does coffee count

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  • SrJoben
    SrJoben Posts: 484 Member
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    Does coffee for your water intake? :smile:

    Yes.

    There is a modern myth that only 'pure' water counts toward your 8 glasses a day.

    Ignoring the fact that 8 glasses a day is dubious and based on an offhand comment made by a dietician in about 1970, when such statements were originally made a large variety of beverages were explicitly included. Among them being coffee, tea, soft drinks, juice, milk and beer.

    Basically everyone having to drink eight 8 ounce glasses of water a day on top of everything else is a complete misunderstanding. The original point was about total fluid intake. The flavor of the fluid is not relevant.

    (Caffeine's diuretic effects are minimal (a) when you're habituated to it and (b) when the intake is moderate.)
  • ken_hogan
    ken_hogan Posts: 854 Member
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    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283


    This mentions that all fluids count towards the daily total....(last line)
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    During winter, I only drink green tea and coffee. We're talking about a 6 month period where I don't touch plain water. Do I suffer any symptoms of dehydration? No. As long as I am drinking every 50-70 minutes, I'm fine. If I am busy and have a 5 hour gap without drinking even green tea or strong coffee, I notice it the next day as my skin is dry.
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
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    if you have to quibble over whether soup/coffee/soda is water, it would seem you are looking for a reason to not drink water. If you have survived dying this long without drinking plain water, then one would assume you are getting enough water to live. But, imo, drink a glass of water, it won't kill you.
  • keith_w61
    keith_w61 Posts: 20 Member
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    Does coffee for your water intake? :smile:

    Yes.

    There is a modern myth that only 'pure' water counts toward your 8 glasses a day.

    Ignoring the fact that 8 glasses a day is dubious and based on an offhand comment made by a dietician in about 1970, when such statements were originally made a large variety of beverages were explicitly included. Among them being coffee, tea, soft drinks, juice, milk and beer.

    Basically everyone having to drink eight 8 ounce glasses of water a day on top of everything else is a complete misunderstanding. The original point was about total fluid intake. The flavor of the fluid is not relevant.

    (Caffeine's diuretic effects are minimal (a) when you're habituated to it and (b) when the intake is moderate.)

    I knew that the 8/day was dubious, there's never been an actual study about it - and what to desert dwellers do? They can't cart 4 litres of water per person when trecking across the desert!
  • stefjc
    stefjc Posts: 484 Member
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    Hyponatreamia?

    Last year we had a student (elite sports bod) collapse due to drinking too much plain water. He hadn't taken an electrolyte drink out with him.

    Yes, I know. Doesn't happen often. But with the heatwave here in the UK it has been repeated a lot on the heatwave health information. Those who honestly believe only pure water hydrates are more prone to it.
  • keith_w61
    keith_w61 Posts: 20 Member
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    I wasnt looking for a reason, I drink at least 1.5 litres of water a day as plain water, and book my coffees (tim hortons, medium, 2 milk) in the "foods" section. I was just wondering what others do.
  • Miss_Maree
    Miss_Maree Posts: 33
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    Absolutely. It is water plus coffee beans. Therefore it is still water. Yes caffeine dehydrates you. So does salt and alcohol.... But you are consuming more water than caffeine in a couple cups of coffee so I think it is still doing more to hydrate you than dehydrate you...

    I'm sure there is some fancy math involved where after a certain amount of coffee it is no longer beneficial for hydration... But I'm not that clever. Lol

    I usually log coffee and tea and light juices to count towards my water. Soda, alcohol, or things high in sodium I don't count towards water.

    Everything in moderation seems to be the key though!
  • Seesawboomerang
    Seesawboomerang Posts: 296 Member
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    I just count water. I only just manage the recommended minimum so other liquids are just a bonus to me. It's not amounting to gallons in my case, so no harm done.
  • jdm_taco
    jdm_taco Posts: 999 Member
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    How can you possibly have problems drinking enough water?

    Just drink it...its easy
  • Miss_Maree
    Miss_Maree Posts: 33
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    Coconut water and milk are great for hydration btw! And goes great with coffee!

    However, it is also a diuretic so too much again could end up dehydrating you. Pay attention to your body signals. Headaches, the runs, fatigue, and even hunger pangs could mean you are dehydrated. And of course... Thirst is the best indicator! Lol
  • GardenGirlie
    GardenGirlie Posts: 241 Member
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    How can you possibly have problems drinking enough water?

    Just drink it...its easy

    Believe it or not everyone is different and drinking water is not easy for many people, myself included. It is actually quite a chore for me and at times can definitely cause some nausea. I know it is important so I am working very hard at 48 years old to become a water drinker for the first time in my life.

    In response to the OP, I only log plain water because I rarely drink anything else. This is the only way I can manage to barely get my 8 cups a day.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    Hyponatreamia?

    Last year we had a student (elite sports bod) collapse due to drinking too much plain water. He hadn't taken an electrolyte drink out with him.

    Yes, I know. Doesn't happen often. But with the heatwave here in the UK it has been repeated a lot on the heatwave health information. Those who honestly believe only pure water hydrates are more prone to it.

    That's scary. Perhaps ice cold Bovril is the way forward in sports nutrition. :bigsmile:
  • jdm_taco
    jdm_taco Posts: 999 Member
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    Believe it or not everyone is different and drinking water is not easy for many people, myself included. It is actually quite a chore for me and at times can definitely cause some nausea. I know it is important so I am working very hard at 48 years old to become a water drinker for the first time in my life.

    In response to the OP, I only log plain water because I rarely drink anything else. This is the only way I can manage to barely get my 8 cups a day.


    Not picking put I cannot comprehend what is difficult about drinking a glass every hour or so... if not 2 times that amount. Do people just hate water or forget to drink it?
  • keith_w61
    keith_w61 Posts: 20 Member
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    After I read all the posts, and thank you to everyon who posted, i was thinking about the 8 cups a day, and how there isn't any medical evidence of need. I thought why would they want you to drink that much and thought - to keep you fuller, so you dont feel as hungry as you might if you didnt drink that much.
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
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    I count most liquids as water.
  • GardenGirlie
    GardenGirlie Posts: 241 Member
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    For me personally water is difficult because of an incident as a child eating some poisonous plants with some other neighborhood kids. We were all in our house when our parents had found out doing the syrup of ipecac induced vomiting evening. For whatever reason the 4 glasses of water I had to drink as part of this process caused me to hate water from then on.

    I am drinking it now but it really is not easy. But I do think it is very important to do so.
  • Showcase_Brodown
    Showcase_Brodown Posts: 919 Member
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    Yes, absolutely coffee counts as water intake. Unless you are consuming huge amounts of caffeine, you won't need to "compensate" with extra water. To you, it's coffee or soda, but to your body it's WATER plus other added stuff. It doesn't care if they were mixed together when you swallowed.
  • ncmedic201
    ncmedic201 Posts: 540 Member
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    I count coffee under my foods because it has nutrients. I don't log water. As long as my pee looks OK then I know I'm getting enough fluids. You don't have to drink 8 glasses a day.
  • casmithis
    casmithis Posts: 216 Member
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    I only count water as water. Not because of anything else other than it says "water". If it said "coffee" I would keep track of that there. Silly I know but I just do as I'm told. I'm not overly fussed about the number of glasses either I usually get a headache way before it tells me I haven't had enough. Then I drink a coffee (or 8).

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