Dispelling the Water Myths..

LiveEnjoyEndure

This is worth a read... http://www.livestrong.com/article/320519-diet-drinks-the-liver/

flabulous4

Great post Intechpc - I drink a LOT of tea (milk no sugar) and have had all sorts of helpful comments in my working life re: caffeine, dehydration etc. I also drink Diet Coke...the only time I drink water is at the gym because it's the only thing available. Haven't changed these habits and I'm 2 stone lighter than this time last year.

Lazyboy09

Not only will diet drinks make you fat but toupees and wigs make you bald. A friend of my friend of my brother noticed that every person with a toupee or wig had problems growing hair but the fake hair companies don't want you to know this! Plus fake hair gives you lupus. And MS. And some other stuff too because our heads evolved to have REAL HAIR, not FAKE hair. Our heads don't know what to do with fake hair so it makes our scalp TOXIC.

mynika

Very interesting... thanks for posting

New_Hope

Not only will diet drinks make you fat but toupees and wigs make you bald. A friend of my friend of my brother noticed that every person with a toupee or wig had problems growing hair but the fake hair companies don't want you to know this! Plus fake hair gives you lupus. And MS. And some other stuff too because our heads evolved to have REAL HAIR, not FAKE hair. Our heads don't know what to do with fake hair so it makes our scalp TOXIC.

LOL! That made my day.

BrewerGeorge

alyssamiller77

I agree with everything you say except the diet sodas. Research I have read says drinking diet soda that uses apartame can lead to people craving sweets more often than not. And I have experienced it myself since I stopped drinking diet coke, I don't crave sweets as often. That could be a factor as to why the diet drinkers did gain more weight than non diet drinkers. I also find after I stopped drinking diet coke those things that are sweet do not taste good to me anymore. So I'm sure there is research supporting anything you can think of but thats my experience and I thought I would share.

You're spot on here, and I have read that research and don't mean to ignore it. I didn't get into that whole thing though because it is only a very few select diet drinks that are affected and even in those cases it's not the drink itself that makes you fat. It's eating more calories that makes you fat. This is however very good information to share as well.

Let me make the general disclaimer, I'm not suggesting that drinking only diet Coke every day is healthy or unhealthy. My point here is to discuss things in terms of how they affect your water intake. If I recall the numbers correctly there's something like 11.8 oz of pure water in each can of diet coke. So my point is when you drink a can you are legitimately drinking 11.8 oz of water. Now there are other health reasons why one may choose not to drink Coke (sodium and acidic ph being two of them). I'm also not suggesting that we should really try to sit down and log the amount of water in all of the foods we ate each day. But if you're a little short on your water intake but ate a bunch of fruits like grapefruit, grapes and oranges that day, you've probably more than made your quota for the day.

emy10284

So we've had countless threads to the effect of "Can I count X as water" on this board lately. Each and every time I cringe as I read answers like "Only water is water" and "Once you put something in it, it's not water", "Only if it doesn't have Caffeine in it because caffeine will dehydrate you", or the infamous "Diet Soda makes you fatter". So little actual fact is actually understood by some folks that I figured I'd try one more time to educate the good folks here on some of the facts that have been twisted into outright fallacy. I won't even get into how each of us decide to log our drinks, that's up to you. But here are some facts to consider:

Myth 1: "Your body need X cups of pure water per day".
Research on this topic is pretty straight forward. Your body does indeed need water to survive. There are varying studies on exactly how much and of course like everything, much of it depends on each person's body. The most common consensus seems to be 8 cups per day. Now, what people keep missing the boat on here is that everything you eat or drink contains water. Your body doesn't care how it gets the water it just needs water. So as it digests that pear you ate, that soda you drank or that soup you just sipped up, your body absorbs the water that is contained in those foods and drinks and uses it like it uses all water you take in. Additionally, mixing a drink mix into water does not suddenly turn the water into some other substance, it merely means it is now water that is combined with other substances. It's still water so plan accordingly.

Myth 2: "Caffeine will dehydrate you"
This is a common one that stems from some credible research. However, one must actually read the research to understand what is being said rather than follow the media's misleading conclusions that caffeine dehydrates you. The research on this topic finds that Caffeine does have diuretic properties (i.e. it makes you pee more). This is why people have latched onto it as something that will dehydrate you. HOWEVER, the research finds that it has diuretic properties ONLY when administered in doses that significantly exceed the body's current tolerance and over time the body will develop a tolerance to the increase and the diuretic properties cease (unless the dose is increased even more). It takes large concentrations of caffeine, much greater than those in a can of Mt. Dew, to see the diuretic properties of caffeine affect the body. So if you have a diet coke each day, it's not going to dehydrate you. If you only drink diet coke every day (as some people i know do), you're not going to become dehydrated, your body will make sure of that.

Myth 3: "Diet sodas make you fat"
UGH, this myth is directly a result of the media latching onto a research topic without reading the conclusions. Numerous studies have setup and followed two groups of people. One who drank only diet soda and one who didn't drink any. They found that the second group actually gained less weight than the first. However, in four separate studies I've read on this topic, the researchers all came to the same conclusion. Those drinking the diet soda tended to eat more calories in a day, likely because they knew they were drinking diet soda and felt they were then able to consume more. Add to that people's propensity to underestimate their own intake and it leads to more weight gain. Not one study I've read to date has ever concluded that some property of diet soda directly leads to you gaining weight.

So there you have it folks, I hope you find it informational. Obviously I'm not a doctor or expert, just someone who has done a lot of research on this topic and is tired of reading mis-understood regurgitations of the facts.

You answered the "Diet sodas make you fat" in your own freakin' explanation.

"Those drinking the diet soda tended to eat more calories in a day, likely because they knew they were drinking diet soda and felt they were then able to consume more. Add to that people's propensity to underestimate their own intake and it leads to more weight gain. "

That in turn, makes them fat.


Leave the research and opinions to people who're qualified.

wow rude much

albayin

I don't remember where but I did read about how our liver processes such as caffeine and alcohol using water. I could have quoted wrong, but something like this would cause dehyadration or "hang over" if you will.

drzrider61

Thanks for taking the time to put up this post. I have read much of what you posted and agree that most people need to be a little more flexible on how they count thier water consumption.

But watch out, you are probably going to have to give a yellow card for dissent.

alyssamiller77

Thanks for taking the time to put up this post. I have read much of what you posted and agree that most people need to be a little more flexible on how they count thier water consumption.

But watch out, you are probably going to have to give a yellow card for dissent.

LOL my yellow card is turning a pale tan with the amount of daylight it has seen lately

I'm not necessarily advocating that everyone should log all their drinks as water intake. That's a personal choice. If people want to only count their intake of pure water, that's their prerogative. But what they should not be doing is telling other people that they can't count that glass of tea they brewed or that bottle of water with Crystal Light mixed in it as part of their water intake because that is simply not true. Hell if that were true, I'd be dead by now because I don't drink any pure straight water. I mix either protein powder or drink mixes (Mio, Crystal Light, etc) into all the water I drink.

creasonr

I have been on a diet in the past where Diet Soft Drinks of the Cola kind were prohibited. The folks at the diet center told me that the caramel coloring in the diet cola drinks caused you to not lose weight. I quit drinking diet cola drinks. Lost a lot of weight but the diet was really restrictive in other ways also ie. low fat, low calorie, low carb. Gained it back when I went off their program. Has anyone researched caramel coloring?

tladame

Hey Mackeric,

Read it again. Diet soda does NOT make one gain weight. Eating additional calories does.

If someone thinks they can eat more because they drank diet soda, then that's their own fault. Not the fault of the soda.

You are equating cause and effect here. Related, but not the same.

That's how I understood it as well. Diet sodas don't make one gain weight; a person's attitude of, "Hey, since I'm drinking a diet soda, I can eat four Krispy Kremes!" is what causes them to gain weight.

I pretty much drink water all the time anyway since I don't drink soda (regular or diet), but it's interesting info.

MIMITIME

Ha Ha - So true about what you concluded on the "Diet Drinks make you gain weight". I grew up drinking a diet coke and eating a candy bar because after all, you get your average down. So for me it is true. I did eat more when having a diet coke.

MissMaryMac33

Thanks for taking the time to put up this post. I have read much of what you posted and agree that most people need to be a little more flexible on how they count thier water consumption.

But watch out, you are probably going to have to give a yellow card for dissent.

LOL my yellow card is turning a pale tan with the amount of daylight it has seen lately

I'm not necessarily advocating that everyone should log all their drinks as water intake. That's a personal choice. If people want to only count their intake of pure water, that's their prerogative. But what they should not be doing is telling other people that they can't count that glass of tea they brewed or that bottle of water with Crystal Light mixed in it as part of their water intake because that is simply not true. Hell if that were true, I'd be dead by now because I don't drink any pure straight water. I mix either protein powder or drink mixes (Mio, Crystal Light, etc) into all the water I drink.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who never drinks just plain water! Been doing this for years and I'm still here!
I drink way more than the required because I drink things I love ---

kyle4jem

Ha Ha - So true about what you concluded on the "Diet Drinks make you gain weight". I grew up drinking a diet coke and eating a candy bar because after all, you get your average down. So for me it is true. I did eat more when having a diet coke.

I think this is the case for a lot of folks. I've been drinking diet coke and the like since they came on the market and was dinking them long before I ever got FAT. But I did tend to have a diet coke and a mars bar, a diet coke and a cheese toastie, and what had the calories? Certainly N O T the diet coke.

I still drink diet coke and Dr Pepper zero, but not as much as before because I feel the fizz really bloats me out ... prefer it de-fizzed now :drinker:

Thanks to Intechpc for an excellent and balanced post :glasses:

Riverofbeauty

Thanks so much for this! Very interesting. I could never understand how a cup of hot water with a green tea bag in it could suddenly make it not count towards my daily water count!

itontae

Not only will diet drinks make you fat but toupees and wigs make you bald. A friend of my friend of my brother noticed that every person with a toupee or wig had problems growing hair but the fake hair companies don't want you to know this! Plus fake hair gives you lupus. And MS. And some other stuff too because our heads evolved to have REAL HAIR, not FAKE hair. Our heads don't know what to do with fake hair so it makes our scalp TOXIC.

genius.

itontae

great post. I'm astonished at how many people still believe you have to cram down 8 big glasses of water a day whether you're thirsty or not.

so obviously nonsense intuitively

deanadimples

Good post.

When people talk on MFP about upping their water intake, this is my favorite comment: "Careful..too much water is bad!!!"

While, yes, water in massive intake IS bad, your body will also have symptoms and death is usually a result of cases where people are chugging mass quantities in short periods of time. You don't just keel over from an overage of 12 glasses of water. The kidneys can handle 15 liters a day. The average person is not going to die from upping water intake.