Water?

debrapeterson
debrapeterson Posts: 84 Member
edited December 20 in Food and Nutrition
Can black coffee be counted as water?
«1

Replies

  • garita93
    garita93 Posts: 267 Member
    It is a matter of preference from what I have seen on here, some count anything made from water others count only plain water.
  • megleo818
    megleo818 Posts: 595 Member
    NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

    Caffeine dehydrates -- it's actually NEGATIVE water. Even decaf has a trace of caffeine.

    Water is water is water. Drink lots.
  • LexyDB
    LexyDB Posts: 261
    What is negative water exactly?
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    You can. The caffeine has a slight diuretic effect, but not enough to be significant in regular coffee. Espresso would be a different story.

    Having said that, I don't - I have a thermos of coffee a day and don't count it as water, but I prefer to drink a little extra water anyway.

    The ideal way to measure your water intake is actually through urine color / consistency.

    Clear = drinking more than you actually need (but that's OK - it won't hurt you if it's under a couple of gallons a day)
    Pale yellow/translucent = perfect
    Bright yellow = drink a little more
    Dark yellow, or doesn't readily dissolve in water, or cloudy = drink quite a bit more, and if you are already drinking 8 glasses or more of water a day and still see this, see your doctor.

    Learn how much water (with your coffee) gets you that nice pale yellow translucent urine and go for that. It's different for each person.
  • jaxandmaksmom
    jaxandmaksmom Posts: 262 Member
    water is water... coffee is coffee.


    caffine will dry your body of water ( dehydrate)
    water hydrates you

    sooooo nooooooooooooooooooooooooo coffee does not count as water....

    does fruit juice count as water nope..water is water... plain and simple...


    i was told by my doctor... for each cup of coffee or soda we drink.. you need 3 cups of water to erase the negitive effects of said drink.....
  • megleo818
    megleo818 Posts: 595 Member
    Actually, to be more specific, caffeine is a diuretic. Takes water from your cells and causes you to expel it. Thus it dehydrates.

    I'm no scientist, but unless someone's come up with different evidence since I was in college (admittedly a long time ago), that's how it works.
  • megleo818
    megleo818 Posts: 595 Member
    What is negative water exactly?

    Ha! I meant that you need to drink more water to hit your hydration level if you take in significant caffeine. But, since you ask, I guess maybe salt? Or a dry sponge?
  • jillica
    jillica Posts: 554 Member
    It is up to you.

    Just like some people log in their everyday household cleaning as exercise, you get to decide if you want to count the water in your coffee as part of your total water take-in.

    I don't, but I'm not overweight because I drink two cups of coffee everyday.
  • VoodooLuLu
    VoodooLuLu Posts: 636 Member
    no...
  • LexyDB
    LexyDB Posts: 261
    Yes, it is a diuretic but not enough in caffeine to stop the body absorbing the rest of the water in the drink. Negative water? Perhaps you should rephrase this?
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    What is negative water exactly?

    It would be water with enough contaminants such as caffeine that the diuretic effect would cause the body to lose more water than is taken in. For example, if you dissolved a no-doz capsule or two in an ounce of water, the diuretic/dehydration effect would be far more pronounced than one ounce of fluid, so it would be "negative water".

    Like "negative calorie" food0s (foods that, in theory, you burn more calories chewing and digesting than you can extract from them), such things exist but only in very extreme cases and are not meaningful terms for 99% of what you are actually going to ingest.
  • HealthfulLife
    HealthfulLife Posts: 28 Member
    I am going to go with no as well..Coffee and Tea may seem like just dark water in theory, but in reality they aren't!
    Because they contain caffeine, Coffee and Tea are considered diuretics which instead of hydrating your body they will dehydrate you, as oppose to water which is the best form of hydration!

    drink up!
  • pamelad77
    pamelad77 Posts: 292 Member
    Coffee may be a diuretic, but even my GP says that you still take in more than it makes you "expel"
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    Actually, to be more specific, caffeine is a diuretic. Takes water from your cells and causes you to expel it. Thus it dehydrates.

    I'm no scientist, but unless someone's come up with different evidence since I was in college (admittedly a long time ago), that's how it works.

    The evidence hasn't changed, and neither has the dosage. The caffeine in a cup of coffee does, in fact, have a mild diuretic effect. But it doesn't come CLOSE to offsetting the fact that coffee is mostly water.

    I suspect this thread is going to get ugly, so one last reiteration of a point I made earlier - don't COUNT DRINKS, use URINE COLOR to determine if you are drinking sufficient fluids. That makes the entire argument that is about to ensue completely moot.
  • mcrowe1016
    mcrowe1016 Posts: 647 Member
    From Mayo Clinic:

    I've been seeing ads that say cola and coffee drinks hydrate you as well as water does. Is this true?
    Answer
    from Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
    It is true. Researchers used to believe that caffeinated drinks had a diuretic effect. This means that you would urinate more after drinking them, which could increase your risk of becoming dehydrated. Recent research shows that this is not true and that caffeine has a diuretic effect only if you consume large amounts of it — more than 500 to 600 milligrams (the equivalent of 5 to 7 cups of coffee) a day.

    Still, caffeinated drinks can make you jittery, sleepless or anxious. Water is probably your best bet to stay hydrated. It's calorie-free, caffeine-free, inexpensive and readily available.

    Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661
  • Sean_The_IT_Guy
    Sean_The_IT_Guy Posts: 168
    untrue. it hydrates less than normal water, but sodas and coffee still hydrate. this is a long perpetuated myth.

    Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661
  • wildcata77
    wildcata77 Posts: 660
    NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

    Caffeine dehydrates -- it's actually NEGATIVE water. Even decaf has a trace of caffeine.

    Water is water is water. Drink lots.

    I'm not sure what negative water means, but No, I do not count coffee. I wouldn't even if I drank it black.

    I know that back in the day the WW program said that you could sub 3 servings of water with non-caffeinated, zero calorie drinks (like tea, diet soda, etc.) but I always hold to water is water, plain and simple.
  • jryan83
    jryan83 Posts: 72 Member
    There's many opinions out there on what "water" is. Is it pure water or is it drinks that contain water?

    I think to make sure your satisfying all bases, you should strive to have half your water intake as pure water. Drink what other liquids you like for the other half. If you can drink more pure water, the better (just cause your body doesn't have to process it first).

    Things you may not want to substitute for water are obviously high in sugar and hidden sugars (certain juices, alcohol, etc.).
  • sortin
    sortin Posts: 78
    So...for the 'only water is water' people.

    If I drink a cup of black coffee, then drink a cup of water, how much water is that? 1 cup?
    What if instead, I pour the water into the black coffee and drink it, how much water is that?
  • mamaomefo
    mamaomefo Posts: 418 Member
    From a nutritionist I have seen in the past, she allowed anything that was non-caffeinated to be counted toward water consumption. Her reason was caffeine makes one lose water.
  • JBApplebee
    JBApplebee Posts: 481 Member
    What is negative water exactly?

    Wouldn't going to the bathroom (#1) be negative water?
  • mrmanmeat
    mrmanmeat Posts: 1,968 Member
    Can black coffee be counted as water?

    No.
  • LexyDB
    LexyDB Posts: 261
    From Mayo Clinic:

    I've been seeing ads that say cola and coffee drinks hydrate you as well as water does. Is this true?
    Answer
    from Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
    It is true. Researchers used to believe that caffeinated drinks had a diuretic effect. This means that you would urinate more after drinking them, which could increase your risk of becoming dehydrated. Recent research shows that this is not true and that caffeine has a diuretic effect only if you consume large amounts of it — more than 500 to 600 milligrams (the equivalent of 5 to 7 cups of coffee) a day.

    Still, caffeinated drinks can make you jittery, sleepless or anxious. Water is probably your best bet to stay hydrated. It's calorie-free, caffeine-free, inexpensive and readily available.

    Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

    And like everything else, your body doesn't build up a resistance to caffeine? Been jittery after a cup of coffee lately? Didn't think so either. Drink the coffee, you'll still take on water just not as much as a glass of water in the same size cup.

    Rank this with another broscience/hoscience myth along with the pound if muscle weighing heavier than a pound of fat.
  • garita93
    garita93 Posts: 267 Member
    So...for the 'only water is water' people.

    If I drink a cup of black coffee, then drink a cup of water, how much water is that? 1 cup?
    What if instead, I pour the water into the black coffee and drink it, how much water is that?

    Haha that is great! I love it!
  • Sean_The_IT_Guy
    Sean_The_IT_Guy Posts: 168
    From a nutritionist I have seen in the past, she allowed anything that was non-caffeinated to be counted toward water consumption. Her reason was caffeine makes one lose water.

    Another reason why "nutritionist" is synonymous with "science illiterate" in my books.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    So...for the 'only water is water' people.

    If I drink a cup of black coffee, then drink a cup of water, how much water is that? 1 cup?
    What if instead, I pour the water into the black coffee and drink it, how much water is that?

    A lot of the "only water is water" argument is based on a very simple premise - drinking a little bit too much water (say, an extra 4 cups a day) has absolutely no side effects except an extra visit or two to the bathroom. Drinking not quite enough water, while not terribly serious, is more harmful overall.

    8 8oz glasses of water is overkill for most people. Insisting that all of it be pure water and not counting caffeinated or alcoholic beverages a little more overkill. Insisting that you drink MORE plain water to offset "impure" beverages even more so.

    But it's harmless overkill. Overdosing on water takes at least four times what any rational person would drink - 4-5 gallons a day or more than a gallon in a given half-hour.

    Drink up! If you're drinking more than is necessary to keep your urine a pale yellow, you aren't really helping yourself out. But you aren't going to hurt yourself either.
  • Faye_Anderson
    Faye_Anderson Posts: 1,495 Member
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/treatments/healthy_living/nutrition/healthy_water.shtml

    Yes tea, coffee and juices count, they're liquid aren't they? Can't believe people still think that the caffeine in these drinks have ANY affect any hydration in these quantities
  • mtaylor33557
    mtaylor33557 Posts: 542 Member
    untrue. it hydrates less than normal water, but sodas and coffee still hydrate. this is a long perpetuated myth.

    Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

    I agree. For years my mom only drank coffee.. nothing else.. she didn't die of dehydration. Now, she wasn't healthy, and has since had health issued and changed her diet a bit, to include some water and other fluids. But, it has to hydrate at least a little.



    I don't count coffee though, or anything else for that matter. I want to drink more plain water, and by only counting plain water, I push myself to do so.
  • TexanThom
    TexanThom Posts: 778
    YOU can count coffee as exercise if YOU want to, it's your log.
  • NewChristina
    NewChristina Posts: 250 Member
    By sortin:
    "So...for the 'only water is water' people.

    If I drink a cup of black coffee, then drink a cup of water, how much water is that? 1 cup?
    What if instead, I pour the water into the black coffee and drink it, how much water is that?"

    :laugh: :laugh: I like this answer the best.
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