h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The article makes a big deal about getting enough water to drink, which seems to me to be a common misconception. While you probably do need 8 glasses of water a day, almost all people living in modern countries probably get that much or more, when you count the fruits and vegetables you eat, the morning coffee, the trips to the water fountain, the sports drinks, etc.

From what I've read, while caffeine IS a diuretic, the ample water in caffeine drinks makes this irrevelant and can actually rehydrate pretty well. My personal experience with such drinks also confirms this.

And the statement "Don't rely on thrist to tell you when need to drink" is ridiculous. You can get thristy and still be pretty far from dehydrating. The major exceptions are, of course, when the weather is hot or you when you are excercising. (Or if you have some sort of dehyrdration disorder?)

Believe me, drinking extra water during the day when you're not thristy only leads to frequent trips to the restroom. I personally have to watch my water intake so this doesn't happen to me.

As an interesting side note, for a few days you might keep track of the amount of water you drink. You can estimate how much water is in the foods you eat (various websites can help you with this). Chances are you already drink more that enough water.

I'd heard it was that you had to drink that much water in addition to any that you take in by food, not that your water intake had to be that in total.

I've found that by cutting out coffee and cola and drinking more water, I use the toilet much less. That was really handy when I was driving a cab, it meant I didn't have to keep driving out of my way to find a toilet I could park near without having to keep paying to go into car parks!