Coffee as water intake?

13

Replies

  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    I eat steak and log it as chicken. Sure, why not.
    Crazy talk... I log my steak as water. I think there's some in there.

    I like the way you think! You can also count a veggie in the steak count as they do eat veggies and you are what you eat!!

    Not giving up my coffee no matter how many links are provided telling me I should!! It's my one vice and I'm not ready to give it up!! :drinker:

    And oh yeah...........I count my water - as water!! Crazy, I know!!! :tongue:

    Erm...this thread is not even about whether or not you should drink coffee. It was about whether you can or do log it as part of your water intake. Which you can if you chose to. The diuretic effects are so mild, as to not impact your total hydration.

    Also, coffee is full of potassium and antioxidants. I log it for the potassium.
  • RosyBest
    RosyBest Posts: 303 Member
    Separately.
  • rsalty
    rsalty Posts: 68 Member
    Does anyone else track coffee (black, no sugar) as water intake? Or do most people track it separately?

    I log coffee as coffee - 40oz per day has measurable nutritive value. But I don't track water: I generally consume less of whatever I log, and MFP is not set up for accurate water intake tracking. For example, there's a fair bit of water in gazpacho, watermelon, or iced tea, but that water doesn't show up as part of the nutrient profile for any of them,
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • Showcase_Brodown
    Showcase_Brodown Posts: 919 Member
    The only reason I don't log coffee as water is because I don't log coffee or water.

    Coffee is hot water with added bean. There is basically no diuretic effect of caffeine until you start getting way up there in consumption. Still, the NET RESULT of drinking coffee is hydration.

    I feel like MFP should track "hydration" from all the food/beverage items instead of an arbitrary number of cups of plain water you're "supposed to have."
  • xmysterix
    xmysterix Posts: 114 Member
    I just think it's cute that people (and I mean every site I've visited, not just people here!) with full fridges and running tap water think they, on an average day (unless ill), genuinely run a risk of becoming dehydrated. Bottled water marketing groups sure did a good job in the last 20 years!
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    I track my coffee as water, but I also count the splenda I put in it, along with the creamer and heavy cream as calories because they are and I measure them for that.
  • ImRemko
    ImRemko Posts: 34 Member
    I just think it's cute that people (and I mean every site I've visited, not just people here!) with full fridges and running tap water think they, on an average day (unless ill), genuinely run a risk of becoming dehydrated. Bottled water marketing groups sure did a good job in the last 20 years!
    I think it's cute that you think that having easy access to water(-based products) automatically means people consume them.
  • xmysterix
    xmysterix Posts: 114 Member
    I just think it's cute that people (and I mean every site I've visited, not just people here!) with full fridges and running tap water think they, on an average day (unless ill), genuinely run a risk of becoming dehydrated. Bottled water marketing groups sure did a good job in the last 20 years!
    I think it's cute that you think that having easy access to water(-based products) automatically means people consume them.
    If people aren't getting indicators of thirst when they're thirsty, or are consciously ignoring thirst, they have bigger problems than coffee vs water. I see the "drink like you're in the desert" mentality as being tied to our (developed world) aversion to rumbling stomachs. Thirst and hunger are good things that tell us when it's necessary to drink or eat something.
  • mmipanda
    mmipanda Posts: 351 Member
    coffee is a bit of a diuretic, everyone is wrong for talking in absolutes on both sides of the argument.
  • perfect_storm
    perfect_storm Posts: 326 Member
    There are a lot of opinions here but the only one backing it up with scientific studies are the people saying coffee is not a diuretic. Nuf said.
  • mmipanda
    mmipanda Posts: 351 Member
    what I've read says that regular drinkers get used to it, which is not the same as saying that there is no diuretic effect at all. finding something on google that supports your opinion =/= science
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    what I've read says that regular drinkers get used to it, which is not the same as saying that there is no diuretic effect at all. finding something on google that supports your opinion =/= science

    Mayo clinic is not exactly 'something on google' -- it's a pretty reputable source of medical information.

    What they have said is that the diuretic effect is minimal AND regular drinkers get used to it. They didn't say there was none.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    what I've read says that regular drinkers get used to it, which is not the same as saying that there is no diuretic effect at all. finding something on google that supports your opinion =/= science

    Scientific peer reviewed published studies from Medline are hardly your run of the mill 'Google' results.

    You didn't read the thread very closely before you commented. That's OK, I'm glad to point you back to my posts in this thread where you can find the actual evidence that coffee is a negligible diuretic.
  • Hadabetter
    Hadabetter Posts: 942 Member
    Why log water at all? People's needs are so individual that logging to meet some quota is pointless. Does the person live in a hot humid climate, or in a cold dry climate? Does the person engage in a lot of manual labor, or are they sedentary. Male or female? 6' 4" and 260 lbs, or 5' 1" 115 lbs.

    So long as you are adequately hydrated, more water is not better. Just drink enough to keep your pee a pale yellow and you'll be fine.

    (And your body does not discriminate between straight water, water contained in fruit, water in soft drinks, water in coffee, water in milk, etc. It's all water to you metabolism.)
  • mmipanda
    mmipanda Posts: 351 Member
    what I've read says that regular drinkers get used to it, which is not the same as saying that there is no diuretic effect at all. finding something on google that supports your opinion =/= science

    Scientific peer reviewed published studies from Medline are hardly your run of the mill 'Google' results.

    You didn't read the thread very closely before you commented. That's OK, I'm glad to point you back to my posts in this thread where you can find the actual evidence that coffee is a negligible diuretic.

    actually i was responding to the person who said "There are a lot of opinions here but the only one backing it up with scientific studies are the people saying coffee is not a diuretic. Nuf said. "

    so obviously this person is getting the message wrong. yes? yes.
  • ImRemko
    ImRemko Posts: 34 Member
    If people aren't getting indicators of thirst when they're thirsty, or are consciously ignoring thirst, they have bigger problems than coffee vs water. I see the "drink like you're in the desert" mentality as being tied to our (developed world) aversion to rumbling stomachs. Thirst and hunger are good things that tell us when it's necessary to drink or eat something.
    Thirst and hunger are signs of our body telling us to get out of our extreme deficits. Just because you're not thirsty, doesn't mean you can't be dehydrated. While some dehydration won't ring your body's alarm bells, it doesn't mean you shouldn't optimally hydrate.
  • Cranquistador
    Cranquistador Posts: 39,744 Member
    I dont track my water ever.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    13218d1372990628-ford-focus-st-vs-subaru-wrx-32238-beating-dead-horse.gif

    :laugh: Thanks for the giggle!
  • Donald_Dozier_50
    Donald_Dozier_50 Posts: 395 Member
    I don't track my beverages; they are all zero calorie. I have a good habit of drink plenty of water (about a gallon per day, not including coffee/tea) and I drink coffee & tea in moderation so they are not a problem.


    Agree with this. Since starting this, after hearing someone say "don't drink your calories", I have not consumed any drink with a single calorie.
  • Donald_Dozier_50
    Donald_Dozier_50 Posts: 395 Member
    Why log water at all? People's needs are so individual that logging to meet some quota is pointless. Does the person live in a hot humid climate, or in a cold dry climate? Does the person engage in a lot of manual labor, or are they sedentary. Male or female? 6' 4" and 260 lbs, or 5' 1" 115 lbs.

    So long as you are adequately hydrated, more water is not better. Just drink enough to keep your pee a pale yellow and you'll be fine.

    (And your body does not discriminate between straight water, water contained in fruit, water in soft drinks, water in coffee, water in milk, etc. It's all water to you metabolism.)

    I DON'T log water at all and never have for the very reasons you have stated. I completely agree.
  • susanrechter
    susanrechter Posts: 386 Member
    when I worked as a nurse, we recorded and tracked all fluid intakes...water, tea, coffee, soft drinks, juices. All liquids.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
    when I worked as a nurse, we recorded and tracked all fluid intakes...water, tea, coffee, soft drinks, juices. All liquids.
    Which is what a person with even an elementary understanding of biology would do...
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    what I've read says that regular drinkers get used to it, which is not the same as saying that there is no diuretic effect at all. finding something on google that supports your opinion =/= science

    Scientific peer reviewed published studies from Medline are hardly your run of the mill 'Google' results.

    You didn't read the thread very closely before you commented. That's OK, I'm glad to point you back to my posts in this thread where you can find the actual evidence that coffee is a negligible diuretic.

    actually i was responding to the person who said "There are a lot of opinions here but the only one backing it up with scientific studies are the people saying coffee is not a diuretic. Nuf said. "

    so obviously this person is getting the message wrong. yes? yes.

    Quibbling with semantics are we? The research shows that coffee should count toward your daily intake of fluids. Done.
  • AngryDiet
    AngryDiet Posts: 1,349 Member
    I get all of my hydration through Nutella.

    I mean, that must be water retention, right?
  • mmipanda
    mmipanda Posts: 351 Member
    All I said initially was:

    "coffee is a bit of a diuretic, everyone is wrong for talking in absolutes on both sides of the argument. "

    maybe I should have paraphrased it to say 'both extremes of this argument are incorrect, the answer lies in between. Coffee is a diuretic, but the effects of 1-2 cups a day for a regular coffee drinker are generally minimal'


    regardless, I am not 'quibbling with semantics'. If asked flat out if coffee has any diuretical properties, the answer would have to be yes.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    Voters and breeders. We are doomed.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    All I said initially was:

    "coffee is a bit of a diuretic, everyone is wrong for talking in absolutes on both sides of the argument. "

    maybe I should have paraphrased it to say 'both extremes of this argument are incorrect, the answer lies in between. Coffee is a diuretic, but the effects of 1-2 cups a day for a regular coffee drinker are generally minimal'


    regardless, I am not 'quibbling with semantics'. If asked flat out if coffee has any diuretical properties, the answer would have to be yes.

    I don't think I saw anyone claiming it was not a diuretic. What the studies that people (including me) are pasting in say is that the effect is sufficiently small that coffee does hydrate you. Not that it's not a mild diuretic.
  • GwynnAlcorn_wechanged
    GwynnAlcorn_wechanged Posts: 13
    That is quite interesting. I dislike coffee and never drink it, but have no excess fluid. My husband, who refuses to drink water, but drinks at least six mugs of black coffee daily, needs to take water pills. So this would seem to be the opposite effect as to what you are saying. He keeps saying he doesn't need to drink water, coffee substitutes for water. So I won't dare show him your post.
  • ereck44
    ereck44 Posts: 1,170 Member
    I double checked and the food diary states at the bottom to drink 8 cups of water per day as a recommendation--not fluid, but water. I log water as water, coffee as coffee, milk as milk, etc. Call me crazy! That being said, coffee intake was once villanized, but now some recent studies support coffee as having some health benefits, in moderation. However, in 20 years, who knows? It is pretty high in potassium and antioxidants.

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