Question: I hear that adults are supposed to drink eight glasses of water a day. That seems like a lot, and people come in different sizes. What do you recommend?

Dr. Brownstein's Answer:

My primary recommendation on the use of water is that you ensure an adequate water intake every day. It is impossible to achieve optimum health or to recover from a chronic illness without adequate water intake.

The best way to figure your ideal water consumption level is to take your body weight in pounds, divide by two, and then use the result in ounces as your guide. For instance, a 200 pound man should drink 100 ounces of water a day. There are about eight ounces in a glass, so that’s 12-and-a-half glasses. Similarly, a 120 pound woman would need just 60 ounces, so that’s seven-and-a-half glasses a day.

If you exercise or have a physically active job, you might need even more.

As for the water itself, I recommend that you use a filter that removes fluoride and chlorine, as well as bacteria and parasites. There are many water filters on the market that meet these requirements. Since a filter system removes many minerals from tap water along with the toxic agents you don’t want, it is important to take daily vitamin and mineral
supplements.