Food (or drink) for thought

[Dorsetmike]

     Very interesting read

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24464774

    Why am I not surprised that the "drink 2 + litres of water per day" research was sponsored by a mineral water company. How much of our present day diet is driven by marketing rather than common sense and thousands of years of human experience.

    All a big con like most other healthy eating/drinking ideas. Too much fast food leads to obesity might well be true, but excess of many things is not good for us, and that has been proved without sponsorship by interested companies.

[Jerry Howlett]

Link doesn't work for me , probably my Italian beer sponsered browser found it offensive.


Jerry

[Caz]

Try again Jerry, I have corrected the link.

[Newportnobby]

Ha! 2 litres of water a day! I'd be constantly going to the toilet.
Mind you, come to think of it I probably drink more than 2 litres of coffee so, er, I'll be back in a minute...............................

[keithfre]

The 2-litre nonsense has been touted on what you might expect to be well-researched BBC programmes too. I drink quite a lot of water, but I came to the conclusion that that amount couldn't be right.

[ozzie Bill.]

The 2 litres is right and has been around for years. However, it should read 2 litres of fluids, including tea and coffee, but not including alcohol. Tough call that last one.
For years, the report was misquoted as 2 litres of water and that tea, coffee etc was excluded, but that was a misreading of the original research findings. Cheers, Bill.

[Newportnobby]

The 2 litres is right and has been around for years. However, it should read 2 litres of fluids, including tea and coffee, but not including alcohol. Tough call that last one.
For years, the report was misquoted as 2 litres of water and that tea, coffee etc was excluded, but that was a misreading of the original research findings. Cheers, Bill.

[MikeDunn]

The problem with coffee (also alcohol, and a lesser extent tea) is that they reduce the amount of fluids in the body more than water ...  they are diuretics.

Lack of sufficient fluids (and 2l a day of liquid isn't that much !) has a worse impact on kidney function than drinking 2 litres of water, juice etc !  Have a think on how much is in a cup; 2 litres can be managed quite easily.  No-one is forcing you to have it within a 5-minute period 

Having a mix of water & juice across the day also gives you at least one of the mythical 5-a-day    But I'd avoid (crap) stuff like Coke etc ...  Stick with decent liquids.

[Dorsetmike]

I believe the body will cope with regulating fluid intake (as well as other intakes like air & food) if you drink too much you pee more, if you don't drink enough you get thirsty. The body was designed that way and bodies have been doing it for thousands of years, so why try and do it different just because some mineral water purveyor wants to increase their profits?

[H]

The 2 litres is right and has been around for years. However, it should read 2 litres of fluids, including tea and coffee, but not including alcohol.

Well, there's not that much alcohol in a pint of beer - around 3.5 to 6 percent depending on type -  so it's mostly water meaning that a session down the pubs with your mates can mean drinking around seven pints of water for every pint of alcohol 

H.

[Bealman]

For what it's worth I recently drank 1½ litres of mighty fine German beer in one go at a beer hall not far away from Miniatur Wunderland... guess me fluid intake is good, then. 

George

[MikeDunn]

Well, there's not that much alcohol in a pint of beer

H, the "low" level doesn't make that much of a difference; alcohol dehydrates the body, which is why the best prevention of a hangover is to have a glass or two of water before you go to bed ...

I believe the body will cope with regulating fluid intake (as well as other intakes like air & food) if you drink too much you pee more, if you don't drink enough you get thirsty.

True - but if you ignore the thirst (and let's be honest - when we get into something like making a model, something as minor as "I'm a little thirsty" doesn't get much (if any !) attention ...   Not drinking tends to concentrate the urine as the body recycles it to get more water via the kidneys, hence the stronger yellow colour & smell (especially if you've ate asparagus  ) when you do eventually get rid of it.

so why try and do it different just because some mineral water purveyor wants to increase their profits?

Sorry - but you're the one who is going on about mineral water companies, not me (or, I think, anyone else).  Drink tap water - it's just as good for you.  Or head to your local decent supermarket & get their own-brand water - I think Aldi do it for 10p a bottle, Tesco for 30p (or it used to be).

Having sufficient fluid intake is important; otherwise you end up concentrating the waste products in the urine and that is not a good thing  .  Far better and safer to your health (especially kidney function) if you're flushing them regularly with decent liquids.

Mike

PS - while I can't stand the crap called "beer", I do like a good cider  and good wine.  And while tea is revolting  I do love my coffee.  But due to a health "scare" not long ago, I am paying more attention these days to limiting caffeine drinks, artificial sweetners are now a no-no (aspartame is by far the worst - and is in so much it's frightening, and am having more juices (both fresh and diluters) and water (mainly tap).  So I am practicing what I'm "preaching" 

M

[FeelixTC]

The South African Army did some studies on hydration/drinking with their elite forces.
Conclusion they came to was that it's different for everybody and that the human body regulates itself remarkably well.

They found that when people need more hydration, they are thirsty. And if they ain't thirsty; they're fine. 

[Lawrence]

All things in moderation, food, alcohol, smoking etc, don't abuse your body and it will look after you 

[Newportnobby]

All things in moderation, food, alcohol, smoking etc, don't abuse your body and it will look after you 

Too late, always too bloody late