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To Hydrate or Not to Hydrate
DirkRocks
Posts: 34 Member
in Debate Club
I've heard that it is just big business telling us to hydrate all the time so they can make a buck, when all that is really needed is to just follow your body's que and just drink when thirsty. Any thoughts?
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Replies
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I can't tell if you're serious or not...8
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"Not hydrate" sounds like a bad idea...8
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People have a lot of trouble when two "competing" things are both true.
You should stay hydrated. Your body is made of mostly water, and needs it for all kinds of purposes. If you stop taking food and water you'll die of thirst long before the need for food becomes a serious problem, because you need water.
It's also true that bottled water companies are not charities. But that doesn't change the fact that you need water, or that you lose it through sweat and breathing and whatnot, and need to replenish that. Doesn't have to be with bottled water either.9 -
Thanks for your feed back1
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I drink when I'm thirsty and I drink soda pop when I need to relieve gas pressure.4
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I've heard that it is just big business telling us to hydrate all the time so they can make a buck, when all that is really needed is to just follow your body's que and just drink when thirsty. Any thoughts?
I'm not sure which big business is making a buck off of me drinking water and staying hydrated. Your piss should be clear to pale yellow if you're hydrated...the amount you would need to achieve that would be variable and dependent on numerous factors...but yeah...I don't see which big business is making a buck off of me while I fill my 750 ml water bottle regularly...I guess maybe the city water authority is making a few pennies.11 -
I TRY and drink half my body weight in ounces of water. I use an infuser bottle and put fruit (eg blueberries, peaches, whatever) to cut the boring taste of plain water.2
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Unless it's hot and you are doing a lot of moving around you can listen to your body and be fine.4
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There's a lot of woo around hydration when it's really very simple.
We have a perfectly good (for most people) mechanism for telling us when to drink - thirst.
As @cwolfman13 says you also have a very good indicator of hydration levels. Unless you are drinking beetroot juice or silly levels of vitamin C.
There was an interesting Australian study into exercise and hydration levels that concluded it's not as vital to exercise performance as we have been led to believe. They used IV drips to hydrate (or not) to exclude the placebo effect.
Some elite cyclists deliberately train and compete slightly dehydrated to improve power to weight ratios.
I sometimes weigh before/after a particularly long and hot ride to get an idea of how much fluid I've lost as I'm an elite level sweater when exercising in hot conditions. A 2lb loss in a few hours doesn't affect my riding, just makes me a bit unpleasant to be around.
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cwolfman13 wrote: »Your piss should be clear to pale yellow if you're hydrated...
"A happy mountaineer voids clear."3 -
Big Water?6
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Drink when thirsty, look at your pee if you are not sure about your ability to tell. (I don't understand the idea that we need rules about drinking water. Drinking when thirsty is a basic survival skill. Maybe when working out on a hot day some don't think about it enough.)
Oh, and tap is probably fine and I doubt anyone is getting rich off it. I drink tap.1 -
As our field doc famously stated - "Your urine should be gin clear".1
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stevencloser wrote: »Big Water?
Follow the money!3 -
I've heard that it is just big business telling us to hydrate all the time so they can make a buck, when all that is really needed is to just follow your body's que and just drink when thirsty. Any thoughts?
I'm never thirsty. Ever. However, I've had terrible kidney problems throughout my life due to not drinking enough water. Definitely thinking that hydration is the better option, doesn't matter if your body tells you it's thirsty or not. Totally different than food.3 -
I think you may be conflating the ads for sports drinks (hydrate and replace electrolytes) with the recommendations for staying hydrated.
Yes, the places that sell sports drinks and electrolyte replacement drinks are making money from people thinking that if you sweat at all, you should be replacing electrolytes frequently - and that their products are necessary. The commercials are often geared to give that impression.
There is no need to drink sports drinks like Gatorade. Mostly, people aren't exercising hard enough or long enough to really need that kind of regular electrolyte replacement. And for those who are, a pinch of electrolytes in water will do the trick just as well and be a lot cheaper.2 -
Thanks for all the info. Sorry I was not specific, I ment to refer to Sports Hydration Drinks...0
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I have a short bike loop I do after work when I have other stuff to spend my time on. It's 7 miles and takes about 30 minutes. That burns about 200 calories - this is measured with a power meter, not estimated. During heat waves, I sweat enough to need electrolytes in my water.
A bottle of Gatoraide is about 200 calories. That undoes all weight maintenance for the whole ride. A Nuun tab is about 5 calories, and has the same benefit, but without the weird taste.
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There's a lot of woo around hydration when it's really very simple.
We have a perfectly good (for most people) mechanism for telling us when to drink - thirst.
As @cwolfman13 says you also have a very good indicator of hydration levels. Unless you are drinking beetroot juice or silly levels of vitamin C.
There was an interesting Australian study into exercise and hydration levels that concluded it's not as vital to exercise performance as we have been led to believe. They used IV drips to hydrate (or not) to exclude the placebo effect.
Some elite cyclists deliberately train and compete slightly dehydrated to improve power to weight ratios.
I sometimes weigh before/after a particularly long and hot ride to get an idea of how much fluid I've lost as I'm an elite level sweater when exercising in hot conditions. A 2lb loss in a few hours doesn't affect my riding, just makes me a bit unpleasant to be around.
i do this too after running sometimes, i think i'm a sweat class below you because i usually only lose 1.5 pounds of sweat. lol1 -
Stick with water IMHO. Unless you are a high performance athlete, you will rarely need to specifically replenish your electrolytes. Meanwhile, sports drinks contain either artificial sweeteners, which I avoid for the nasty taste, or 40-50g of high fructose corn syrup to the tune of 200 or so calories and I do not find it worthwhile to drink calories these days.0
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In the ATL there is a business with two locations called vidaflo. They feed you concentrated hydration and vitamins, antacids, NSAIDs, etc...whatever you need via IV. Let my sis talk me into it. Total waste of money and rookie with the needle bruised my wrists up ting to get a vein. Everyone in there was getting over hangovers labor day weekend.0
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Thanks for all the info. Sorry I was not specific, I ment to refer to Sports Hydration Drinks...
Sports drinks have their place, but yeah...the idea that one needs a Gatorade because they worked out for an hour and sweated a bit is ridiculous. If you're eating well and staying hydrated you shouldn't really need to replenish electrolytes from your "run of the mill" type of workout.
They can be beneficial if you've done extended training or something...think endurance type of stuff...the sugar can be beneficial for recovery if...say you've been out on the bike riding for 50 miles and at that point it's likely you would need to replenish electrolytes as well and if I'm out for 50 miles, the last thing I'm worried about is a couple hundred calories.
That said, I think there are better ways of going about all of those things. Electrolyte tabs are great and I prefer coconut water to sports drinks (natures Gatorade) and I generally have one water bottle full for a long ride along with another bottle of H20. For quick recovery I would generally prefer a chocolate milk with a peanut butter and jam sandwich and a pickle (for the salt) to a Gatorade or other sport drink.
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I've just finished reading 'Waterlogged' by Tim Noakes who looks at the science and lack of science behind the 'dehydration myth'.
So yeah, drink when thirsty, don't follow rules. Your pee may not tell you much. Being dehydrated during exercise isn't a bad thing (and some of the fastest marathon runners end up the most dehydrated) and no one has ever died of dehydration during a race. Over-hydration, certainly.
You probably don't need electrolytes or added salts either. No matter how much you sweat. Carbs are a different matter
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OP are you talking about the Adam Ruins Everything video about hydration? I've been wondering the same thing.. I think drinking when thirsty instead of the set 8 cups a day is best, our own bodies are better at telling us than an arbitrary number from ad campaigns. But only in the context of readily available water
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I always feel like crap when I'm not properly hydrated. It feels like kidneys are aching or something. I just don't feel right at all. So for me, hydration is super important for my overall well being b/c I like to feel good. Sure it sucks to always have to pee, but I'd rather have to visit the bathroom 10 times a day than have that achy feeling.0
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I'm not for "force drinking". Of course you should hydrate when you are thirsty, but force drinking a specific amount of water is not necessary.1
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peaceout_aly wrote: »I've heard that it is just big business telling us to hydrate all the time so they can make a buck, when all that is really needed is to just follow your body's que and just drink when thirsty. Any thoughts?
I'm never thirsty. Ever. However, I've had terrible kidney problems throughout my life due to not drinking enough water. Definitely thinking that hydration is the better option, doesn't matter if your body tells you it's thirsty or not. Totally different than food.
And I drink way more water than what I technically should need, but I feel so thirsty all the time. Funny how this is.0 -
BinaryPulsar wrote: »peaceout_aly wrote: »I've heard that it is just big business telling us to hydrate all the time so they can make a buck, when all that is really needed is to just follow your body's que and just drink when thirsty. Any thoughts?
I'm never thirsty. Ever. However, I've had terrible kidney problems throughout my life due to not drinking enough water. Definitely thinking that hydration is the better option, doesn't matter if your body tells you it's thirsty or not. Totally different than food.
And I drink way more water than what I technically should need, but I feel so thirsty all the time. Funny how this is.
Not funny - sad. You may be flushing out electrolytes with all that water and dehydrating yourself. Take in more salt and see if that helps. If it doesn't, doctor.0 -
kommodevaran wrote: »BinaryPulsar wrote: »peaceout_aly wrote: »I've heard that it is just big business telling us to hydrate all the time so they can make a buck, when all that is really needed is to just follow your body's que and just drink when thirsty. Any thoughts?
I'm never thirsty. Ever. However, I've had terrible kidney problems throughout my life due to not drinking enough water. Definitely thinking that hydration is the better option, doesn't matter if your body tells you it's thirsty or not. Totally different than food.
And I drink way more water than what I technically should need, but I feel so thirsty all the time. Funny how this is.
Not funny - sad. You may be flushing out electrolytes with all that water and dehydrating yourself. Take in more salt and see if that helps. If it doesn't, doctor.
Well, I don't really drink that much water. Just people say you need only half your body weight (I'm small) and that other things hydrate us. I don't feel thirsty all the time. But, since I keep hydrated I would expect less. I'm under medical care. I could mention it, but we are dealing with other stuff. I think it might just be because I am so active. I forgot to consider that aspect. There are times when I sweat a lot from dancing intensively. It's true that I don't add salt to my food and cook my own food. But, I think I still get enough sodium for a person my size. I will check. But, I was this way even more when I used to eat more foods that had salt.0 -
I go on moderate hikes and usually put Nuun in my water. Haven't had problems with cramping since. In Spain I could get tablets that had lots of magnesium and potassium. I hiked 6-8 hours daily there. No cramps! I am a major sweater, and drink lots of water. Seems to help.0
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