There is a commonly held belief that drinking lots of water (typically
8 pints/glasses per day is the popular wisdom) will improve ones
health.  Will drinking lots of water over that amount which is
necessary to sustain life, improve ones health?  Can you provide a
reputable scientific study that addresses the connection between
water-consumption and improved human health?

Water is indeed necessary for not just our lives but our health. It's
quite possible that the more water you drink, the healthier you might
be.

Our bodies are mostly water, and they need water to survive.  Mild
dehydration is one of the most common causes of fatigue, and it is
estimated that two thirds of Americans are mildly and chronically
dehydrated.

"Drinking eight glasses of water daily can decrease the risk of colon
cancer by 45%, bladder cancer by 50% and it can potentially even
reduce the risk of breast cancer."
http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water-education/water-health.htm

Here's a study that shows evidence that drinking enough wter can lower
rates of coronary heart disease.
http://news.adventist.org/data/2002/04/1021389473/index.html.en

And here's a link to the study on PubMed.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11978586&dopt=Abstract


But as an aside, just as anything else, too much water can be bad for
you. Some runners and other exercisers can consume too much water and
die as a result. It would have to involve huge amounts of water.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/14/health/14water.html?ex=1271131200&en=b9b075690fd32849&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt

I hope that answers your question! If you need any clarification let
me know and I'll be happy to help.

--keystroke-ga

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Request for Answer Clarification by betabuckortwo-ga on 03 Aug 2006 09:53 PDT

Thank you for confirming my understanding about the benefits of water.
  You certainly helped provide some clarification.  The article at the
following link aims to disprove the claim that "The average person
needs to drink eight glasses of water per day to avoid being
chronically dehydrated": 
http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp.   What are your
thoughts about this article?

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Clarification of Answer by keystroke-ga on 28 Aug 2006 22:16 PDT

Hi betabuckortwo,

Sorry for the delay in answering your question! I was away on a trip
for a while. Thanks for your patience! Concerning this website-- the
website does have some very valid points and as far as my personal
opinion goes, I don't believe in the strict "eight glasses of water a
day" rule. I do think, however, that most people don't drink enough
water and they would be healthier if they did. I used to be a big soda
drinker and would almost never drink water. Recently, I've switched to
drinking water almost always and sometimes juice. I find that I feel
much better and really am healthier after this switch. Am I drinking
eight glasses of water a day? I'm not sure, but I am drinking lots of
water and I feel better because of it.

I really do believe that most people drink too much soda and beverages
of that kind. Every time I go to the grocery store, I see people's
carts piled high with Gatorade and Coke.  If they drank water, they
would be spared all that high fructose corn syrup, aspartame and
Splenda and they would be MUCH healthier (and they would have more
money!).

So rather than a strict rules of eight glasses a day, I would say that
each person should be able to judge on their own when they're thirsty
or not, and drink at appropriate times. For some things, there are no
need for guidelines, just common sense.

I asked a similar question to this in Sept, 2004:

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=398342

Steph53

The 8 glasses of water was supposedly developed by the bottled water suppliers.

As someone who recently had a kidney stone, I can tell you that
drinking water is wildly important. For a few months I had been
neglecting to drink almost all day for a good eight hours. One July
morning I woke up with a mild pain in my side that escalated over
three hours to a horrid, blinding pain. I've had a heart attack and
this was waaaay worse.

The ER doc gave me dilaudid (hydromorphone-- omigod, it's wonderful
stuff!) then proceeded to lecture me on drinking plenty of water. He
probably should have reversed the order because I spent the next six
hours smelling colors and seeing music. Fortunately my wife was there
to remember it all, and in minute detail.

A week (and almost ten gallons!) later, I was stone-free.

Eight glasses is only a half-gallon (two litres). That's like three
mouthfuls an hour while awake. Whaddya gripin' about?

Just as an aside, I drink about 2 - 3 litres of water per day, I can
sometimes motor through 5 litres or more without even thinking about
it. They say water increases concentration, well before any exams I
do, I purposely drink a litre of water, I have yet to fail an exam.

--Keystroke-ga

While a gallon = 3.6 liters of water per day may be a good treatment
for kidney stones, other people put themselves at some small risk by
drinking that much liquid. I suggest 8 glasses of water plus no more
than 8 glasses of other liquids per day, unless your doctor recommends
more.
Not only sodium, but also potassium and magnesium can fall to harmful
levels as a result of too much water. If you want to drink more
liquid, you should consider a mineral suppliment. A chemist freind is
of the opinion that we should not drink distilled water as it leaches
netrients away, more than most tap water and bottled water.  Neil