Water Myths

According to Today's Article 4 water myths have been debunked by a couple of kidney experts.

The truths are:

• Drinking water before and after a meal does not suppress appetite. Water is absorbed too quickly, and does not produce any appetite-suppressing hormones (as far as they know).


• Drinking more water produces more urine, but does not rid the body of toxins more.


• Drinking more water improves your skin.
  
  I have to take issue with this one. At one point I had quite a few zits until someone told me to stop drinking sugared drinks, and drink water instead. I did, and in a little while my face cleared right up. Of course, that's anecdotal and could be because of the reduction of sugar, rather than the increase of water consumption.


• Water does not get rid of a headache.
  
  I also have to take issue with this one. Headaches can be caused by many things: you slept the wrong way, dehydration, too much caffeine, not enough caffeine, meningitis, loud noises, trying to get Microsoft Windows to work. If the cause is dehydration, then drinking water should help.
  
  But, I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV.

Also, note that drinking too much water at one time can cause your brain to swell, and you die. Also, apparently, long distance runners do more damage to their body by over-drinking than under-drinking.

And the old adage about needing to drink 8 glasses of water a day? That, like the "you only use 10% of your brain" adage is a myth.