A weight loss organization with over 650 centers throughout the U.S.A., Canada, and Germany urges its patrons to drink at least eight to 12 glasses of water every day, and even possibly more, as part of its program, a letter to the editor of New England Journal of Medicine (312:246) reports.

The writer of the letter, a Stanford University Medical School physician, had three patients with a recent recurrence of epileptic seizures. All three were epileptics but, with medication, had been seizure-free for many years.

They began to have seizures again after drinking more water, as recommended by the weight loss organization. Since excessive hydration is known to bring on seizures, especially in those who are already prone to them, drinking eight to 12 glasses of water a day cannot safely be recommended for everybody.

A good rule is to drink enough so that one produces about a quart of pale urine every day. If one does not drink enough, the urine becomes dark and too scanty. Of course, depending upon the climate, one’s temperature, and how much one sweats, even more than 12 glasses of water a day might sometimes be needed.

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