Drinking Eight Glasses Of Water Is Bunk According To New Research

I was working out at the downtown YMCA yesterday and was panting and sweating as I usually do, when one of the employees asked me why I didn't have any water with me because I needed to hydrate. I said, when I get thirsty, I will get a drink at the water fountain and she responded by saying I should be drinking throughout my workout. We have all heard that drinking eight glasses a water per day is the correct practice. I think that is bunk and one Scottish Doctor agrees in a new paper published in the British Medical Journal. Dr. Margaret McCartney says the eight glass rule is "thoroughly debunked nonsense" that has been perpetuated by the bottled water lobby. McCartney goes on to warn about the dangers of constant hydration which could cause a condition known as hyponatremia, which lowers the percentage of sodium in the body to a level that could be very dangerous. Other medical experts are of course very skeptical of McCartney's findings, saying they were not peer-reviewed, whatever difference that makes. If you are concerned about this one way or the other, the best advice is from the Mayo Clinic which recommends

 if you are thirsty, drink enough fluid so you don't feel thirsty anymore...Duh!