What do you count as water?

c2111

wow cant believe this is still going, honestly water is water, as a RN when I put up fluids to prevent dehydration, its generally saline with a dash of glucose, predominantly water certainly not tea, milk etc .

In the IV, sure - IV infusion of milk would be a bit problematic...
But if you ae logging someone's oral intake, you'd count the other beverages, no?
[/qIuote]

In urology where fluid intake is extremely inportant- input and output recorded, we give them water to drink, they may Have 1 tea or coffee, and we do add that to the balance so yes you are correct, but they are consuming 2 litres of water, so 200 mls of tea can be added but water is the key, good clear urine with a good output is needed, can you imagine giving a renal paientt, 2 litres of coffee hmm I wouldnt like to consider the stress on an underfunctioning system.

30Purple

WATER!

Aeriesified

Uh, not sure if trololol or srs.

But just in case... just water. Even my herbal tea gets logged as food.

zenhappens

Anything that contains H20 will hydrate you, with the possible exception of, like, milk of magnesia.


That means fruit, vegetables, most any food really... Diet soda, coffee, tea, those all hydrate you.


Overhydrating is as much of a problem as dehydtration.

Actually, any caffeinated beverage will be acting as a diuretic and pulling water out of your system. What I tell my patients is that you would only count water and herbal tea (non-stimulant or thermogenic, like chamomile for example) as "water".

tigersword

The amount of caffeine in a caffeinated beverage is nowhere near enough to counteract the amount of water you're ingesting at the same time. And that doesn't even consider the fact that someone who regularly consumes caffeine builds a tolerance and becomes immune to the (incredibly slight) diuretic effect.

A medical dose of caffeine to have a diuretic effect is 700 milligrams, with no water. An average diet soda has about 40 milligrams, along with 12 oz of water. There's been quite a bit of research on this topic over the last decade.

From the Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

tigersword

wow cant believe this is still going, honestly water is water, as a RN when I put up fluids to prevent dehydration, its generally saline with a dash of glucose, predominantly water certainly not tea, milk etc .

But saline with a dash of glucose is water with salt and sugar in it. How is that any different than tea, which is just water with tea leaf extracts in it? Or coffee, which is just water with coffee bean extracts in it? Both of those are "predominantly water."

CarSidDar

The amount of caffeine in a caffeinated beverage is nowhere near enough to counteract the amount of water you're ingesting at the same time. And that doesn't even consider the fact that someone who regularly consumes caffeine builds a tolerance and becomes immune to the (incredibly slight) diuretic effect.

A medical dose of caffeine to have a diuretic effect is 700 milligrams, with no water. An average diet soda has about 40 milligrams, along with 12 oz of water. There's been quite a bit of research on this topic over the last decade.

From the Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

Do you feel like you are banging your head against a brick wall? I cannot believe the myths, lies, and misunderstandings on here, the worst being from people who claim to be in the medical profession. I think they teach this garbage in medical school. Links to real research (not dr oz, not weight watchers, not oprah) but medical peer reviewed literature is ignored.

H2O is water. No matter what it comes in it is water. No matter what is added it is still water. Your body takes the water out of whatever you eat, drink, or inject and uses it as water in all bodily functions, then the kidneys filter it out as urine.

If you want to count glasses of water, count them however you want. it is your record of what you eat. Count water, count pop, count soup. It does not matter as long as you are consistent.

HOWEVER,

Don't believe that only clear, pure water is necessary for hydration! Don't believe that the amount of caffeine in a coffee, tea, coke, or mountain dew is going to dehydrate you, particularly if you drink it every day. It just is not possible.

Yes it may make you pee more, but that is because it contains water and when you drink water, you pee.

And please don't believe any of those cleansing myths that tell you that you MUST drink gallons of water to be healthy and detoxify. Your body removes all "toxins" as they are broken down by the liver and other organs in your body.

And if you want links to any real research on any of this, just let me know. I'll send you the papers. I am a professional librarian in a corporate library. I am a professional engineer. I believe science.

buffcleb

Pizza, beer and buffalo wings... dam I love my water...

OddChoices

Just water. I don't count tea or coffee. I don't drink any soda or flavored drinks.

OspreyVista

Just water....

FYI, I wouldn't count coffee or tea (unless it is herbal tea) as water because they are actually dehydrating and will require you to need additional water.

That's good to know. Makes sense too!

LovelyLifter

umm

Water? :huh:

meg7399

Just water....

FYI, I wouldn't count coffee or tea (unless it is herbal tea) as water because they are actually dehydrating and will require you to need additional water.

That's good to know. Makes sense too!

That is not true. All nutritionalists agree coffee can be counted as water intake.

clohara

I count my water in my shakes in the am and for lunch, which is a total of 4 glasses. Plus 4 normal glasses of water in a day and my crystal light. i dont count my milk as it is Almond mlik, not water. I am counting calories so I ttry (lol) to watch carefully to ensure ihave all of my water in daily.

rbear713

water, coffee - that is all I count as water. and GOOD if coffee makes up you want more water -

water rules!!

auntiebabs

Just water....

FYI, I wouldn't count coffee or tea (unless it is herbal tea) as water because they are actually dehydrating and will require you to need additional water.

Actually tea and coffee DON"T dehydrate you they just HYDRATE less effectively.
This I knew and always counted coffee and tea as 1/2 the amount.

But, I just read a study (I think it was by U PENN) about how the minimal the difference in hydration is between water and coffee, basically they said coffee is so close to water it's okay to count it as equivalent.

I'm off to see if I can find the link and edit it into this message.


FOUND TWO SOURCES

MAYO CLINIC SAYS: (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661)
Recent research shows that this is not true and that caffeine has a diuretic effect only if you consume large amounts of it — more than 500 to 600 milligrams (the equivalent of 5 to 7 cups of coffee) a day.

HUFFINGTON POST SITES PENNSYLVANIA UNIVERSITY & LA TROBE UNIVERSITY STUDIES
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/06/07/hydration-tea-coffee-lettuce-hydration-better-water_n_1577105.html

fansiefree

I only count regular water and seltzer water (helps with the soda cravings!)

WendyTerry420

I quit counting water. Instead, I use a 32 oz cup and fill it at least twice a day.

cdngirl71

Just water!

ndirish4life

Just water. Anything else likely has sugar, caffein, sodium or some other such thing in it that I want to count toward all my daily goals. Water is water is water