It's time someone had the cajones to take on Big Water: a Glasgow-based doctor has published a new report claiming that all those studies that suggest people should drink a lot of water and stay hydrated is all hogwash and balderdash. General practitioner Margaret McCartney argues that drinking the recommended eight glasses a day can actually be harmful for you, and the benefits of it are often exaggerated by "organisations with vested interests" such as bottled water brands.
McCartney describes the danger of dehydration as a "myth," and argues that there is no evidence behind claims that water prevents multiple health problems. She says that research shows that drinking when not thirsty can impair concentration (which this writer finds to have quite the opposite effect), and that chemicals used for disinfection found in bottled water could be bad for your health (which we already knew). You can also lose sleep from drinking too much water...because you'll have to get up to go to the toilet so many times!
As if all that didn't have us worried enough, McCartney also states ominously that taking on too much water can lead to a rare but potentially fatal condition called hyponatraemia, during which the body’s salt levels drop and can lead to swelling of the brain. Between the original article and the Daily Mail's alarmist write-up, we're pretty worried about the 57 percent of our total body weight which may be killing us from within even as we type, like some David Cronenberg-nightmare scenario. McCarthy may not be the Erin Brockovich we want, but she's the Erin Brockovich we deserve.
