Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | 16 Glasses of water?!? [Part 2]

Here is an article that you may find interesting.

"Drink at least eight glasses of water a day." Really? Is there scientific evidence for "8 x 8"?

available at

http://dms.dartmouth.edu/news/2002_h2/pdf/8x8.pdf

In summary it says "No scientific studies were found in support of 8 x 8. Rather, surveys of food and fluid intake on thousands of adults of both genders, analyses of which have been published in peer-reviewed journals, strongly suggest that such large amounts are not needed because the surveyed persons were presumably healthy and certainly not overtly ill. This conclusion is supported by published studies showing that caffeinated drinks (and, to a lesser extent, mild alcoholic beverages like beer in moderation) may indeed be counted toward the daily total, as well as by the large body of published experiments that attest to the precision and effectiveness of the osmoregulatory system for maintaining water balance."

Regarding constipation the article cites a study and says "The notion that a high fluid intake will facilitate bowel movements was tested by Chung et al. (24). They found, in 15 healthy adults of both genders, that although an extra intake of 1 or 2 liters of either Gatorade or plain water significantly increased urine flow, there was no discernable effect on the output of stool. The authors warn that their results were obtained in healthy adults who did not complain of constipation, and that, therefore, the possibility remains that a high fluid intake might help relieve constipation in those who have it (11). However, inasmuch as the intestines have a large capacity for absorbing extra ingested water (63), the efficacy of a high fluid intake in relieving constipation needs to be proven by well-controlled scientific experiments."

There is a lot of mythology surrounding the required intake of water. This article and many others on the topic suggest there isn't evidence for 8 glasses of water per day including coffee, tea, etc.

Once again I ask some one to please provide me with a reference to a scientific study that indicates that people with IBS require 16 glasses of water per day.

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