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Apr 18, 2004 In this day and age, when everything we were brought up to believe in is being questioned, it’s nice to know that some of it is for the good. Like water . I mean, all my life I heard it: Drink eight glasses of water a day. That was the norm. I don’t recall if the size of the glass was specified but even a five-ounce glass means 40 ounces. That’s a helluva lot of water – especially if you’re not thirsty. And I was seldom thirsty. I drank Coke. Later I drank beer or, perhaps, an occasional cocktail or two. And I drank coffee all day long . Then I got married. Pretty much in that order. My Wife the Nurse - as opposed to My Wife the Clown (another of her multiple personalities, My Wife the Health Nut being yet another) - told me that stuff sucks all the good out of a glass of water. Even (or ESPECIALLY according to her) coffee, which is almost ALL water. Go figure. She was big on water. She believed that whatever ailed me, and subsequently, whatever ailed our children (and sometimes even whatever ailed perfect strangers), could only be helped along the road to recovery – if not actually CURED – by drinking water. Lots of water. My wife was one of those people – and there are LOTS of them out there – who thought that when Karl Malden cautioned television viewers to not leave home without it he was talking about water. And not just any water: imported bottled water you have to pay for. You see these folks everywhere, creating long lines outside public restrooms and looking askance at those of us who do not schedule our daily activities around the demands of an insistent bladder or consider its draining the highlight of our day. But now I hear it’s overrated. A new report from the Institute of Medicine, which apparently is a group known for setting appropriate nutrient intake levels, reviews the water consumption of Americans and Canadians (supposedly folks SOUTH of the border, where some of the hotter dishes necessitating copious amounts of water to cool the tongue are known to come from, are on their own) and says one may not require eight glasses of water every day to be properly hydrated. Other liquids can be included. And caffeinated drinks DO count as part of our water regimen! According to Dr. Lawrence Appel of Johns Hopkins University, who led the Institute panel: “While drinking water is a frequent choice for hydration, people also get water from juice, milk, coffee, tea, soda, fruits, vegetables and other foods and beverages as well.” Sure, caffeine is a diuretic and is often the driving force in our searching out places of relief, especially in cold weather, but the panel concluded that, as regards our body of water (so to speak), its effect is fleeting. For the record, there are guidelines - besides thirst - that determine whether one is getting enough water, and these apparently include such unpleasant contemplations as shriveled skin, muscle cramps and chronic constipation. But then again, it is not generally harmful to drink MORE water than the body requires and the only major drawback there seems to be a gurgling sound if you walk while listing from side to side. Which is all well and good for us non-addicted water drinkers who can’t force a glass of plain water when our systems don’t actually crave it. However, I can’t help noticing the glaring absence of alcohol on the above list of alternate water sources. Surely the ice cubes must count for something. END ------------ Richard Cutler's latest book is "Gathering Moss: Rest Stops on the Road Downhill." Email: RCtlr@aol.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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