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Dear Derrick:
In most cases, the answer would be no--because your body says so! It's equipped with one of the
best automatic water management systems around, so you'll definitely want to listen to it. Those
signals you get to drink or excrete water are all signs that your body is working to maintain
homeostasis, or internal fluid balance. And you'll know them when you feel them: a dry mouth or a
thirsty feeling lets you know that you're dehydrated and need to replenish your fluids. Conversely,
a feeling of fullness from drinking enough water is one of your body's ways of telling you to stop
drinking. Since the average person needs at least six to eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day to
keep the body's systems running smoothly, it all adds up to a lot of H20 to process.
But the importance of managing water properly boils down to this: it's the stuff of life!
Without the right balance of H20 the body couldn't do amazing tasks like use and transport
nutrients, digest foods, maintain body temperature, move metabolic wastes through sweat, urine, and
feces, lubricate joints, give form to cells, help the immune system and conduct thousands of
chemical reactions that take place in the body all the time. (Hey, I've worked up a sweat just
describing all of these functions to you!)
While our kidneys are designed to filter and process fifteen liters of water a day (the
equivalent of sixty glasses of fluid), it is possible to consume too much H20 in rare cases. A
person with an unusual illness called psychogenic polydipsia can drink unhealthy amounts of water.
But this abnormal thirst is based on a psychological disorder rather than on dehydration. So, for
the most part, you can indeed raise a glass (of water) and drink to your health.
Signed,
Wendell
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