I’d always believed the myth that everyone has to drink eight glasses of water a day, but following it took its toll on my bladder.
“Water just goes straight through me,” I’d tell people (sorry if you heard that from me constantly circa 2018-2023).
I’d also constantly panic it meant I wasn’t “absorbing” the H2O I needed.
I’ve since learned, to my relief and my loved ones’, that how much we need to drink depends on the person; we also get moisture from other sources, like food.
And as of yesterday, I’ve also learned that there’s no such thing as “water passing right through you” ― instead, a far more complex process is taking place.
How does it happen?
According to Dr. Michael, who debunks medical myths on TikTok, peeing immediately after you drink doesn’t mean you’re getting rid of the liquid before your body can take in the water it needs.
Nor does it mean, as the person he Stitched suggested, that you’re dehydrated.
While most of us complain of a small bladder, Dr. Micheal explained that “the regulation of how much pee you produce actually comes from the brain.”
Your kidneys are instructed on how much water to filter, and to what extent, by the pituitary gland in your brain, he says.
That’s because that part of your mind “can detect how concentrated or how dilute your blood is.”
If your blood is really concentrated, which is likely to happen when you don’t drink enough water, “it releases a hormone called ADH or vasopressin.”
That tells your kidneys they need to hold on to the water in your blood and reabsorb as much as possible, “and that means that you pee less.”
If you’ve got too much water in your blood, though, less of this hormone is released, “so you pee more.”
That’s not the only effect
Drinking more water can actually make you feel thirstier, the doctor explained in his caption.
“Drinking too much water can cause thirst due to the loss of sodium that follows the excess water you pee out,” he says.
While I have you, let’s dispel another myth ― while it’s probably not a medical emergency, clear pee is very much not the ideal colour.
Cleveland Clinic spoke to urologist Dr. Petar Bajic, who said, “It’s completely normal for the colour of your urine to vary a little day by day, but it should stay within a certain range of yellow.”
If it’s completely transparent, you’re likely drinking too much water. Crystal-clear pee can also be a sign of kidney issues and diabetes, Cleveland Clinic says.
The more you know, I guess...