Water or not???

Sugar_Junkie

do i count my water in my protein shakes as part of my glasses of water consumed a day?? i always get confuse when it comes to things like that, tea, and coffee.

duetwithjosh

I would count protein shakes, but not tea or coffee if they're caffeinated. (Caffeine is a diuretic, so you're likely at net loss as far as hydration is concerned.)

coliema

I don't count it as water, I only count it as water if I'm drinking just water. Otherwise I put it as tea, if I'm drinking tea.

I think I've seen a thread discussing this before, I wouldn't count it as water unless it was just plain water.

bcattoes

I would count protein shakes, but not tea or coffee if they're caffeinated. (Caffeine is a diuretic, so you're likely at net loss as far as hydration is concerned.)

There is not enough caffeine in a whole pot of coffee to cause any noticable dehydration. Too many fluids in general, including water, is diuretic.

Log what you want, but if you are tracking for hydration you should track all non-alcholic fluids consumed. Though even alcoholic beverages do still provide some hydration.

HMonsterX

You need the equivalent of 8 cups of water a day on average, from any source. These sources can be pure water/tea/coffee/juice/soda/milk/fruit/veg etc. It does NOT have to be pure neat water!

http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/13/myth-eight-glasses-water-day

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/07/wellness-water-8x8-myth.html

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/12/08/the-myth-behind-drinking-8-glasses-of-water-a-day/


As for tea/coffee being a diuretic, so many people just spout that word as a reason, without actually understanding what "diuretic" means.

di·u·ret·ic (d-rtk)
adj.
Tending to increase the discharge of urine.
n.
A substance or drug that tends to increase the discharge of urine.

Neat water is also a diuretic. The diuretic effect of caffeine is far, far outweighed by the actual water in the tea/coffee. Also, regular consumers of caffeinated beverages will build up a tolerance to said effect, eventually reaching the point where caffeinated drinks provide practically the same amount of hydration as a cup of neat water will.


http://www.divinecaroline.com/22178/46361-coffee-makes-dehydrated-say-what

http://worldofcaffeine.com/2011/06/14/caffeine-does-not-dehydrate/

http://advance.uconn.edu/2002/020722/02072207.htm

http://nomoredirtylooks.com/2011/04/surprise-caffeinated-tea-does-not-dehydrate-you/

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/health/nutrition/04real.html

http://www.sharecare.com/question/does-caffeine-dehydrate-not

http://www.artofdrink.com/2009/12/caffeine-in-coffee-does-not-increase-dehydration-during-hangovers.php

http://www.caring4cancer.com/go/cancer/nutrition/questions/do-caffeinated-beverages-cause-dehydration.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5552790&page=1#.TrQWc0O5_oo

Sugar_Junkie

Thank you for your help guys.

mfp_1

This is what the UK National Health Service says:
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http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/water-drinks.aspx

Research measuring water loss has shown that we should drink about 1.2 litres of fluid every day to stop us getting dehydrated. This works out to be about six 200ml or eight 150ml glasses, cups or mugs.

The total amount of water we lose each day and need to replace is in fact greater than this – about 2.5 litres – but we get 1 litre of the fluid we need from food and the body recovers 0.3 litres from chemical reactions in our cells. The rest needs to be taken from drinks. All non-alcoholic drinks count, but water, milk and fruit juices are the healthiest.

[...]
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almonds1

do i count my water in my protein shakes as part of my glasses of water consumed a day?? i always get confuse when it comes to things like that, tea, and coffee.

yes.... its water.

netchik

Latest studies show that the diuretic effect of water is nowhere near what the old wives tales said they were. In fact, it only displaces a fraction of the water you have in the beverage itself.

Having said that, I still drink a couple litres of water on it's own, regardless of tea intake.

My husband doesn't - he counts teas and coffees in his intake.

You could always split the difference!