Water Consumption Question

I would def say no to coffee because it is is Diuretic. Meaning it takes water out of your system. Things that you could count would be things like tea, juice, crystal light ( or water with flavoring..)... I would even say milk would be ok. But def not coffee.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but while I think flavored water is fine, anything that contains caffeine does not count because caffeine can actually dehydrate you. While on the subject, there a lot of foods, especially fruits, that contain water. But I never take that into account just because I don't want to overthink it.

Drinking 8 glasses of water a day is simply a myth. Do some research. ANY liquid we take into our bodies is "water". As for coffee....it is a MILD diuretic but not enough to offset the benefits of the water it's in.

Once again...if your urine is a pale yellow you are hydrated enough. Don't stress over getting plain water.

Good luck in your efforts.

I was wondering about other drinks to like coffee and tea , If they counted towards your water ,Thanks for asking that question

Coffee and Tea are made up of 99.9% water - that doesn't disappear just because of the caffeine in it. I have asked my doctor about this and his response was that your body adsorbs the water required from all sources - even lettuce has water in it.

http://www.discovergoodnutrition.com/2012/09/plain-water-get-your-8-glasses-a-day/

.. our bodies have to separate everything out and when there is something in the water it then has to be separated so your body gets the "water" part of it.

And our bodies are very good at this separating thing. They do it with everything we eat and drink.

Unless you are guzzling water while fasting, the water is mixed in with everything in your stomach, then absorbed into your body in your intestines.

Water is water - there is no substitute for it whether it is low calorie or no calorie. The only thing you can do that doesn't interfere with your water intake is to infuse your water with lemons, limes, fruit, berries or vegetables (that just means to put those items in your water to enhance the flavour and vitamin content naturally). Caffeine dehydrates the body so for every cup of liquid that contains caffeine you need to drink an extra 2 cups of water.

Having said that, I will add that Hydration (of most kinds) is required and very important for the body so herbal tea or a high quality electrolyte powder mixed in water (such as Vega brand) are good for the body and assist with improved function BUT milk is definitely not a good source of hydration, it contains Casein (about 80% in cows milk), which is far too concentrated for the human body to process. Mother's milk contains about 20% Casein and it's of course naturally beneficial for human consumption but only for the child of that mother. Adults bodies do not benefit from it. Cows Casein has been known to cause cancer as well as clog arteries along with causing several other health conditions. (sourced from a book called "The China Study" by Dr. T. Colin Campbell).

Anyway the whole point to this is to let you know that there is no subsitute for water Water has a huge role in optimal operations of the body on so many levels.

The best way to know how much water you should drink (or that your body requires) is to take your body weight (in pounds) and divide it in half then divide that number by 8 - that is how many cups you require. Example - if you weigh 200 pounds you divide that by 2 (=100) then divide that by 8 (because that is how many ounces are in one cup) = 12.5 - so you should drink at least 12 cups a day (3 liters).

Hope this helps

"Water" consumption is just a made up guideline. If you look in the toilet after you pee and it is light yellow, almost clear, you are consuming enough. If it is bright yellow or orangish, you need more fluids.

If there is chicken fat in it, go see a doctor. (Sorry, I just came across that very old thread last night)

This. We get a lot of hydration from the food we eat. All liquids hydrate the body. You'd have to drink gallons and gallons of coffee to have even a negligible diuretic effect. No one really got up in arms about water consumption until the bottled water companies foisted that myth of the eight glasses on everyone.