Eight glasses a day? That's nonsense

I KNEW IT: The whole 'eight glasses of water a day' thing? Yeah. It's nonsense. "Not only does drinking eight glasses of water fail to deliver on those [mentioned in the article, so read it] health benefits, but it can actually have detrimental effects — such as hyponatremia, a low-blood-sodium condition common to marathon runners." That is, according to an editorial written by GP Margaret McCartney.

SOME REBUTTAL: Thomas Sanders, a professor of nutrition and dietetics from King’s College London, disagrees. “Appropriate hydration is particularly important for the elderly and the very young and for most people it is better to obtain most fluid intake from water, whether bottled or tap water, than from other beverages (especially sugar containing and alcoholic beverages). … MacCartney [sic] focused on the more whacky claims made for water and appeared to cherry pick her references to make a story.”