Dispelling the Water Myths..

So we've had countless threads to the effect of "Can I count X as water" on this board lately. Each and every time I cringe as I read answers like "Only water is water" and "Once you put something in it, it's not water", "Only if it doesn't have Caffeine in it because caffeine will dehydrate you", or the infamous "Diet Soda makes you fatter". So little actual fact is actually understood by some folks that I figured I'd try one more time to educate the good folks here on some of the facts that have been twisted into outright fallacy. I won't even get into how each of us decide to log our drinks, that's up to you. But here are some facts to consider:

Myth 1: "Your body need X cups of pure water per day".
Research on this topic is pretty straight forward. Your body does indeed need water to survive. There are varying studies on exactly how much and of course like everything, much of it depends on each person's body. The most common consensus seems to be 8 cups per day. Now, what people keep missing the boat on here is that everything you eat or drink contains water. Your body doesn't care how it gets the water it just needs water. So as it digests that pear you ate, that soda you drank or that soup you just sipped up, your body absorbs the water that is contained in those foods and drinks and uses it like it uses all water you take in. Additionally, mixing a drink mix into water does not suddenly turn the water into some other substance, it merely means it is now water that is combined with other substances. It's still water so plan accordingly.

Myth 2: "Caffeine will dehydrate you"
This is a common one that stems from some credible research. However, one must actually read the research to understand what is being said rather than follow the media's misleading conclusions that caffeine dehydrates you. The research on this topic finds that Caffeine does have diuretic properties (i.e. it makes you pee more). This is why people have latched onto it as something that will dehydrate you. HOWEVER, the research finds that it has diuretic properties ONLY when administered in doses that significantly exceed the body's current tolerance and over time the body will develop a tolerance to the increase and the diuretic properties cease (unless the dose is increased even more). It takes large concentrations of caffeine, much greater than those in a can of Mt. Dew, to see the diuretic properties of caffeine affect the body. So if you have a diet coke each day, it's not going to dehydrate you. If you only drink diet coke every day (as some people i know do), you're not going to become dehydrated, your body will make sure of that.

Myth 3: "Diet sodas make you fat"
UGH, this myth is directly a result of the media latching onto a research topic without reading the conclusions. Numerous studies have setup and followed two groups of people. One who drank only diet soda and one who didn't drink any. They found that the second group actually gained less weight than the first. However, in four separate studies I've read on this topic, the researchers all came to the same conclusion. Those drinking the diet soda tended to eat more calories in a day, likely because they knew they were drinking diet soda and felt they were then able to consume more. Add to that people's propensity to underestimate their own intake and it leads to more weight gain. Not one study I've read to date has ever concluded that some property of diet soda directly leads to you gaining weight.

So there you have it folks, I hope you find it informational. Obviously I'm not a doctor or expert, just someone who has done a lot of research on this topic and is tired of reading mis-understood regurgitations of the facts.

Where exactly does vodka play into this?