Diet Soda

I count it in my water intake, since the first ingredient is carbonated water

I count it as water ONLY if it has no caffeine OR sodium. But the "no sodium" is VERY rare.

If it has either, I log it as a "snack" since caffeine is a dehydrator and too much sodium means needing more water to flush it out. Either way, it means I have to drink MORE water not less!

If all you are going to drink is diet soda - probably not a good idea to count it. 1 a day, probably fine.

One of my friends has diverticulitis and her doc says the only thing that counts as water is water.

Everyone is gonna have a different opinion but I was told by my family doc that if it is caffiene free you can count it towards your water intake. Also you should drink a bottle of water for every can of soda you drink!

Might as well count it. It's more water than anything else--if, for example, you were stranded on a desert island with nothing but soda, you would not die of dehydration (so the 'caffeine dehydrates you' argument is out). It's probably not as good for you (ok, definitely not) as pure water, but I think it still counts.

Replace that soda with a flavored seltzer no calories, no sodium ! Try "Nestle' Pure Life" in raspberry lime Ditch the diet soda -watch the weight drop ! Good luck!

If you are talking about water as in helpful to weightloss I wouldn't. It is also debatable as in what your body needs as liquid.

I have a Phd in Bioinformatics --- When in Grad School --- I asked a Nobel Peace Price Biologist who have based his life work on --- this question. Hate to bust a MYTH--- He said HECK YES -- IT COUNTS.... I myself drink 2 gallons of water a day to hydrate my muscles not to lose weight. He said ..... diet soda vs water has very little difference in their make up (minus sodium , chlorine, minerals and sweetener). If one is eating right the foods you eat have enough fluid to sustain what fluid is needed by the body... Hey my field is in in Neural Networks and Robotics ....If I am not 100% sure , I do what is most safe..................................... It is possible to consume TOO much water also or fluids

---

Too much of anything can be bad to you health.

Another Behavioral Psychologist said when studied , the placebo group when tested was just as hydrated as the water group. Remember this study was testing HYDRATION and that's it.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=591586

If you want more solid research that is based on empirical data...look in Pub Med or Lexus Nexus which have tons of research data. Basically fluid is fluid = 97percent of the articles I read.

Thinking today has changed somewhat with regard to water intake.
Previously, coffee and soda were not counted as water intake, because
soda and coffee contain sodium/caffeine that can retain fluid (sodium)
and cause a fluid loss (caffeine). Research has shown that people that
regularly drink coffee and sodas do not experience the water loss/gain
as casual consumers of such beverages. Also, water intake should be
consistent with our environment and activities, and not a one size
fits all.


?ome nutritionists insist that half the country is walking around
dehydrated. We drink too much coffee, tea and sodas containing
caffeine, which prompts the body to lose water, they say; and when we
are dehydrated, we don't know enough to drink.?


?Regular coffee and tea drinkers become accustomed to caffeine and
lose little, if any, fluid. In a study published in the October issue
of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, researchers at
the Center for Human Nutrition in Omaha measured how different
combinations of water, coffee and caffeinated sodas affected the
hydration status of 18 healthy adults who drink caffeinated beverages
routinely.

"We found no significant differences at all," says nutritionist Ann
Grandjean, the study's lead author. "The purpose of the study was to
find out if caffeine is dehydrating in healthy people who are drinking
normal amounts of it. It is not."
The same goes for tea, juice, milk and caffeinated sodas: One glass
provides about the same amount of hydrating fluid as a glass of water.
The only common drinks that produce a net loss of fluids are those
containing alcohol ? and usually it takes more than one of those to
cause noticeable dehydration, doctors say.?

?In general, to remain healthy we need to take in enough water to
replace the amount we lose daily through excretion, perspiration, and
other bodily functions, but that amount can vary widely from person to
person, based upon a variety of factors such as age, physical
condition, activity level, and climate. The "8-10 glasses of water per
day" is a rule of thumb, not an absolute minimum, and not of all of
our water intake need come in the form of drinking water.
The origins of the 8-10 glasses per day figure remain elusive. As a
recent Los Angeles Times article on the subject reported:

Consider that first commandment of good health: Drink at least eight
8-ounce glasses of water a day. This unquestioned rule is itself a
question mark. Most nutritionists have no idea where it comes from. "I
can't even tell you that," says Barbara Rolls, a nutrition researcher
at Pennsylvania State University, "and I've written a book on water."

Some say the number was derived from fluid intake measurements taken
decades ago among hospital patients on IVs; others say it's less a
measure of what people need than a convenient reference point,
especially for those who are prone to dehydration, such as many
elderly people.?

?The consensus seems to be that the average person loses ten cups
(where one cup = eight ounces) of fluid per day but also takes in four
cups of water from food, leaving a need to drink only six glasses to
make up the difference, a bit short of the recommended eight to ten
glasses per day. But according to the above-cited article, medical
experts don't agree that even that much water is necessary:
Kidney specialists do agree on one thing, however: that the 8-by-8
rule is a gross overestimate of any required minimum. To replace daily
losses of water, an average-sized adult with healthy kidneys sitting
in a temperate climate needs no more than one liter of fluid,
according to Jurgen Schnermann, a kidney physiologist at the National
Institutes of Health.

One liter is the equivalent of about four 8-ounce glasses. According
to most estimates, that's roughly the amount of water most Americans
get in solid food. In short, though doctors don't recommend it, many
of us could cover our bare-minimum daily water needs without drinking
anything during the day.?

NO WAY!!! But It is definitely think of diet soda as my treat!