How did the myth that we need to drink 8 glasses of water a day start?
It is unclear exactly how this myth started. A lot of scientists agree that eight glasses of fluid a day are perfectly healthy, but nutritionists admit that they cannot find a study that specifies that number. Says Professor Barbara Rolls, a Penn State University Nutritionist, for scientists, to have to admit they dont know the origin of something is very frustrating. Nevertheless, for years magazines, websites, and commercials have been telling people to drink up. Not surprisingly, bottled water is the fastest-growing drink in America. By 2005, analysts predict that bottled water will be outselling coffee or milk. Anything thats good for us is even better for the industry. (http://www.komotv.com/news/printstory.asp?id=18541) Paul Thomas of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington had the best explanation for the origin of the myth. The academys Food and Nutrition Board publishes the United States recommended daily allowances. In the first edition, in 1943, there was no mention o
