I agree.

My understanding is that medical studies have vacillated over the years as to whether there is, or isn't, a benefit to drinking plenty of water. Whatever. I don't mean to disparage empirical research too much, but I think medical studies are pretty notorious for providing limited guidance. (Caffeine is good for you! No, wait, caffeine is bad for you! Yo-yo dieting is bad for you! No, yo-yo dieting has no effect! Etc.)

My personal experience and the experience of close friends and relatives suggests to me that the typical American does not consume enough water, and that drinking more water provides real benefits that the drinker will feel after just a couple of days of hydration.

I grew up in a family that didn't drink much water. I often felt a sensation I would call "thirst," and I would drink a little to resolve it. Years later, a nutritionist advised me to increase my intake significantly (several litres per day). I must say, I've never experienced such an immediate physical change! Being fully hydrated I feel ALIVE. I'm more alert, I don't have headaches (I used to have them constantly), I don't have water-retention bloat, and my skin is dramatically improved. (The change in skin tone is so remarkable that if I go for *one day* without drinking much water, my skin turns red and itchy -- and previously invisible lines and wrinkles pop up all over my face!)

Interestingly, I now have a much different conception of "thirst," too. When I'm thirsty now, I recognize it as faint irritability, faint headache, and dry skin. Drinking water fixes these problems. I still experience the old "thirst" too -- dry throat and a specific craving for water -- but by *that* point, I'm miserably dehydrated, and can hardly think of anything else. I think I spent all those earlier years in a state of constant dehydration... which is consistent with the fact that I look younger now than I did 5 years ago.

I've convinced several family members and close friends to try a high water intake (high enough that the urine is clear throughout the day). They've all reported the same effects. So I don't know anything about the methodology of these studies, but I'm doubtful because they directly contradict personal experience.