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Water is at the center of the food wheel and its consumption is vital for health and well-being. However, research is not unanimous on the amount of water you should drink daily and a new study concludes that the recommended eight glasses of water a day may be too much.
According to scientists from the University of Aberdeen, the calculation of two liters of water per day did not take into account the amount of water introduced into the body through food, correcting the value to a quantity that can vary between 1.5 and 1.8 liters a day, which in practice translates to about one less glass of water a day.
“The water we would need to drink is the difference between the total water we need to ingest and the amount we get from our food”, explains John Speakman of the University of Aberdeen and author of the study, published in the journal sciencein statements to the program Good Morning Scotland from BBC Radio.
The research, which focused on 5604 individuals, aged between 8 and 96 years, from 23 countries, made them drink a glass of water in which some of the molecules were replaced by a stable isotope of deuterium, which allowed the researchers to understand how the water was treated by the organism and what was its rotation.
Among the individuals who revealed greater water turnover were those living in hot, humid environments, at high altitudes, athletes and pregnant or breastfeeding women. However, it is explained, greater turnover does not necessarily mean a need for greater amounts of water.
“Even if a man in his 20s has a water rotation of 4.2 liters per day, he does not need to drink 4.2 liters of water per day”, since “about 15% of this value reflects the exchange surface water and water produced from metabolism”, explains the researcher.
In the present case, “the amount of water actually needed is around 3.6 liters per day. Since most foods also contain water; a substantial amount of water is provided through ingestion alone”.
“This study shows that the common recommendation that everyone should drink eight glasses of water is probably too high for most people, in most situations,” he says, highlighting the importance of research to understand future water needs.
After all, an extra glass of water is wasted. According to the study, in the case of Portugal, with a population of 10.3 million, it is equivalent to wasting more than two million liters of water every day. “Drinking water is not free,” Speakman reminds the BBC.
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