8 Harmful Water Drinking Habits

8 Harmful Water Drinking Habits

Here are 8 common misconceptions about drinking water

Drink 8 glasses of water every day

"8 glasses of water a day" is definitely on the list. The number 8 is like a hard indicator for good habits to be achieved, no matter what size cup you use...

According to international standards, 1 cup generally refers to 250 ml, and 8 cups of water is 2 liters. However, this amount is too much for most people, especially women.

In 2022, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with nearly 100 international teams, published an accurate formula for the daily water turnover of the human body in the top journal Science, which also confirmed that the statement of "8 cups of water a day" is not accurate.

The amount of water you drink varies from person to person. In addition to individual metabolic differences, gender, age, physical activity, body shape, climate, and even quality of life will affect the amount of water your body needs.

For example, a 20-year-old average male weighing 70 kg living in a similar environment to us drinks about 1.3 liters of water a day; under the same conditions, a 20-year-old average female weighing 60 kg drinks about 1.15 liters of water a day.

Is this far from the standard of 8 cups a day?

According to a rough calculation based on the formula, most women are in the range of 1.1 to 1.5 liters, while most men are in the range of 1.2 to 1.9 liters. In other words, the amount of water a normal person drinks to meet their body needs rarely reaches 2 liters.

If you exercise a lot, are overweight, live in a high-altitude area, etc., your water needs will also increase.

You don't have to force yourself or others to drink 8 cups of water, nor do you need to worry about not drinking enough water.

Drinking more water is better

A study of more than 60,000 participants revealed an important finding: drinking more water is not necessarily better.

There is an L-shaped association between water intake and mortality - increasing water turnover within a certain range is beneficial to health, but once a certain threshold is exceeded, the benefits no longer increase and there may be potential risks.

When women's water turnover* is maintained at 3000-3300 ml/day and men's water turnover is maintained at 3500-3700 ml/day, the risk of all-cause mortality is the lowest. (*Water turnover ≠ water intake)

Converted to our daily water intake, it is equivalent to 1275-1400 ml of water for women, and 1490-1570 ml for men.

These figures only provide a rough reference, not a hard indicator. Even if you drink more, don't panic, the research is still in the preliminary stage, and there are still some confounding factors.

More importantly, it reminds us that it is good to drink water in moderation, and there is no need to be superstitious about the benefits of drinking more water and putting extra health burdens on ourselves.

Drink water when you are thirsty

Data from the "China Water and Life Quality Perception Survey Report" shows that about 66% of people will not drink water until they feel thirsty.

Some people think that being thirsty means that the body needs it, so why drink it if you don't need it...

Thirst is already a sign that the body is in a state of obvious dehydration, indicating that the body has been running in a dehydrated state for some time, which may bring potential "loss". 

In addition to thirst, symptoms such as constipation, dry skin, and fatigue may also indicate dehydration.

The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)" recommends that everyone actively drink water once every 1-2 hours, about 200 ml each time. Try to keep your body in the "optimal hydration state" and don't always rely on your body to notify you.

Drink salt water when you wake up in the morning

Drinking a glass of salt water in the morning is a bad habit.

After a whole night of metabolism, the blood sodium level is already high, and the body needs water to dilute it. If you drink another glass of salt water, it will harm your body.

In fact, for people who eat normally, there is no need to deliberately supplement any form of salt. Most people eat too much salt. Especially for people who already have chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes, extra salt intake is like adding insult to injury.

Only in certain circumstances - such as diarrhea, hot weather, or after a lot of sweating caused by exercise, is it necessary to drink a moderate amount of light salt water to restore body fluid balance.

It is very good to drink a glass of water when you wake up in the morning. But light salt water is not necessary.

Drink sugar-free beverages instead of water

Some friends don't like drinking plain water, so they drink beverages instead. Sugary drinks are harmful, so wouldn't it be all right if we chose sugar-free drinks?

It's okay to drink one or two bottles of sugar-free drinks occasionally, but drinking them as water is another matter.

Although sugar substitutes are generally safe, large intakes may also have potential negative effects on health. Not to mention that many beverages contain other less healthy ingredients.

If you think drinking plain water is too bland and tasteless, why not use tea, lemon, mint, etc. to give your taste buds some fun~

Drink more hot water

Hot drinks above 65°C are classified as Class 2A carcinogens by the World Health Organization and increase the risk of esophageal cancer.

The surface of the esophagus is covered with delicate mucous membranes, and the temperature of food has a great impact on it. The ideal temperature for drinking water is 10-40℃.

It should be warm or cool when you drink it, and everything is just right.

Not drinking water during exercise

Some people worry that drinking water during exercise will make their stomachs hum and cause gastroptosis, so they are "thirsty", which is actually unnecessary.

As long as you don't drink a whole bottle of water in one breath, it's fine to drink water in moderation. This will not burden your stomach and keep you in the best condition for exercise.

Especially when the temperature is high or you sweat a lot, dehydration is an invisible killer.

If you are doing long-term or high-intensity exercise, you also need to replenish carbohydrates and electrolytes in time to maintain your physical fitness and avoid electrolyte imbalance caused by simply drinking a lot of water.

Exercise drinking strategy - timely, small amounts, and multiple times.

The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)" recommends drinking 100 to 200 ml of water before, during, and after exercise to replenish the body regularly and quantitatively to prevent dehydration.

Drink water in batches, a lot at a time

Drinking water like a storm is not a good thing, and it may cause trouble to the body.

Drinking a lot of water in one breath can easily disturb the body's metabolic homeostasis - so much water suddenly flows into the body, diluting the blood, and the plasma osmotic pressure decreases. This change may also disrupt the delicate fluid balance inside the eye, indirectly pushing up intraocular pressure.

Drinking water is not a cramming lesson, drink small amounts and multiple times to keep the body in a stable hydration state.