day for everyone is nonsense. Some people live sedentary lives, they don't need 2 litres of water. Some people do hours and hours of physical labour and exercise a day, they need more than 2 litres. If you're thirsty, drink water, and if your urine is a light yellow colour, you're probably drinking enough.

As for 5-7 litres of water a day? Cop the **** on

Woofstuff

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

As for 5-7 litres of water a day? Cop the **** on

I think one Could easily require 1.5litres in a tough (not farting around looking out the window talking to the lads between sets on the machines) 90minute session at the gym.

5 - 7 litres is alot, but I probably drank that when working as a farm labourer in very hot conditions in tropical Australia, although obviously that is a bit extreme.

Cop the **** on