What counts as "water"?

Rachifloon
Rachifloon Posts: 129 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Bit of a silly question, I know, but after my boyfriend telling me I was going overboard with my water intake and that hot beverages*, diluted juice**, and food count as well, I thought I'd ask on here.

To be exact: Does "at least 8 glasses of water" mean ONLY water or does it include food/drink also made with water?




*I have one coffee in the morning and 1-2 cups of tea at night. All my hot beverages are made with about 30ml of skimmed milk and a 0 calorie sweetener tablet.
**The diluted juice in question is a no added sugar option which is 8 calories per 100ml undiluted, and contains no artificial colours or flavours.

Replies

  • LTKeegan
    LTKeegan Posts: 354 Member
    My thoughts are, if you put water in something then drink it, its the same as eating the thing than drinking the water, its all going to the same place and getting mixed.

    I would count tea but not coffee (coffee is a mild diuretic) I would count the amount of water you added to the juice, but not the full cup of water/juice mixture. And I wouldn't count milk


    Keep in mind, drinking more water will make your skin look nicer, help you lose weight, and help you feel better. So try throwing some lemon juice into a cup of water if you're not a water fan, your skin will thank you! (It'll help you from getting wrinkles- the water, not the lemon juice.)
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    the ice in my whiskey
  • KristaPerseveres
    KristaPerseveres Posts: 87 Member
    You should drink half your body weight in ounces in water a day. Meaning water, not tea, not soda, not soup, just plain water. The other water intake in beverages, fruits, veggies, etc is bonus. Unless you are drinking gallons of water a day, you cannot possibly be going overboard. If you are drinking gallons of water a day, then yes, you could become water poisoned, as your blood becomes too diluted. Happened to my boss. But a general guideline of half your body weight in ounces is becoming more the standard than just 8 cups (64oz). If you weigh 128lbs, then perfect!
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
    "To be exact: Does "at least 8 glasses of water" mean ONLY water or does it include food/drink also made with water?"

    No-one ever said the above. It is just a myth that gets passed around until, after years of being passed around, becomes "true".

    Drink if you are thirsty, drink if your urine looks strong and don't stress about 8 glasses.
  • patrickblo13
    patrickblo13 Posts: 831 Member
    Water
  • ashleyisgreat
    ashleyisgreat Posts: 586 Member
    Check out this article, which links to some scientific studies. The thing to know is that your water intake includes food and all beverages. So ignore everyone who says "only water counts." It's simply not true.

    http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/eight-glasses-water-per-day/

    Some of the studies linked in the article:

    http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2002/aug/080802.html
    http://jasn.asnjournals.org/content/19/6/1041.citation
  • Rachifloon
    Rachifloon Posts: 129 Member
    Thanks everyone for the advice, I'll definitely keep it in mind to not stress about water as much. (And hopefully less trips to the bathroom!)
  • mikeabboud
    mikeabboud Posts: 26 Member
    nerd fitness has an article on the "study" that concluded we need 8 glasses of water per day. turns out it was made up. Your body process all sorts of things when you eat, if theres water in it, (as there is in most food) it counts. Coffee counts most everything we think of that is liquid counts. If you think your dehydrated check your pee. if its bright yellow you are, if its mild or less yellow probably fine.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Drink if you are thirsty, drink if your urine looks strong and don't stress about 8 glasses.

    That nails it.
  • Trebeck_Z
    Trebeck_Z Posts: 2 Member
    You should drink half your body weight in ounces in water a day. Meaning water, not tea, not soda, not soup, just plain water. The other water intake in beverages, fruits, veggies, etc is bonus. Unless you are drinking gallons of water a day, you cannot possibly be going overboard. If you are drinking gallons of water a day, then yes, you could become water poisoned, as your blood becomes too diluted. Happened to my boss. But a general guideline of half your body weight in ounces is becoming more the standard than just 8 cups (64oz). If you weigh 128lbs, then perfect!

    Can you please stop spreading false information. People come on this forum to seek advice and should be answered with information that is real and backed by studies.

    Yes, you can do whatever you want for yourself. But enough of this "water is water, tea is tea, horse crap is horse crap" nonsense. How you can honestly believe that your body can tell the difference between you drinking a glass of crystal light as opposed to drinking a glass of 'pure' water, followed by eating some crystal light powder is beyond me.

    Again, do whatever works for you, but don't state your ignorant beliefs as fact.
  • Deathlylooks
    Deathlylooks Posts: 18
    WATER? lol
  • GillaMahogany
    GillaMahogany Posts: 133
    Just want to throw it out there that it can be dependent on how water is coming out of your body, like as sweat. If it's 80 degrees out and you're shoveling gravel, you're gonna need more then your average 8 glasses a day deal. Using the color of your urine is the best gauge, I think, just don't forget if you ate beets last night LOL

    Here's a link to help you figure out what color your urine should be, and when you need to drink more water.
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/28/how-much-water-urine-color-chart_n_1305129.html#s731950&title=Hydrated
  • LTKeegan
    LTKeegan Posts: 354 Member
    You should drink half your body weight in ounces in water a day. Meaning water, not tea, not soda, not soup, just plain water. The other water intake in beverages, fruits, veggies, etc is bonus. Unless you are drinking gallons of water a day, you cannot possibly be going overboard. If you are drinking gallons of water a day, then yes, you could become water poisoned, as your blood becomes too diluted. Happened to my boss. But a general guideline of half your body weight in ounces is becoming more the standard than just 8 cups (64oz). If you weigh 128lbs, then perfect!


    As someone who has had hyponatremia, it IS possible and not that hard. And its extremely serious. and it doesn't take gallons! I did it with 5L (1.3gallons) in 2.5 hours on a hiking trio.

    And its not about your blood being diluted, its about your electrolyte balance being messed up. If you don't have enough sodium, you can't preform very important biological processes and your body does whatever it can to purge the excess water (for me it was throwing up and peeing a bunch).


    You probs shouldn't be giving advise if you have no clue what you're talking about.
  • LTKeegan
    LTKeegan Posts: 354 Member


    Here's a link to help you figure out what color your urine should be, and when you need to drink more water.
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/28/how-much-water-urine-color-chart_n_1305129.html#s731950&title=Hydrated

    I love it!! there are basically paint squares for pee. LOL

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