Chug chug chug

Not sure why, but I am on a holier than thou kick at the moment, so here is another social health commentary, with a bit of a performance element just for relevance.
*actually this was partly inspired by a comment made by Simon the other day at coffee, so he is to blame.

As the weather warms, the clothes get more revealing and the water bottle re-emerges as the accessory du jour. They can be seen sprouting out from backpacks and bulging inside briefcases. The type of water bottle that is used says a lot about its carrier. The outdoorsy types, who used to rely on Nalgenes, decorated with the decals of their favourite outdoor company, or a city name and crest of their last trip, have replaced their trusty companions for metallic options, for fear of contaminating their water supply with leaching chemicals. The yoga crowd touts the latest colour and design concept for the 2010 season, their bottles tucked neatly alongside their yoga mat and a perfect accessory to their stretchy pant The business crowd tends to opt for the convenience of bottled water. Around the work day, early in the morning, late at night and on weekends, water is holstered into various contraptions worn around the waste and the backs of people as they diligently follow an exercise or training regime.
Despite their unique identities, each of these individual groups share in their devotion to the cult of hydration, religiously sipping fluid at every chance they get. They are wisely following the inundation, or flood (good metaphors) of warnings, telling them to keep their fluid intake up, or else…As the thermometer rises, these threats and warnings get louder. The first advisory was given this past weekend in Toronto, when Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Toronto's Acting Medical Officer of Health, issued one of the summer's first heat alert in Canada. As expected, the warnings were about: Drinking lots of water and natural fruit juices; Staying out of the blazing sun or heat; Avoiding strenuous physical activity outdoors. Instead, they commend visiting shopping malls, local libraries or air conditioned community centres to cool down. lest the evils of dehydration and heat stroke cause the city to collapse.
I am definitely not opposed to hydrating, I have been known to take a gulp or two of water myself, what I do find funny is the obsession with chugging fluids and hitting target amounts. One of the problems is that a lot of the evidence and research into hydration comes from groups like Coke and the Gatorade Sport Science Institute, who have an obvious bias in the matter.
The Science of sport did an excellent three part series on performance and hydration that I would recommend reading:
Part I-History of fluid intake and conflict of interest
Part II-Fluid intake, dehydration and exercise
Part III-Fluid intake, dehydration and exercise

Mark Sisson, of Mark’s Daily Apple also has a view of modern hydration habits. Similarly, his view is that there isn’t much basis for the 8 cups a day mantra that we hear so often. He believes that, assuming a sound diet of fruit and vegetables, that we get enough fluid through our diets and daily practices to stay more than adequately hydrated. He claims that over-hydration has some harmful side effects, such as electrolyte depletion, and potentially lowering the acidity in your stomach, which hurts with food digestion.
I saw first hand the effects of over-hydration last summer when my Trans Rockies partner, Aaron Heidt, a seasoned ultra-runner and overall fast dude, relegated to walking along a trail, likely because his system had shut down due to a lack of electrolytes and over-hydrating with water. It is a horrible feeling, that leaves you dizzy and weak. I know that growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, I would play outside, under a tropical sun for hours with barely anything to drink. I am always amazed to see the small mountain of water bottles beside playing fields here.
I am not arguing not to drink and staying hydrated, there have been some credible studies on the matter. Rather, I am saying that a lot of these studies and the public claims that follow them are seriously overblown. As with anything, drink in moderation. The human body is incredibly resilient and if you maintain an overall healthy lifestyle, you don’t need to obsessively be drinking. However if you need to have the latest seasonal water bottle accessory to complete your look, go for the yoga, sporty or outdoorsy look and carry your own water bottle, disposable water bottles are poor choice!