Why you don't need 8 glasses of water a day | Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter | TED

Transcriber:

You know that whole thing about drinking eight glasses of water a day?

Translator: Penny Martínez Reviewer: Xusto Rodriguez

Sabes todo iso de beber oito vasos de auga ao día?

Sorry to have to tell you this, but it's a myth.

Pois sinto ter que dicircho, pero é un mito.

It won't make your skin brighter,

Non ha facer que a túa pel brille máis,

it won't make you feel clearheaded,

nin que te sintas máis despexado,

it won't make you feel more energetic.

ou con máis enerxía.

It might, however, make you have to pee a lot.

Non obstante, pode facer que teñas que ir moito ao baño.

(Music)

(Música)

[Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter]

[Cousas do corpo coa doutora Jen Gunter]

(Music)

(Música)

Many people don't understand the biology behind their bodies.

Moita xente non entende a bioloxía dos seus corpos.

There's a lot of misinformation out there.

Hai moita desinformación por aí adiante.

But the truth is that when you understand how your systems function,

Pero o certo é que cando entendes como funcionan os teus sistemas,

you're able to make better decisions.

podes tomar mellores decisións.

You're not as prone to fall for hype or pseudoscience.

Non es tan propenso a caer no sensacionalismo ou as pseudociencias.

You'll feel empowered to understand what's really going on.

E sénteste capacitado para entender o que realmente está a suceder.

One myth that really bugs me

Un mito que moito me molesta

is the idea that you need eight glasses of water a day.

é a idea de que precisas beber oito vasos de auga ao día.

Honestly, it's pretty shocking how ingrained it is.

Sinceramente, é bastante impactante o arraigado que está.

You hear it on TV, you see it in articles.

Escoitámolo na TV e vémolo en artigos.

But like I said, it's nonsense.

Pero como dixen, é un disparate.

For the most part,

Polo xeral,

your body will tell you when you need to drink water,

o teu corpo indicarache cando precisas beber auga,

because you've got these wonderful, amazing, undervalued things --

porque tes esas cousas marabillosas, incribles e infravaloradas

kidneys.

chamadas riles.

Kidneys are the bean-shaped organs located to either side of your spine,

Os riles son os órganos en forma de feixón a cada lado da columna vertebral,

right below your ribs.

xusto debaixo das costelas.

They're often thought of as a filter or a waste-removal system,

A miúdo considéranse como un filtro ou un sistema de eliminación de residuos,

but that doesn't do the kidneys justice.

pero iso non lles fai xustiza.

Your body is an environment where everything, fluid and chemicals,

O teu corpo é un contorno onde todo, fluídos e produtos químicos,

needs to be in a delicate balance.

ten que estar nun delicado equilibrio.

The kidneys do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to this balance.

E os riles fan moitos esforzos cando se trata dese equilibrio.

Every day, blood in your body passes through the kidneys.

Todos os días o sangue do teu corpo pasa polos riles.

What you eat, drink, the temperature around you,

O que comes, bebes, a temperatura que te rodea,

how much you exercise --

canto exercicio fas,

all of this affects what's going on with your body.

todo isto aféctalle ao que lle sucede ao teu corpo.

Your kidneys, along with your nervous system and various hormones,

Os riles, xunto co sistema nervioso e varias hormonas,

are constantly watching many gauges

vixían constantemente moitos indicadores

and making adjustments about fluid, salt and levels of other substances

e axustan os fluídos, os sales e os niveis doutras substancias

in real time.

en tempo real.

They do this with about one million tiny structures called nephrons.

Fano con aproximadamente un millón de pequenas estruturas chamadas nefróns.

These nephrons are kind of like workers on a conveyor belt,

Estes nefróns son como traballadores dunha cinta transportadora,

actively adding things and taking things away,

que engaden ou quitan activamente

things like sodium, glucose or sugar, calcium, amino acids and water,

cousas como sodio, glicosa ou azucre, calcio, aminoácidos e auga,

to make sure the body maintains homeostasis, or balance.

para asegurarse de que o corpo mantén a homeostase, ou o equilibrio.

If levels of anything get too high or too low,

Se os niveis de algo son altos ou baixos de máis,

then that can be harmful.

iso pode ser prexudicial.

And it is the job of the kidneys

E o traballo dos riles

to keep the levels of many of these substances in the just-right zone.

é manter os niveis de moitas destas substancias na zona xusta.

Substances that aren't needed leave the kidney

As substancias que non son necesarias saen do ril

and head to the bladder,

e diríxense á vexiga,

where you excrete them in the form of urine.

onde as excretamos en forma de ouriños.

So where do eight glasses of water a day fit in?

Entón, onde encaixan os oito vasos de auga ao día?

They don't.

En ningures.

Noticed that I did not say

Fíxate que non dixen

that the kidney function is improved with excess water.

que a función renal mellorase co exceso de auga.

Imagine that you're sweating a lot,

Imaxina que estás a suar moito,

so you're losing water from your blood.

así que o teu sangue está perdendo auga.

The kidneys know your blood volume is dropping ever so slightly

Os riles saben que o teu volume de sangue baixa un pouco

and that your blood is getting ever so slightly saltier.

e que o teu sangue estase salgando aos poucos.

They compensate by absorbing more water back into the blood,

E compénsano mandando máis auga de volta ao sangue,

making the urine more concentrated.

o que provoca que a urina estea máis concentrada.

If the kidneys sense enough fluid can't be reabsorbed from the urine,

Se os riles senten que non se pode reabsorber líquido abondo dos ouriños,

you're signaled to drink, meaning you get thirsty.

dan a orde de que bebas, o que fai que teñas sede.

If you don't have fluid available,

Se non tes líquido dispoñible,

the thirst message gets stronger and stronger.

a mensaxe da sede faise cada vez máis forte.

A person facing real dehydration won't be unsure if they need water.

Quen se enfronta a unha deshidratación real non terá dubida de que precisa auga.

They'll do whatever they need to get it.

E fará o que precise para conseguila.

It's one of our most basic instincts

É un dos nosos instintos máis básicos

that's evolved over a very long time,

que evolucionou ao longo de moito tempo,

in environments where clean water

en ambientes onde a auga limpa

wasn't nearly as readily available as it is today.

non estaba tan fácilmente dispoñible coma hoxe.

So thanks to your kidneys,

Entón, grazas aos teus riles,

your body is really good at maintaining hydration.

ao teu corpo dáselle moi ben manter a hidratación.

But if you stop counting eight glasses of water a day,

Pero se paras de contar os oito vasos de auga ao día,

how much should you be drinking?

canto deberías beber?

The answer is simple:

A resposta é sinxela:

there is no should.

non hai que contar nada.

When you feel thirsty, drink some water.

Cando teñas sede, bebe un pouco de auga.

You can trust your body.

Podes confiar no teu corpo.

Unless you have kidney stones or are elderly --

Salvo que teñas pedras nos riles ou sexas un ancián,

sometimes, our messaging systems get a little worn with age --

xa que ás veces, os sistemas de mensaxería atóanse un pouco coa idade,

or your doctor has told you otherwise,

pero a menos que o teu médico diga o contrario,

constantly monitoring how much water you drink

vixiar constantemente a cantidade de auga que bebes

is not really necessary.

non é realmente necesario.

Here's a point that's often missed:

E hai outro punto que moitas veces esquecemos:

every single thing you consume contains water.

cada cousa que consomes contén auga.

Your morning coffee has water, so does your breakfast.

O teu café de pola mañá ten auga, e tamén o teu almorzo.

And that snack -- an apple, an orange, a glass of juice, a granola bar --

E a merenda: unha mazá, unha laranxa, un vaso de zume ou unha barra de granola,

just like you, they're made of water too.

están feitos, coma ti, de auga.

So as long as you're listening to your body's internal sense of thirst,

Entón, mentres escoites a sede interna do teu corpo,

there's really no need to be counting those eight glasses.

non precisas contar eses oito vasos.