HHS HealthBeat (February 15, 2008)

Can you believe this?

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Drink eight glasses of water a day. And don’t read in dim light. 

So they say.

But are they right?

Aaron Carroll of Indiana University School of Medicine reviewed medical truisms to see if they really are true. Carroll, whose work is supported by the National Institutes of Health, coauthored a report in BMJ, the British medical journal.

So about those eight glasses of water. You usually get what you need, and you don’t need to make a special point of eight glasses. And dim light may make your eyes sore, but reading in it doesn’t cause blindness.

Carroll advises patients and doctors – if you have questions, speak up:

``Asking why, and trying to understand better why we do what we do, is not a sin, and is not a problem. And it should be encouraged.’’ (6 seconds)

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: February, 14 2008