Readers Take Issue With Article About Water Consumption
Re “Hard to Swallow” (Nov. 20): While you raised some good questions regarding water consumption, some of the information was inaccurate and somewhat misleading. A review of additional research balances the story and fully addresses the issue.
Hydration needs of a healthy adult are simple. They’re based upon measurements of how much water is needed to replace what is lost daily--approximately 2.5 liters, or 10 cups, of fluid per day. Your article reported that an individual’s entire water needs could be derived from food. While this is possible, it’s highly unlikely. The average amount of water derived from food is approximately 1 liter, or about four cups, per day.
The article also failed to address other potential benefits of drinking water. A study published in a 1996 issue of the journal Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention showed that women drinking more than five glasses of water per day experienced a 45% decreased risk of colon cancer compared with those who consumed two or fewer glasses per day.
It’s also misleading to equate the value of various fluids in meeting daily water needs. Considering that soft drink intake is twice what it was 25 years ago and that both adult and childhood obesity is increasing, we can hardly gloss over this significant rise in consuming empty calories.
Finally, while the average sedentary individual may need about 1.2 liters, or five cups, of additional fluids each day, this amount falls short of the additional fluid needs associated with exercise and environmental stressors, such as dry air in winter and heat in summer. In short, the eight-glass-a-day recommendation is probably still best, because it accommodates the five-cup minimum needed (beyond food and its metabolism) to replace daily fluids lost, with an additional three-cup buffer to accommodate environmental stressors. Exercisers will obviously need to drink even more.
BARBARA HARRIS
Editor in chief
Shape magazine
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As a nutritionist, I find it an absolute disservice to your readers in any way to discourage the consumption of drinking water, and invite you to consider my points below.
Water is essential to the human body and serves a variety of functions, everything from regulating body temperature to carrying nutrients and oxygen to every cell in the body. We all know that factors such as age, physical activity, illness, etc. can influence the personal needs of individual consumers, so for that very reason, we must develop “general rules of thumb” or guiding principles for the general public. It is a fact that everyone may not need the recommended amount of eight 8-ounce servings of water--some of us may need more.
According the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council, pregnant women are advised to consume 14.7 8-ounce glasses, while certain males are urged to drink at least 12 8-ounce servings a day. To that end, we should advise consumers to talk to their doctors and find out their specific needs. Dehydration is a serious condition, and sweat on your skin or how thirsty you feel are not good indicators of your hydration level.
At no time should we dissuade consumers from consuming a beverage that is necessary to their body. The body can last up to six weeks without food, but it can only last a week without water.
BARBARA LEVINE
Co-director
Human Nutrition Program
Rockefeller University
