If you use MIO in you water it doesn't count?

That's definitely a debateable question. A long time ago, my grandmother's doctor told her to start drinking more water. She told him, "I drink plenty of water...in my tea, coffee...." He replied, "I didn't say, 'tea, or coffee,' I said, water!" I've tried MIO, and it makes the water taste just like a diet drink mix. In my opinion, based on what Grandma's doctor said all those years ago, I'd have to agree with your sister-in-law. Of course, it's just an opinion. Next time you see your family doctor, why not ask? It's a good question!

Technically, coffee and tea don't count as water because they're diuretics. I'm not here to stand on a soapbox for MIO, but I highly doubt that adding it to your water makes it a diuretic.

Coffee and tea absolutely count towards hydration (ie: water intake). The diuretic effect of the caffeine is not nearly enough to cancel out the hydration effect of the water content.

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

don't you go bringing facts to an MFP debate!

If it doesn't add calories or caffeine I count it as water. I count MIO, Crystal Light, caffeine free coffee and tea with artificial sweetners. This was the rule when I did Weight Watchers years ago so I still use it as my water rule.

Just do the pee test. If you pee looks like lemonade, you're probably adequately hydrated. If your pee looks like apple juice, you need more water. If your pee is neon, get a better vitamin that you'll absorb instead of eliminate. :-)

oh the great mio debate...lets go around once more shall we?

Only pure distilled water from my dehumidifier counts as water. (it's in the bathroom)
I log all the chemically stuff like tap water, diet soda, coffee, and tea in my food diary as zero calories because mixing stuff into water magically changes its chemical properties and breaks the covalent bonds or something.

To all of those who are harping on MIO saying its full of crap and chemicals and that water does not count as water with MIO in it, I'm gonna break it down to the nitty gritty. This is gonna be long and its only for those who REALLY want to know what they are drinking.

To start off I want to ask if anyone has ever added seasoning, spices, or other flavoring to food - salt or pepper maybe? Ok, so does the food NOT count as food? Of course it counts! You just FLAVORED it. Same goes for MIO. I had a nutritionist explain it a different way. I was complaining that my protein supplements were watery and gross and was looking for a new kind to try out. He told me that I should just try using less water with my protein. The idea blew my mind but made perfect sense! The protein is still the SAME AMOUNT OF PROTEIN NO MATTER HOW MUCH WATER YOU ADD TO IT. Putting MIO in your water is the same concept. You are drinking the same amount of water no matter what you're adding to it - its still a bottle of water. End of story.

Now as for what else you are putting in your body: (This came straight off my Peach Mango MIO bottle that I am using and will continue to use)

Malic Acid - Malic acid is an organic compound with the formula HO2CCH2CHOHCO2H. It is a dicarboxylic acid that is made by all living organisms, contributes to the pleasantly sour taste of fruits, and is used as a food additive. It is not harmful to your body as it is found in many fruits.

Propylene Glycol - an organic compound. It is a colorless, nearly odorless, clear, viscous liquid with a faintly sweet taste, hygroscopic and miscible with water. The acute oral toxicity of propylene glycol is very low, and large quantities are required to cause perceptible health damage in humans. It would be nearly impossible to reach toxic levels by consuming foods or supplements, which contain at most 1 g/kg of PG. The potential for long-term oral toxicity is also low. If you drink alcohol, just know that one serving of alcohol is far more damage to your body than multiple bottles of MIO could ever be.

Citric Acid - Citric acid is a weak organic acid. It is a natural preservative/conservative and is also used to add an acidic, or sour, taste to foods and soft drinks. Citric acid is neither good or bad for you. Your cells produce citric acid and that specific acid is essential to life.

Sucrolose - Sucralose is an artificial sweetener. The majority of ingested sucralose is not broken down by the body, so is noncaloric. Before you jump out of your seat, if you sweeten with Splenda, Sucrolose makes up Splenda but with its other additives, Splenda is much worse! While Sucrolose is not "good" for you, it is not bad for you either and it had many benefits to athletes (is also found in almost all sports drinks).

Acesulfame Potassium - a calorie-free sugar substitute, also known as Acesulfame K or Ace K, and marketed under the trade names Sunett and Sweet One. Experts have argued about whether it is 100% safe or not but no test has ever proved otherwise. So far, it had been determined that a whole MIO bottle's worth of Acesulfame Potassium per day would do you no harm and all medical experts agree that this sugar substitute has many advantages for the diabetic and those looking to lose weight.

Potassium Citrate - potassium citrate is a potassium salt of citric acid.Medicinally, it may be used to control kidney stones derived from either uric acid or cystine. Its been noted that large doses could have bad effects on the lining of the stomach. To put this is perspective, the acceptable daily does is over 3,000 mg. The entire bottle doesn't contain anywhere close to that amount.

Polysorbate 60 - Polysorbate 60 is used in imitation cream, baked goods and frozen desserts. It works in a similar manner as monoglycerides and diglycerides, but requires smaller amounts. Polysorbate 60 helps whiteners dissolve in coffee, keeps dill oil solubilized in dill pickle jars, prevents baked good from going stale, and prevents oil from desolubizing in artificial whipped cream. Although it has been said to cause detrimental reproductive effects, organ toxicity, and cancer in high doses, the maximum allowed dosage in foods and products like MIO does not come near the "high dosage" mark. Again, to put this in perspective, its in every baked good you've ever made that came out of a box - cakes, cupcakes, pancakes, muffins, etc.

Yellow 5- Again, people see the food coloring and dyes and freak out. Yellow 5 is in so many foods you eat all the time and you don't even know it. If it were to cause harm to your body, it would not be from drinking MIO in your water I can assure you. To name a few foods its in: nachos, potatoe chips, corn chip, cereals, mustard, noodles, instant soups, horseradish, pickles, rices, jams, jellies, alcoholic beverages, sports drinks, fruit drinks, pastries, desserts, gummy bears, cotton candy, etc.

Yellow 6 - same idea. And to clarify, the only people who actually have problems with these two dyes (medically) are people with a sensitivity to them. In that case, its the same as being lactose intolerant. It doesn't mean milk is bad. It means your body has an adverse affect to it and you should not consume it.

Red 40 - Red 40 is another dye with the same story as Yellows 5 and 6. Many people blame Red dyes for ADHD and ADD in children. This is simply not true. While it has been found that Red dyes such as Red 40 can increase behavioral problems, it has not been noted as the CAUSE of them. The behavioral problems ALREADY EXIST in some children and cutting Red 40 from their diets can help the problems but will simply not eliminate them. It has also been noted that cutting ALL red dyes from a person's diet may cause nutritional deficits as it is used in just about everything we eat or drink. It is smart to cut back on red dyes and be careful of them, but the amounts in MIO are in no way any more harmful than other foods you eat on a regular basis. If you have any kind of behavioral problem, however, the red dye in MIO may cause adverse health effects (as would milk to a lactose intolerant person).

Potassium Sorbate - potassium sorbate is the potassium salt of sorbic acid. Its primary use is as a food preservative. Potassium sorbate is effective in a variety of applications including food, wine, and personal care products. In addition, herbal dietary supplement products generally contain potassium sorbate, which acts to prevent mold and microbes and to increase shelf life, and is used in quantities at which there are no known adverse health effects, over short periods of time.



So now you know EXACTLY what is in your MIO. The miniscule amounts of the few questionable ingredients in MIO are no more harmful than what you are (and have been) ingesting your entire life. I say if you are increasing your water intake and it takes a squirt of MIO now and then to do it, you are helping yourself far more than you are harming yourself. I drink about 6 bottles of water a day (101 fluid ounces) and I put a decent sized squirt in every bottle. With that increased level of water intake, my body is flushing its system MULTIPLE times a day and anything harmful that I may intake throughout the day is being flushed out all the faster out of my body. That's how I look at it and I am healthy and feeling great.

To all of those who are harping on MIO saying its full of crap and chemicals and that water does not count as water with MIO in it, I'm gonna break it down to the nitty gritty. This is gonna be long and its only for those who REALLY want to know what they are drinking.

Holy way to drag up an old post Batman! Way to get a huge first post in!

As for me it is water. Not, fizzy drink with carbonation, coffee, tea, lemonade etc but water.

I would count it as water. Water comes from all sorts of places. Lettuce, tomatoes, fruits, water, coffee, tea...these all have water in them.
Saying that it is no longer part of your daily water just because you add something to it is horse s#it.

I say it counts. If I have flavoured water, I count it. But when I started here a year ago I was using half pack of Nestea sweeteners or MIO in my water bottle. Loved it. Then I was drinking Splenda in my coffee. After about 3 months I started feeling really sick from all the artificial sweeteners. I quit, about 4 days later I felt better. Thought it was flu or something. Then after one more day of Splenda, all the symptoms came back. Had to detox another 4 days. Even light yogurts made me feel sick. To this day, if I have a sweetener it has to be something other than Sucralose. I over-did it and now I'm intolerant to it.

My suggestion is to try drinking just water. You will get used to it and it will start to taste good. Just experiment with it. Some people like it room temp, other freezing. Add lemon or ice cubes. Try plain water on for size.

Um, what exactly does caffeine have to do with sugar? My coffee has 100 mg of caffeine, and no sugar in it. Are you sure you've thought this through?:huh: Coffee doesn't have any sodium in it, either, other than what's naturally occurring in the water you brew it with.

Also, 30mg of sodium is not "loaded." Your body wouldn't even notice an extra 30mg. It's insignificant on its own.

Also, sodium does not equal salt, just like hydrogen does not equal water. There are hundreds of salts that contain no sodium at all.

I think this is the problem with these kinds of threads, people don't understand basic chemistry.

of course it counts as water, and i love mio.

Whether you mix it in your glass, or in your stomach, it's still mixed. Your body doesn't care.