Drink when you're thirsty - what's the problem?

[AuldWan]

There have been a few threads lately about water, not drinking enough, dehydration etc. But for thousands of years humans have got by perfectly well by drinking when they are thirsty. Thirst is an extremely sophisticated human sense - of course in a tiny minority of people it can go wrong, but for the vast majority of humans it works perfectly. It doesn't even have to be water - just fluid, and it can also come from food.
This is the current scientific consensus as I understand it - the idea that drinking x litres of water daily is good for us to de tox, keep our skin good, give us energy etc has no scientific basis and is essentially just made up non-science.
For example read this: www.livescience.com/61353-how-much-water-you-really-need-drink.html
I mean - drink however much water you want - but humans only really need to drink if they actually feel thirsty. So lots on a hot day, on a cold wet day, not so much. Not complicated.

[BogRollBOGOF]

I'm not a very thirsty person and generally have a low need to drink a lot.

I'll drink before running so it's in my system already. Most short runs, unless it's particularly hot or sharp, dry frosty air, I don't need water and will only tend to take it if I'll be out over an hour. It's an occasional sip/ mouth wetting that I tend to need because it was already in me.
I will admit to being amused by the huge 2l bottles marketed at gym goers, because when racing a half marathon, I get through less than 1l in over 2 hours.

As a secondary teacher, nothing wrong with an occasional drink of water, it's the spills and flipping bottles around that got annoying.

Dehydration is a major problem in elderly people (and with the reduced contact in care homes, a contributing factor in the increased deaths that occured in the spring as an attempt to reduce Covid transmission). I wonder if the increased focus in hydration over the past generation might ingrain habits that carry on and help us as older people in the future as there is a better developed awareness of regularly drinking to begin with rather than a few small cups of tea per day.

[wowfudge]

Lots of people confuse thirst with hunger which is why so many diets/eating plans stress drinking X litres of water a day. Then people get told caffeine is a diuretic, but of course if you're drinking a mug of tea or coffee there's a load a liquid there already to combat any diuretic effect.

I'm sure I saw some statistics around the Boston marathon which stated no one had died of dehydration during the marathon over the years, but something like three people had died of excessive water drinking during it.

[boltzmannbrains]

Marathon runners are extreme athletes who are very aware of water intake and the need to "guzzle" water, so obviously you wouldn't get an athlete of that level dying of dehydration. Not sure what that's supposed to prove.

The issue really is that human society has changed massively in a very short space of time, and we (biologically/genetically) haven't caught up to it. People keep mentioning cavemen, but cavemen ate a diet that was mostly fruits, vegetables and seeds, plus a tiny amount of meat, and so got a high water intake from their food. Not many people eat that kind of diet today.

[ClinkyMonkey]

Drinking fluids just happens during the normal run of the day for me. Tea. Coffee. The odd glass of fruit juice or herbal tea. I only drink water when I'm exercising. Provided my urine is pale /clear and not dark yellow, I reckon I'm drinking sufficient liquid.

[doadeer]

I must be in the minority I love drinking water. I think I have about 10-12 full size classes a day. If I wait until I'm thirsty I get a headache and I notice my skin is less glowy and drier if I don't drink a lot of water. I'd say I go to the toilet about 6 times a day. I don't know what's normal?