The Health | jan/Feb, 2020
24
Nutrition
they can lose weight simply by drinking water.
There a few layers going into the matter in
actuality.
Firstly, the common advice: ‘drink more
water’ actually translates into ‘sub-
stitute your usual sugary drinks
with water instead’. Some
might not look at it that way,
unfortunately.
We must consider the other
What some don't
factors contributing to weight
realised however,
gain. A sedentary lifestyle and
that the food and
an unhealthy diet are main
drinks we consume
contributors, and drinking
also contain
more water without improving
water
these other factors may only lead
to disappointment and frustration.
Fact
Myths in drinking water
Here are some misconceptions about drinking water we might to rethink about
P
erhaps one of the most vital act
we do as humans is to consume
water. Life shall cease to exist if
there is no water. And because of
how common it is for us to drink
the liquid life-giver, we should
know some of the facts and misconceptions
we take for granted.
Here are three of the most common mis-
conceptions about water you should know.
Having eight glasses
of water a day
should be used as an
indicator rather than
a rule. We may fill
up eight glasses of
water mostly through
the drinks, fruit, and
vegetables that we eat
in a day.
1. Eight glasses is more of a
guideline rather than a rule
It is common knowledge that a good amount
of water to consume a day is set to eight
glasses. It is for us to stay hydrated and func-
tion properly.
What some don’t realise however, that
the food and drinks we consume also contain
water.
The source of this ‘myth’ is theorised to
come from a 1945 Food and Nutrition Board
recommendation in the US, which recom-
mended that we need about 2.5 litres of water
a day. The statement resulted in people set-
ting the standard at eight glasses of water to
meet that quota.
What we may have overlooked however,
is the rest of the recommendation. Here’s
a quote from the official recommendation
from the 1945 Food and Nutrition Board:
“Most of this quantity is contained in pre-
pared foods.”
The ‘eight glasses of water’ were only
intended to be an indicator or a quota to how
much water we should consume in a day, not
to set a definite rule of drinking eight glasses
of water a day.
We drink all sorts of drinks and eat plenty of
food in a day’s time don’t we? They also provide
us with the water we need to stay hydrated.
So here’s the bottom line; Although
drinking plain water is by far the best way
to stay hydrated, we must also think of the
coffee, tea, juice, fruits, and vegetables that
we consume throughout the day. That, with a
adequate plain water, is enough to fill up eight
glasses for the day.
2. Drinking water absolutely
result in weight loss
A curious myth to talk about, as some believes
Tackling myths
on diet and high
cholesterol
MYTH#2:All fats are bad fats
FACT: There are four kinds of deitary fats: Saturated,
trans, monounsaturated, and
Drink up!
All in all, the misconceptions we have about
drinking water have always stemmed from
the need to keep ourselves well-hydrated.
Just remember, you don’t have to drink
exactly eight glasses of water every day, it
helps with weight loss (given you are also
changing other debilitating habits), and
it makes our body function at its most
optimum level.
So, raise your glasses, mugs, an water
bottles and drink up to good health! — The
Health
polyunsaturated, 26g of monounsaturated and zero
trans fat! Trans fats are the only type of dietary fats we
do not need in our bodies.
MYTH#3: We can only get
omega 3 and 6 from supplements
FACT: Omega 3 and 6 can be obtained from natural
food sources or food fortified with omega 3. For
example, food such as sardines and hazelnut are natu-
rally high in omega 3, while soy bean oil and corn oil
are high in omega 6.
Eggs and milk for instance, may be fortified with
omega 3 and 6.
SOME things about our diet may not be as you
thought it was
MYTH#1: We should
not consume fat, ever!
FACT: Dietary fat is very important to our health, it
performs many functions to ensure our body remains
functional. For example, the absorption of vitamins A,
D, E, and k requires dietary fat.
The recommended intake of dietary fat is 30 per
cent of our total calorie intake per day. This means that
if we are on a 1,800kcal diet (per day of calories) we
should be consuming 60g of fat a day, equivalent to 12
teaspoons of oil.
3. Greater complexion
by drinking more water
More common among the ladies rather than
the men, this myth stems from the need to
improve our looks without the use of cosmet-
ics or skincare.
Extreme dehydration can and will result
in dry and wrinkled skin, but it would take
a tremendous amount of water deprivation
before that would start to happen (stuck-in-
a-dessert type of deprivation).
A world-renowned dietitian Amy Hess-
Fischl tackled the misconception in one of
her articles. It reads:
“Basically, the moisture level of skin
is not determined by internal factors.
Instead, external factors such as skincare,
the immediate environment, the number
of one’s oil glands, and the how these oil-
producing glands function determines how
dry the skin is or will become. The water
that is consumed internally will not reach
the epidermis (top layer of the skin).”
Having said that, Hess-Fischl does say that
It doesn’t hurt our skin to stay well-hydrated
nonetheless.
“Our kidneys filter out the bad stuf we
don’t need and excrete them through urine.
Therefore sufficient hydration helps make
that process easier — Less waists in our
bodies means less effect on our overall health,
including the skin.”
polysaturated. Each type performs different functions
for the body. Choosing the correct amount of each type
can help optimise cholesterol levels.
Using the same example from above, if we are to
only consume 30 per cent of fat in a 1,800kcal diet, we
should be taking 16g of saturated fatty acid, 12g of
MYTH#4:I have high cholesterol so I
cannot eat high cholesterol food
FACT: Our body needs a certain amount of cholesterol
to maintain proper function. The amount of choles-
terol we consume meets about 20 per cent of our body
requirements. The other 80 per cent will be generated
by our liver.
If we were to consume more cholesterol, our body
generates less, and vice versa. Therefore, it is not ben-
eficial to avoid food for the sole purpose of avoiding
cholesterol altogether. — The Health