Do You Drink Enough Water Each Day?

[NanoSour]

I love drinking water above any other beverage. I keep a full Brita on the counter as I like my water at room temperature. Easier to gulp down a full glass IMO. I'm good most days for 60-80 ozs and keep my eye on urine color to decide if I'm drinking enough for activity level.

 

[badatmath]

I recently read that milk is an excellent rehydration drink as it stays in your system longer. Water goes passing through pretty quickly. I admit this is news and not a medical journal.

https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/milk-hydration-better-than-water-study-drinks-scotland/

 

[Koolau]

I recently read that milk is an excellent rehydration drink as it stays in your system longer. Water goes passing through pretty quickly. I admit this is news and not a medical journal.

https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/milk-hydration-better-than-water-study-drinks-scotland/

Milk has great overall nutrition but also contains a fair amount of sugar (lactose) and lots of milk fat. I think I'll stay with water though milk may be better for others.

 

[badatmath]

I cannot remember what forum I was on recently a lady said her doctor had told her to quit carrying her "emotional support water bottle" . . . that she was actually over drinking requirements. I am assuming I was reading something weight loss or fitness oriented but the term did amuse me.

We all managed to get this old without dragging stuff around with us.

I do have a new doctor coming up in a couple of weeks I will ask them if I get a chance.

 

[badatmath]

Ugh, one of those "died from too much water" stories. https://nypost.com/2023/08/03/indiana-mom-of-two-dies-from-drinking-too-much-water/

 

[Amethyst]

I don't really measure the water I consume, but I drink some water at the slightest hint of thirst, and always have a water bottle in the car and at the gym. Coming in after a couple of hours of working outside in the heat and humidity, I can down a 20-ounce glass of ice water in about 3 seconds.

Often, I add a squirt of one of these flavors to my water https://sturdrinks.com/

The local tap water is horrid, so I have a whole-house carbon filter to take out the Chlorine, Ammonia, particulates and viruses. To catch even smaller molecules, I'm having a reverse-osmosis filter installed in my utility sink.

 

[eytonxav]

I wonder if BPH surgery would allow me to drink more water without all the bathroom trips I suffer from when I do?

 

[JoeWras]

I never drink water. Well, perhaps 4 - 8 ounces per month total. I drink one pot of coffee per day; hot, caffeinated, straight - no creamer or sweetener. That is 12 six ounce cups. I have been doing this for 50+ years (Currently 70 yo). I lived most of that time in TX where heat is inevitable. I guess I'm an outlier.

This is what my grandmother and my father did. Both made it to 90+. Dad was a tradesman. Rarely drank water on the job, mostly coffee.

I go through 4-5 750 milliliter whiskey bottles of water every day

For a second there...

Ugh, one of those "died from too much water" stories. https://nypost.com/2023/08/03/indiana-mom-of-two-dies-from-drinking-too-much-water/

My uncle (dad's brother) died from this. He had schizophrenia. Water intoxication is a well known complication of this disease. He had a second refrigerator just for water. His favorite method of water intake was via long handled ceramic covered sauce pans. You'd open the fridge and there were 8 or 9 in there. He'd grab one and just drink like a cowboy.

Despite this, it never troubled him for 25 years or so. It was when he was in is 50s and moved to a group home that it got him. They restricted his water intake. Once he found a source and rapidly drank. That did him in. He was better off having open access which he drank slowly, even though it was gallons per day.

 

[O2Bfree]

I don't measure my intake, but check my output color to keep an eye on my hydration level. I definitely feel better when I'm drinking enough to keep the color light.

DH is fanatic about clean water. He worked in the city water department and often said you don't want to know what goes on at some of the reservoirs, pump stations, and treatment plants. He also doesn't want to drink fluoride. So even though our city water is known for its purity and good taste, he got us a Berkey filter.

 

[Koolau]

I don't measure my intake, but check my output color to keep an eye on my hydration level. I definitely feel better when I'm drinking enough to keep the color light.

DH is fanatic about clean water. He worked in the city water department and often said you don't want to know what goes on at some of the reservoirs, pump stations, and treatment plants. He also doesn't want to drink fluoride. So even though our city water is known for its purity and good taste, he got us a Berkey filter.

Thank you for not sharing what went on at some of the reservoirs, pump stations and treatment plants.

 

[CardsFan]

This thread reminds of a comment I read somewhere:

If you are still drinking Smart Water, it's not working.

I think I said this before, but I keep a tumbler of ice water going all day. I just prefer water to drink with any meal (I cannot eat a meal without a glass of water, and just can't fathom how someone can eat food with out drinking something, but a lot of folks do, so maybe I am the weird one), or just because I am thirsty.

 

[Koolau]

This thread reminds of a comment I read somewhere:

If you are still drinking Smart Water, it's not working.

I think I said this before, but I keep a tumbler of ice water going all day. I just prefer water to drink with any meal (I cannot eat a meal without a glass of water, and just can't fathom how someone can eat food with out drinking something, but a lot of folks do, so maybe I am the weird one), or just because I am thirsty.

Yeah, I can't imagine eating a meal without water to go with it. At a restaurant, I'll typically require at least one refill on my water glass. YMMV

 

[Pluperfect]

My belief is that as long as you're not thirsty and your urine isn't dark you're doing fine.

Even dark urine might not mean anything.

I heard this when it was first broadcast, and found it enlightening:

https://www.npr.org/2022/09/21/1124371309/busting-common-hydration-water-myths

The written summary is pretty good, but the actual broadcast is more informative.

While we get water from many drinks, some are counterproductive re: hydration (e.g. beer/alcohol, excessively sugary, caffeinated).

Caffeinated drinks being de-hydrating is one of the myths they're busting. They say that belief is based on a study in 1928 that looked at three people.

I drink very little water. Pretty much all the water I drink comes from my Sodastream, and I keep track and have made 26 liters in the last five months, so that's a little over a liter a week. I drink more soft drinks or sweet tea, but still nowhere near 8 glasses of anything a day. I very rarely drink flat water--I don't like it.

I just don't seem to need a lot of liquids. I thought about this thread the other day when I was mountainbiking. About 30 minutes in, I took a couple of sips from my boyfriend's Camelbak, but no more after that because we split off from each other. When I got back to the parking lot an hour after that, I had water in the car but decided to ride in circles around the parking lot while waiting for him to get back, but he got delayed and I ended up doing an extra two miles just doing leisurely riding around in the little dirt parking lot another half an hour. I could have stopped and gotten some water out of the car, but I didn't feel thirsty or want any water, after two hours of moving.

That's pretty typical for me.

Of course there have been times when I've been exercising and I get thirsty, and if that happens I'll drink something. For a few years when I was around 40, I took a hip hop dance class two or three times a week that was very intensive. I'd always take a quart of water with me and usually would finish it over the course of the hour. But I haven't exercised like that since then, and never drink water like that any more.


I remember when I used to go to Jazzercise four times a week back in the 1980s, I would stop at a convenience store on the way and buy a 39-cent 32-ounce Diet Coke with a splash of cherry coke and suck on that all during the class. (That was long before I realized diet drinks taste horrible and switched to the glories of sugar.) I drank even less water back then than I do now because fizzy water wasn't a thing.

All of which is to say people are different, but recommendations like 8 glasses of water a day don't account for that. Plus, that recommendation in particular doesn't take into account the water in food, or other beverages people might drink, and is therefore pretty bogus on its face.

Then again, I'm the one who went 12 years between teeth cleanings and was told by the dental hygienist, "Keep doing what you're doing." I seem to be pretty low maintenance, and wonder if there are other people who might be, too, but never find out because they don't look beyond the recommendations.

 

[jollystomper]

I do not track my water intake. I estimate between water, homemade non-sugared drinks made with water, and zero sugar soda I probably drink somewhere around 60-70 ounces. Golfing days are the highest, as I usually drink a couple of bottles on water during and after golf, in addition to my normal drinking routine.

My brother the doctor does not go with the 64 ounce rule, he focuses on urine color. If it is clear, you are getting enough water. He also recommended balancing what you drink other than water with water. For example if you drink a 12 ounce can of zero sugar soda, drink 12 ounces of water.

 

[JoeWras]

Caffeinated drinks being de-hydrating is one of the myths they're busting. They say that belief is based on a study in 1928 that looked at three people.

My dad would have been dead long ago if his black coffee didn't re-hydrate him on the job.

Alcohol is another matter... Although, I think it depends on the strength. You hear time and time again that colonial America depended on beer instead of water because they knew it was safer. Even the kids got beer. This stuff had low alcohol content. Not sure how low, but probably well below 3%.

 

[Jenna]

Drinking to much water can be stressful on your body. Try adding salt to cut that stress/adrenaline response. I drink a lot of milk...probably less than a cup of water a day and sometimes that's just in my coffee. Healthy and feel great. I follow a bioenergetic view of nutrition.

 

[Chuckanut]

Here’s a good article by Peter Attia on aging and dehydration.

https://peterattiamd.com/hydration-...l-nonsubs&mc_cid=32fdf3fa78&mc_eid=8e846bc7a6

A little over a year ago, I became rather painfully aware of the importance of hydration when extreme volume depletion and consequent low blood pressure caused me to temporarily lose consciousness and fall into a table. Fortunately for me, my long-term consequences were limited to a couple of minor scars, but for many – and the elderly in particular – similar episodes can lead to debilitating injuries or death.

But the elderly aren’t just at greater risk of serious consequences when they happen to get dehydrated – they are also more likely to get dehydrated in the first place.

 

[Chuckanut]

Drinking to much water can be stressful on your body. Try adding salt to cut that stress/adrenaline response. I drink a lot of milk...probably less than a cup of water a day and sometimes that's just in my coffee. Healthy and feel great. I follow a bioenergetic view of nutrition.

I’ve rediscovered milk as an excellent food. Thankfully, I am not sensitive to it. It has protein and calcium two things many older people need more of as we age and our bodies don’t work as efficiently as in our youth. Add in the fact that it hydrates us and it makes sense to down a few glasses each day.

 

[harley]

I’ve rediscovered milk as an excellent food. Thankfully, I am not sensitive to it. It has protein and calcium two things many older people need more of as we age and our bodies don’t work as efficiently as in our youth. Add in the fact that it hydrates us and it makes sense to down a few glasses each day.

Similarly, I have always understood the value of milk products. My bones are strong, due to a lifetime of BTDing on Ben and Jerry's, mostly Cherry Garcia. From what I understand now, anything that would be liquid at room temperature counts as a liquid. I'm sure the cherries have helped too.

 

[Koolau]

Here’s a good article by Peter Attia on aging and dehydration.

https://peterattiamd.com/hydration-...l-nonsubs&mc_cid=32fdf3fa78&mc_eid=8e846bc7a6

Some good info there, but I was disappointed that he didn't say much about preventing dehydration. His take seemed to be "build muscle mass." A good idea in the long run, but "forcing fluids" would be more appropriate for the short term, I would think. And how do you do that? Is there a way to make water taste "good." A shot of lemon? Crystalite? Other?


My mom eventually went to the nursing home (memory unit) because of dehydration. When I would visit each day, I would try to get her to drink water, but she simply refused. She didn't want it and I couldn't force it down her. So she got a UTI and went to the hospital and it was all down hill after that. I believe she would have been okay for another year at home with me setting up her pills, checking her eating, being certain she was bathing, checking her mail, paying her bills, etc., etc. BUT her one severe episode of dehydration took away that possibility IMO.

 

[swakyaby]

Is there a way to make water taste "good." A shot of lemon? Crystalite? Other?.

I spent most of my adulthood drinking too little fluids, and plain water was too unappealing to me. Last month, I discovered SodaStream carbonated water maker and Bubly drops fruit essence flavor enhancers. My daily water consumption has gone up significantly. It’s not for people who enjoy highly sugary drinks, but the light fruit essence is much more appealing than plain water.

 

[Koolau]

I spent most of my adulthood drinking too little fluids, and plain water was too unappealing to me. Last month, I discovered SodaStream carbonated water maker and Bubly drops fruit essence flavor enhancers. My daily water consumption has gone up significantly. It’s not for people who enjoy highly sugary drinks, but the light fruit essence is much more appealing than plain water.

Sounds great. I used to like plain soda water (2 cents plain!) with a good squirt of lime juice. I'll have to look into the SodaStream. Currently soda water from the store is quite expensive (more so than on-sale soda-pop.) And then you have those plastic bottles to get rid of. Thanks.

 

[Dtail]

Pay 10 cents for a 16.9 oz bottle of purified water.

 

[sengsational]

Here’s a good article by Peter Attia on aging and dehydration.

I listened to an episode of "The Drive" recently and Attia suggested that as people age they "loose the ability to concentrate urine." And the discussion went on to suggest that the urine color becomes less useful as we get up in age.

I didn't know that if your (young) body was needing more water than it had, there was an effective mechanism to retrieve water from the already gathered fluid in the bladder. I guess that makes sense, but I never thought about it.

 

[Koolau]

I listened to an episode of "The Drive" recently and Attia suggested that as people age they "loose the ability to concentrate urine." And the discussion went on to suggest that the urine color becomes less useful as we get up in age.

I didn't know that if your (young) body was needing more water than it had, there was an effective mechanism to retrieve water from the already gathered fluid in the bladder. I guess that makes sense, but I never thought about it.

Thank you for sharing.