Chapter 2. Water Damage
“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860)
The infatuation with fiber brought with it another menace—the proverbial eight glasses of water. Everyone and their dog insists that you MUST drink eight glass of water a day for health and beauty. Well, if you follow this advice, you’re assured of disease and premature aging, which is just the opposite of the original intent.
Water Abuse:
They Play With Words, You Pay With Health
Drinking more water does nothing to lower cholesterol, nothing to prevent colon cancer, nothing to make stools “wetter” or softer, and nothing to alleviate constipation. If anything, the more you drink, the worse all of those things are going to get, including fiber dependence and constipation.
Why, then, does the advice to drink more water invariably accompany the advice to eat more fiber? Apparently, because of associative word play: if a hard stool is dry, then water supposedly makes it moist. As it turns out, this is pure fiction, based on observational conjectures derived from several unrelated facts:
- Conjecture #1: Because fiber absorbs water (true), it will increase stool moisture. Wrong! Dietary fiber in stools doesn’t retain water any better than other cellular components, except psyllium seeds in laxatives [1] (a mere 5% more). Word play: dry/moist.
- Conjecture #2: Because fiber is so highly water-absorbent (true), it requires additional water. Wrong for two reasons! First, up to 75% of fiber [2], including insoluble fiber, gets fermented by intestinal bacteria and doesn’t require any water. Second, the remaining fiber gets all the water it needs from up to seven liters of digestive juices, which are secreted daily inside the alimentary canal. Word play: dry/wet, absorb/water.
- Conjecture #3: Water is needed to prevent intestinal obstructions from dietary fiber: Wrong! Water, actually, expands the fiber four to five times its original volume and weight [3], and if anything makes obstruction even more likely. Word play: plug/solvent.
- Conjecture #4: Water is needed to prevent esophageal obstructions with fiber laxatives. True, water is needed to dissolve fiber powder before taking it, but this has nothing to do with regular food, bodily needs, or constipation, only with drug safety. Word play: dumb/and dumber.
If you still have your doubts (can’t really blame you), here is a quote from a Journal of American Dietetic Association’s article, entitled “Health Implications of Dietary Fiber”:
It is a common but erroneous belief that the increased weight [of stool] is due primarily to water. [4]
But that’s not all. Too much water (with or without the fiber) causes more problems than you may realize. Besides, you may consume too much water even if you ignore the ubiquitous “eight glasses” advice altogether. This happens because our bodies replenish water from four principal sources:
- From drinking water. Tap, well, spring, and mineral are the primary sources of unadulterated water. Its volume is apparent and easily measurable, because that’s what you drink—100% water.
- From fluids and drinks of all kinds: colas, seltzer, coffee, tea, juices, dairy, wine, beer, milk, soups, sauces, and so forth. The water content ranges from 85%–99.9%, and most of it is all apparent and measurable as well.
- Water hidden in solid food. Water is the largest single component of most food, ranging from 50%–70% in meats to 75%–96% in fruits and vegetables. This water isn’t apparent until you squeeze it out under the press or in the juicer.
- Water from metabolic oxidation. Water is formed as the by-product of many biochemical reactions that take place inside the body, and is actively reused. This water is hidden, completely out of view.
Hidden water happens to be as real as water from any other source. But because almost no one counts hidden water, the total daily intake may easily go through the roof. Keep reading!